Conditional Agreements
To enable faster connection to the power grid, even at heavily loaded points, the network owner can enter into a conditional agreement with a customer. If a problem arises in the grid, the network owner has the contractual right to temporarily limit consumption or production until the overload has subsided. Although this flexibility product is not market-based, it is coordinated with other flexibility trading, ensuring that control signals only occurs when all other options are exhausted.
SWITCH can automate the communication exchange between the network owner and customer via system integrations, allowing control signals to be executed without manual steps based on grid conditions. If you would like to learn more about how E.ON uses conditional agreements, see the following link.
Prerequisites and Process
The network owner (DSO) needs to define the constrained point in the grid and monitor it with actuals measurements. A threshold value is configured in SWITCH for the maximum allowable power (for production or consumption). Customers with a conditional agreement integrate with SWITCH and are data-connected to the monitored point.
When the DSO’s power limit is exceeded momentarily, control signals are sent to the affected customer facilities. The customer’s system reads the signal data, and the facilities are automatically controlled, reducing the load at the constrained point. Further control can be applied as long as the load exceeds the limit. Normally, control is performed in sequence, with the most recently connected customers being downregulated first. The settings available for threshold monitoring are described here.
To facilitate follow-up of customer control events, these are divided into delivery periods of 15 minutes. During an ongoing delivery period, the customer submits measurement values for their facility for validation by SWITCH. Continuous measurement at the facility level also enables dynamic control, where SWITCH can distribute the power demand across multiple customer facilities and limit only to the extent necessary.
Example Scenarios
#1
Network station A detects an overload of 2 MW based on power measurement at 13:05. SWITCH sends signals to customer facilities X and Y to initiate control between 13:15 - 13:30. Facility X has a controllable power of 1.5 MW and was connected to the grid later than Y, requiring it to reduce its power by 1.5 MW. Facility Y has a controllable power of 1 MW but only needs to reduce its power by 0.5 MW to meet the total grid need of 2 MW.
#2
Same scenario as #1 but with an additional overload of 1 MW (totaling 3 MW) detected at 13:10. Updated signals are sent to customer facilities X and Y, which together can control 2.5 MW. The remaining power of 0.5 MW is sent to customer facility Z, which is next in line, with a controllable power of 0.8 MW.
#3
Same scenario as #2 but with a new overload of 1.5 MW detected at 13:40. A control signal is sent to customer facility X for a new delivery between 13:45 - 14:00, where, according to the latest customer measurement, X can only control 1.2 MW. The remaining power of 0.3 MW is simultaneously sent to customer facility Y, which is next in line.
Communication with OpenADR
To facilitate connectivity for customers, SWITCH uses the industry standard OpenADR for data exchanges in conditional agreements. When a limit breach is detected, SWITCH publishes control signals on a so-called VTN server (Virtual Top Node), which can be retrieved by connected VEN clients (Virtual End Node).
The communication flow is as follows:
More information about how SWITCH uses OpenADR can be found on our developer documentation page.
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