Flexibility

The electricity interruptibility service is an essential component of the national electricity grid defence system.

This system represents the set of actions taken to prevent the further spread or worsening of an anomaly in the transmission grid, with the aim of preventing the occurrence of a large-scale disruption and the risk of a black-out.

The service consists of making its 'energy-intensive' consumers (with a monthly average power greater than or equal to 1 MW) available to the TSO. Using its remote control network, in cases of extreme necessity, the TSO has the possibility of instantly shutting down utilities for an appropriate financial compensation.

The programme lends itself to be implemented in large industrial users, characterised by a high incidence of the cost of electricity on their production costs and able, if necessary, to interrupt or shift production cycles.

The EPQ team has consolidated experience in managing this service on behalf of major industrial companies.

In addition, EPQ is founder and technical partner of the X-Response Consortium, Italy's largest multi-sector consortium in the provision of instantaneous interruptibility service for Terna.

Demand Response represents - along with electricity interruptibility and other products traded on the Dispatching Services Market (MSD) - one of the options that the TSO (Terna) can draw on to ensure the balance of the Italian electricity system.
The most consolidated tool today is that of the UVAMs (Mixed Virtual Enabled Units), i.e. aggregates of:

- consumption units

- production units not already enabled (e.g. powered by non-programmable renewable sources, small-medium distributed generation, etc.).

- storage systems

Through UVAM, these units can be enabled to participate in the MSD by modulating their loads and/or generation in response to a signal received from the TSO.

EPQ operates as a Balancing Service Provider (BSP) in the Demand Response area, i.e. as the owner of UVAMs, aggregating under them several Prosumers, i.e. plants - or portions of plants - that consume/produce energy.

The BSP is responsible for providing the service on the Dispatching Services Market.

In November 2023, the first pilot projects were launched in the flexibility market to offer local ancillary services functional to the operation of the distributor's network.

The services can be provided by any type of resource capable of responding to any requests for modulation of withdrawals or injections.

EPQ participates in the service as an aggregator.

The electricity consumption reduction service (or Peak Shaving) is aimed at consumers willing to reduce, for a remuneration, their electricity withdrawals from the grid, in order to meet electricity system adequacy requirements.

EPQ performs the service as an aggregator.

The gas consumption curtailment service, known as 'Gas Interruptibility', is aimed at industrial consumers willing to reduce their gas withdrawals to cope with critical situations related to adverse weather conditions or supply problems.

It provides a fixed remuneration for availability and a variable remuneration in case of activation.

EPQ performs the service as an aggregator.