Electrical Flexibility: How Is It Made?

Glossary

Introduction

• which technology?
• what architecture?
• which platform?

• virtualize the electrical #Demand, through the #Digitization process;
• optimize the consumption profile (#Profiling) of the Consumption Units (CU), both single and aggregated (MVEU / industrial districts);
• execute the consumption program (#Baseline) scheduling (#Scheduling) the activities of the Consumption Units that compose it;
• build the map of the CUs, within the #Baseline, which are proposed (pay-as-bid) to the TSO to solve the problems of Network imbalances (#Balancing) through modulating its consumption and respecting all the constraints of the system and the program itself;
• sell the #NegaWh the modulation program of the CUs, which are proposed as resources of #ElectricalFlexibility.

• reduce the marginal costs associated with its use;
• optimize consumption;
• maximize the revenues able to pursue by participating in the #ElectricFlexibility market.

• De-carbonization of the economy, i.e. maximization of renewable energy and the minimization of its marginal cost;
• Digitization: the total interconnection of decentralized, disintermediated and distributed systems and data, according to the #Blockchain model. The #Digitization opens up the values and methods of physical and mathematical optimization and new business models to the world of energy.

• Earning from the Grid: economic enhancement of the #ElectricFlexibility extracted from the CU and that the Customer can offer to the electricity system;
• Minimization of marginal costs: optimization of electricity consumption profiles;
• Economic and environmental sustainability of the production cycle.

EnergyAsAService

1. Energy Professional Assessment
2. Energy Professional Modeling
3. Energy Flexibility Enhancement

Energy Professional Assessment

Goals

• Preparation of monthly digital reports based on data related to electricity and gas supplies;
• Identification of any errors in the bill;
• Optimization of the marginal costs of supplies by identifying the best tariff opportunities compared to actual market prices.

Solutions

Activities

Digital reporting

• Physical area;
• Analysis of consumption profiles;
• Analysis of generation profiles (where available);
• Economic area;
• Analysis of the costs in the bill;
• Identification of any errors in the bill;
• Check requirements for defi-scaling;
• Verify contributions in exchange account on the spot (where available);
• Identification of marginal cost optimization strategy;
• Financial area;
• Power budget;
• Environmental area;
• Environmental impact analysis.

Analysis for tariff adjustment

• Identification of the most important contractual parameters;
• Identification of the tariff profile most suited to the actual mode of consumption;
• Research and selection of gas and / or electricity operators;
• Comparison of offers from different operators with performance simulation; with respect to the contractual parameters previously identified;
• Support for the selection and subsequent activation of the new supply (renegotiation with the current supplier or change of supplier).

Pre-requisites

• Electricity supply contract in force (original document in pdf format);
• Gas supply contract in force (original document in pdf format);
• Technical specifications for interfacing with smart meters dedicated to the acquisition of total plant consumption (where available).

• Quarterly distribution curves (source: distributor portal);
• Quarter-hour absorption curves (source: supplier portal);
• Invoiced consumption (source: supplier portal);
• Bills (original document in pdf format, including details; source: supplier’s portal);
• If photovoltaic or other generation plants are available:
  • Quarter-hour electricity input curves (source: distributor portal);
  • Withdrawal and injection measurements sent by TSO to the DSO (source: distributor portal);
  • Plant production data (source: plant manufacturer’s portal).

• On-site exchange contributions (source: DSO portal);
• Administrative costs (source: DSO portal).

Benefits

• Awareness of the energy costs associated with supplies (electrical / thermal) divided by components;
• Request to the Supplier for any refunds for billing errors and / or application of charges and taxes;
• Constant adjustment of supply tariffs in relation to market price trends;
• Reduction of the cost of the unbalancing component of the supplier’s portfolio thanks to the #Profiling of the site (max 2.5 €/MWh).

Energy Professional Modeling

Goals

• Identification of the electrical load profiles of the main Consumption Units.
• Optimization of the total electrical load profile through:
• Elimination of consumption peaks;
• Scheduling of the systems responsible for the environmental service (HVAC, AHU, lights, etc);
• Definition of the energy program based on the industrial production plan;
• Identification of the potential of #ElectricalFlexibility.

 Activities

• Mapping of the Consumption Units;
• Description of the phases of the operational process;
• Identification of the CU involved;
• Mapping of CU in virtual areas;
• Categorization of CUs based on the type of consumption:
  • repetitive (#Baseload);
  • discontinuous (dependent on constraints of ISOPROD and ISOCONF);
  • ancillary (supporting the discontinuous component).
• Creation of the Characteristic Energy Profile (PEC) of the CU;
• Dynamic acquisition of the consumptions of each CU;
• Dynamic acquisition of the operating parameters that impact on the consumption of each CU;
• Mapping of the #Electrical Flexibility of CU, virtual areas and sites.

ISOCONF service (environmental services)

• Identification of the ISOCONF constraints to be respected in each area to maximize usage needs;
• Definition of the setpoint #Scheduling logics for the environmental service in compliance with the ISOCONF conditions previously defined;
• Dynamic implementation of schedules;
• Verification of the impacts of the schedules implemented on the consumption of the individual CU and virtual areas.

ISOPROD service (production programs)

• Identification of the ISOPROD constraints to be respected for each single production phase;
• Definition of the logic of correlation between production cycles and related energy programs in compliance with the previously defined ISOPROD conditions;
• Dynamic creation of energy programs associated with production plans.

Pre-requisites

Description of the production process

• Classification of types of products;
• Processing flow of each product with average duration of each step
• Machining programs;
• Load classification based on the impact on the production process:
  • Direct;
  • Live;
  • None (handling and storage).

Description of environmental services

• Hours of activity;
• Environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, lighting, etc):
• System constraints (operating range of loads);
• Any regulatory requirements;
• Optimal comfort conditions with tolerance range.
• Classification of loads based on the impact on environmental services:
  • Direct;
  • Live;
  • None (other services).

Technical details of electrical loads

• Type;
• Power supply (single-phase / three-phase);
• Voltage [V];
• Current [A];
• Minimum power [kW];
• Power at full speed [kW];
• Peak power [kW];
• Supervision mode (manual / computerized);
• Positioning (building, floor, area);
• Hours of operation.

Technical details of the control systems

• Loads managed;
• Communication interfaces and protocols;
• Description of the current control modes.

Map of installed meters

• Measured loads;
• Communication interfaces and protocols.

Data network

• Network type (LAN / Wi-Fi / not present);
• Remote access capability (VPN / public IP / not available).

Benefits

• Reduction of associated costs in bills for profiled consumption areas;
• Savings in the bill from the elimination of consumption peaks for exceeding the 80% deductible;
• #Scheduling of electricity consumption redistributed over time to the best supply conditions;
• Identification of minimum consumption (#Baseload) useful for building the #Baseline (#ElectricalFlexibility).

Energy Flexibility Enhancement Service

Goals

• Definition of the #ElectricalFlexibility profile;
• Identification of strategies for enhancing the #ElectricalFlexibility profile with greater yield;
• Technical validation of the operational process to implement the identified strategies;
• Active participation in a Mixed Virtual Enabled Unit (MVEU).

Solution

Activities

• Creation of the #ElectricalFlexibility profiles of the Consumption Units, virtual areas and sites;
• Definition of scenarios for enhancing #ElectricalFlexibility on the electricity market;
• Simulation of costs and benefits of the identified scenarios;
• Technical verification of modulation for higher performance scenarios;
• Definition of #ElectricalFlexibility parameters and operational constraints;
• Balancing Service Provider (BSP) detection:
  • Predisposition for continuous data flow to the BSP;
  • Consumption schedule (#Baseline);
  • Availability of #ElectricalFlexibility;
  • Actual consumption profile;
  • Economic constraints of participation.
• Registration for MVEU participation through BSP;
• MVEU qualification test with TSO;
  • Start of active participation in the MVEU:
  • Sending data streams to the BSP;
  • Implementation of modulation order received from BSP;
  • Reporting of operations and reporting.

Pre-requisites

• Completion of the Energy Professional Modeling Service activity;
• Electricity supply rates (if not already communicated for the activity Energy Professional Assessment Service).

Benefits

• Remuneration of flexibility capacities (max price € 30,000/year/MW) through the TSO incentive;
• Remuneration of the #ElectricFlexibility placed on the ancillary services market (max price 400 €/MWh).