Ancillary Services – Power Balance Services

ČEPS Ancillary Services

Ancillary services are key to maintaining the stability of the transmission system in the Czech Republic. The organization and rule-setting are the responsibility of ČEPS, a.s. – the sole transmission system operator. Energocentrum Plus has a long history of supporting this grid stability; as of 2021, we were already providing the technical foundation for leading certified aggregators like innogy Energo and Nano Energies.

Why are ancillary services needed?

Every second, the amount of electricity consumed must correspond exactly to the amount generated. If you switch on a large machine in the grid, a short-term voltage drop occurs that must be compensated for immediately. Ancillary services serve to quickly balance this by supplying missing power to the grid or consuming excess energy (e.g., using pumped-storage hydroelectricity).

Types of Ancillary Services

Services are divided into three basic groups according to reaction speed and required power:

  • FCR – Frequency Containment Reserve: Must react within 30 seconds. Power 1–30 MW.
  • aFRR – Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve: Full power within 5 minutes. Range 1–99 MW.
  • mFRR – Manual Frequency Restoration Reserve: Start-up within 12.5 minutes. Power 1–99 MW.

How Service Activation and Billing Works

The selection and contracting of services take place daily via an auction organized by ČEPS. Remuneration includes payment for hourly availability (reserve capacity) and payment for actual energy delivery (balancing energy).

CEPS Ancillary Services Activation
Current data and auction results on CEPS.cz.

Mervis – System for Providing Ancillary Services

Our company develops the communication and control systems used by top market players. Both innogy Energo and Nano Energies use Mervis SCADA to control various power sources (mostly cogeneration units). Separate tailor-made communication applications using standard Mervis RT were developed to transfer sub-second energy measurements to the central control system operated by ČEPS.

Mervis customers now include:

  • Nano Energies
  • innogy
  • C-energy
  • Enetiqa
  • EnerSpot
  • SolarGlobal
  • Powertica
  • ČD Telematika
  • Farma Bezdínek

Solution Architecture

Mervis architecture
Communication architecture from individual locations to ČEPS dispatch centers.

Mervis block diagram
Cloud Terminal architecture for data aggregation.

Visualization

Try the aggregation block simulator at scada.mervis.info.
Login: ppsdemo / ppsdemo.

Contact

Energocentrum Plus, s.r.o.
Ing. Martin Chlupáč
martin.chlupac@energocentrum.cz, +420 724 555 346.

Official ČEPS press release regarding new aggregators: View Release [Czech].