A new layer of regional coordination in Europe: a key role for Regional Security Coordinator and implementation ensuring Europe-wide coverage.

The highly volatile volumes and directions of European electricity power flows mean that they are now much more difficult to predict and calculate than in the past, leading to an increased need for more coordination. Renewable energy’s growing share and the evolution of the European Internal Electricity Market are the main drivers behind this development.

The upcoming European Network Codes recognize and anticipate this need for increased coordination in terms of security. Moreover, they also introduce the concept of the Regional Security Coordinators (RSCs).

At the ENTSO-E Assembly in late 2015, the TSOs approved and signed an all-TSO multilateral agreement for RSCI-based TSO cooperation.

With this mandatory contractual framework, TSOs across Europe have committed to establishing five regional coordination services and setting up or appointing RSCs to perform the following coordination services:

  • Data handling (IGM/CGM) European Common Grid Models,
  • Coordinated Security Analysis,
  • Coordinated Capacity Calculation,
  • Short Term Adequacy (STA) forecast,
  • Outage Planning Coordination (OPC).

This is major step and means that RSCs are no longer voluntary initiatives but now have a structural role and place.