September 26, 2019, the National Energy Chamber organized a seminar entitled Electricity Balancing Market in Bulgaria in the context of the European regulations and good practices. In the presence of the chairman of EWRC Ivan Ivanov, the chairman of the Parliamentary commission on energy Valentin Nikolov, experts and market participants E-Bridge researchers – Rene Beune and Vigen Nikogosian presented a study conducted by their team earlier this year.

The focus of the presentation was on the rules for settlement of imbalances and the balancing market, as the key to a reliable and efficient electricity market. The target model set out in the European legislation is a competitive and liquid balancing market, together with a real-time imbalance price that reflects the cost for energy.

The study covers both sides of the balancing market – the provision of balancing services and the settlement of imbalances. The study compares Bulgaria’s practices with European regulations and good practices, identifies non-compliances and makes recommendations. Based on the importance and expected efforts to implement the new requirements, the consultants offer a 3-step roadmap, with priority of the first step:

1. Improving transparency in all areas of pricing imbalances and balancing markets
2. Develop measures to meet European requirements, in particular

a) pricing of imbalances, which reflects the real-time value of energy and which gives the right incentives to coordinators of balancing groups;

b) defining products and markets for all types of reserve so as to stimulate competition between balancing service providers;

c) developing pre-selection criteria that allow more technology to participate in regulation and thus ensure the stability of the system;

d) use of market-based methods of purchasing balancing services as required by European legislation;

e) opening the boundaries for participation in the balancing market, which, will additionally increase competition and lead to a high degree of system reliability

3. Develop measures in line with the best practices:

a) development of products and markets in (near) real time;

b) enabling (passive) self-balancing.

The presentation can be found here HERE