E-REDES starts the first local flexibility market auction in the country, at the level of distribution networks, with the launch of the FIRMe pilot project. There are eight geographical areas, distributed throughout the national territory, to start the first bidding that assesses the willingness of users of the electricity grid to adjust their consumption and / or production to meet the needs of network operation through a payment by E-REDES.
For the next two months, all grid users connected in the areas covered by the pilot can participate in this auction, provided they individually deliver more than 10kW, or alternatively, through an entity that aggregates several grid users and can jointly deliver at least 10kW by pooling a portfolio of assets.
Flexibility Service Provider (FSP) offers may have a fixed component, which represents the availability to provide the service, and is paid regardless of the provision of the service, and a variable component, which is paid if the flexibility service needs to be activated. It is at the discretion of the FSP to offer only fixed, only variable or a combination of the two, and E-REDES subsequently selects the best offers according to the need, according to the regulation already published on the project's website - FIRMe.
After the auction, E-REDES plans to establish contracts with potential service providers that will enter into force in January 2024 and will last for 2 years, a period in which the operation of the network using flexibility will be tested.
The auctions take place on Piclo's platform, a leading provider of flexibility services, and all registered users receive direct communications of the different stages of the process. Registration is simple, requiring only a short questionnaire to be filled in so that E-REDES can understand the user profile of each individual.
With the start of the flexibility market, the distribution network operator is able to use local flexibility as a solution to manage network constraints and contribute to the use of low-carbon technologies.
