On Thursday, November 2nd, the first auction using the new Enduring Auction Capability (EAC) platform will occur, for delivery of frequency response services on Friday, November 3rd. From this point onwards, alongside the retirement of dynamic FFR, all frequency response services will be procured through the EAC.
National Grid ESO published updated service terms on 18th October, which can be found here.
The launch of the EAC is bringing other changes - new results files and performance monitoring rules. So, just what is due to change as of November 2nd?
A single auction for all dynamic frequency response services
Providers will be able to bid into and provide multiple frequency response services simultaneously, in both directions. This means a participant could deliver Dynamic Containment, Dynamic Moderation, and Dynamic Regulation at the same time. Details on how this bidding works, including an explanation of the new system of baskets, can be found here.
Participants can submit baskets with the three dynamic frequency response services right from Go-Live, so we may see the very first split delivery of frequency response on Friday.
Auction results will be delivered through a new portal
Access to the EAC data portal will be available from Tuesday, October 31st 2023. EAC auction results will be available from Thursday November 2nd 2023. One big change in these files is that specific reference to EFA blocks has been removed from all datasets. Instead, each row will only be defined by its start and end timestamp.
The portal will include the following files:
EAC ESO Sell Orders 2023-2024
This contains the details on all Sell Orders (bids) from market participants and is most similar to the ‘DC, DR & DM Block Orders Master Data 2021-2023’ dataset.
For each basket, it will list the usual details such as service quantity (volume in MW), price, and acceptance status. The results will also include details related to the basket bidding process, such as order type (parent, child, or substitutable child) and the corresponding acceptance ratio. In addition, where a Sell Order has been rejected, a reason code will be given.
Due to the number of bidding combinations that the new system allows, the number of individual rows of data for a given settlement period has increased from under 300 to over 4,500 - making these results files significantly larger. An example from the recent mock auction can be found here for a limited time.
EAC ESO Results Summary 2023-2024
This contains the cleared quantity and clearing price for each service and period. It will replace the ‘DC, DR & DM Results Summary Master Data 2021-2023’ dataset.
An example from the recent mock auction can be found here for a limited time.
EAC ESO Buy Orders 2023-2024
This contains National Grid ESO’s targets to pay for different quantities procured for each service and period, including acceptance status and reason codes for rejections. This replaces the ‘DC, DR & DM Linear Orders Master Data 2021-2023’ dataset.
An example from the recent mock auction can be found here for a limited time.
EAC ESO Results By Unit 2023-2024
This contains the cleared quantity and clearing price for each accepted unit by service for each period. It replaces the ‘DC, DR & DM Results By Unit Master Data 2021-2023’ dataset.
An example from the recent mock auction can be found here for a limited time.
A Daily Auction Report will be available after each settlement day. A reason code for each Sell Order which is not accepted will also be included here.
Participants will now be able to submit negatively priced bids for frequency response services
For the first time, participants can submit negative prices to the auction. For services such as Dynamic Regulation High this could prove beneficial. Bid prices in the EAC will have a floor of £-20/MW/hour and a cap of £999/MW/hour.
Frequency response payments and performance monitoring will be updated
With the introduction of negative pricing, there have been updates to performance monitoring and how payments are calculated. This is through introducing a Settlement Adjustment Price (essentially, a penalty for under-performance) and Minimum Adjustment Price, a fixed value initially set at £1/MW/hour.
When the market clearing price exceeds £1/MW/hour, performance penalties will be calculated as normal. Payments will be based on the contract value, scaled by the “K” factor calculated through performance monitoring.
When the market clearing price falls under £1/MW/hour (including turning negative), performance penalties will be a fixed £1/MW/hour, scaled by the K factor for the unit in that period.