‘Specific product‘ in the EU Electricity Balancing Market means a product different from a standard product (Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2195 of 23 November 2017 establishing a guideline on electricity balancing, Article 2(36)).

 

The same definition in this regard is included in Article 2(32) of Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the internal market for electricity (recast).


Requirements for specific products are stipulated in Article 26 of the Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2195 of 23 November 2017 establishing a guideline on electricity balancing.

 

The said Regulation envisions that specific products are to be implemented in parallel to the implementation of the standard products. 

 

 

Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2195 of 23 November 2017 establishing a guideline on electricity balancing

 

Article 26

Requirements for specific products


1.   Following the approval of the implementation frameworks for the European platforms pursuant to Articles 19, 20 and 21, each TSO may develop a proposal for defining and using specific products for balancing energy and balancing capacity. This proposal shall include at least:


(a) a definition of specific products and of the time period in which they will be used;


(b) a demonstration that standard products are not sufficient to ensure operational security and to maintain the system balance efficiently or a demonstration that some balancing resources cannot participate in the balancing market through standard products;


(c) a description of measures proposed to minimise the use of specific products subject to economic efficiency;


(d) where applicable, the rules for converting the balancing energy bids from specific products into balancing energy bids from standard products;


(e) where applicable, the information on the process for the conversion of balancing energy bids from specific products into balancing energy bids from standard products and the information on which common merit order list the conversion will take place;


(f) a demonstration that the specific products do not create significant inefficiencies and distortions in the balancing market within and outside the scheduling area.


2.   Each TSO using specific products shall review at least once every two years the necessity to use specific products in accordance with the criteria laid down in paragraph 1.


3.   The specific products shall be implemented in parallel to the implementation of the standard products. Following the use of the specific products, the connecting TSO may alternatively:

(a) convert the balancing energy bids from specific products into balancing energy bids from standard products;

(b) activate the balancing energy bids from specific products locally without exchanging them.


4.   The rules for converting balancing energy bids from specific products into balancing energy bids from standard products pursuant to paragraph 1(d) shall:

(a) be fair, transparent and non-discriminatory;

(b) not create barriers for the exchange of balancing services;

(c) ensure the financial neutrality of TSOs.

 

 

Each EU Member State’s Transmission System Operator (TSO) has the right to define and use:

 

- specific products for balancing capacity, and

 

- specific products for balancing energy.

 

In case a TSO choses to define and use specific products it is required to submit a proposal to its National Regulatory Authority (NRA).

 

While assessing the request for a specific product the NRA will take into account the following requirements:

 

(a) standard products are not sufficient to operate balancing and respect operational security or enable the participation of resources that cannot be offered through standard products;

 

(b) specific products shall not create significant inefficiencies and distortions in national markets or in the Coordinated Balancing Area (CoBA);

 

(c) specific products shall be visible for other TSOs of the Coordinated Balancing Area; and

 

(d) specific products could be marked as unavailable for activation by other TSOs of the Coordinated Balancing Area when operational security is endangered.

 

Each TSO shall have the right to reassess and develop an updated proposal for specific products for balancing capacity and specific products for balancing energy.

 

Connecting TSOs using specific products shall have the right to convert these products into standard products used in the concerned CoBA and submit them to the activation optimisation function or the capacity procurement optimisation function.

 

The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) in its Recommendation No 03/2015 of 20 July 2015 on the Network Code on Electricity Balancing requires that all standard products and all specific products for a specific balancing process are shared for all CoBAs for that balancing process.

 

This would ensure that CoBAs are not designed in a way that will prevent their future merger.

 

Nevertheless, ACER recognises that TSOs may need some time to shift from the use of currently non-standardised products to for the standardised products.

 

For this reason, specific products may be introduced and, when these specific products cannot be used by other TSOs, this may be blocked for exchanges, while still submitted to Common Merit Order List (CMOL) and a visible to all TSOs.

 

 

 

 

quote

 

ENTSO-E Supporting Document for the Network Code on Electricity Balancing of 6 August 2014, p. 50

 


... if Standard Products as defined by all TSOs are not sufficient for a TSO to: (i) balance its area, or (ii) respect Operational Security, or (iii) enable the participation of resources that cannot be offered through Standard Products, then this TSO is allowed to define other products which are known as Specific Products. However, the priority is to define and use Standard Products.

 

The definition of Specific Products and volume should be transparent; shared with the NRA; and published in the annual report. Moreover they should not create inefficiencies or distortion of the market. These products do not necessarily fit with the characteristics of Standard Products and have to be adapted and shared with other TSOs when System Security is not compromised.

 

 

 

 

 

Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the internal market for electricity

 

Article 6(14)

 

Transmission system operators may, where standard balancing products are not sufficient to ensure operational security or where some balancing resources cannot participate in the balancing market through standard balancing products, propose, and the regulatory authorities may approve, derogations from paragraphs 2 and 4 for specific balancing products which are activated locally without exchanging them with other transmission system operators.

Proposals for derogations shall include a description of measures proposed to minimise the use of specific products, subject to economic efficiency, a demonstration that the specific products do not create significant inefficiencies and distortions in the balancing market either inside or outside the scheduling area, as well as, where applicable, the rules and information for the process for converting the balancing energy bids from specific balancing products into balancing energy bids from standard balancing products. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG 0744

    Documentation    

 

 

 

 

Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the internal market for electricity (recast), Article 2(32), Article 6(14)

 

Network Code on Electricity Balancing (Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2195 of 23 November 2017 establishing a guideline on electricity balancing - NC EB), Article 2(36), Article 26

 

ACER’s Recommendation No 03/2015 of 20 July 2015 on the Network Code on Electricity Balancing

 

ENTSO-E Supporting Document for the Network Code on Electricity Balancing of 6 August 2014, p. 50 

 

 

 

 

 

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