A modern energy sector requires an innovative approach to products

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Our company has been operating on the market since 1993 as a part of Slovakia’s market economy shaping process. From the beginning we have been focusing on energy and industrial automation, we were present at the creation of the liberalised energy market. For a few years now we have been actively involved in the transformation of the Slovak energy sector. Our key product portfolio are supporting tools for energy trading.

 

The energy sector and us

Our portfolio is made of three reciprocally linkable product lines: XENERGIE, XAURON and VARIOSTEP. Together they represent a complex solution with licence and operation support services.

XENERGIE product line

  • Is intended for energy traders and energy suppliers
  • The integration platform B2B MARKETSPACE serves core customer data by linking portal solutions for price formation within the segment of small and medium enterprises and B2B

XAURON product line

  • Is intended for regional distribution companies
  • It consists of load control headquarters with the automatic nature of typical mass controls

VARIOSTEP product line

  • A system for data collection, communication, automation and substation monitoring
  • It can be also used for renewable resources of energy and accumulation

 

We follow the modern energy sector

The HDO abbreviation – mass remote control (hromadné diaľkové ovládanie) – has been in our name since 1993 and embodies experience with the development of the HDO technology. Together with the knowledge from the era when the liberalised energy market was forming, they represent a solid base for further development of our product portfolio.

We have played an active part in pilot projects related to the introduction of smart measuring in electricity distribution networks. It has been almost 10 years since we have successfully linked our load control headquarters with AMM systems – Automatic Meter Management. We have provided our clients with tools for managing distribution tariffs as well as for the preparation of circuit tables in an environment for smart electrometers.

We consider the Winter Energy Package to be one of the key decision on the European energy market that clearly pointed out the principal directions of energy modernisation. Renewal and modernisation of technology mainly in distribution, however, occurs, and has been occurring, even without decision-making at the European level. The most important element that the Winter Package brings to the energy sector is the introduction of notions such as prosumer, community energy, flexibility and aggregator.

 

We react to the energy sector’s need for modernisation

We gradually add new features and modules into our product portfolio and work on the concept of automated link between the electricity customer and supplier. The integration platform B2B MARKETSPACE is prepared for a safe connection of local smart solutions to the energy trading system. We will soon present a solution for aggregates that integrates the flexibility of consumption points.

We acknowledge that even in Slovakia the attention is focusing on the modernisation of the energy sector and welcome the preparation of the project piloting concept oriented on innovations from the Office for the Regulation of Network Industries. These activities are important mainly from the perspective of achieving efficient modernisation that takes into account the energy market regulation rate as well.

After the assessment of pilot projects it will be possible to address the opening of energy price regulation for end customers. Experts agree that an integrated aggregator can even today use the flexibility of customers in an unregulated consumption segment. It will be necessary to open the market for dynamic trade tariffs in order to use the flexibility of consumption points and introduce an independent aggregator.

In addition, the Office for the Regulation of Network Industries will have to create undiscriminating conditions for market participants who will not be interested in new services. This can be for example done by enabling households to use new products without price regulation alternatively by reassessing the use of standard consumption diagrams.

     

Energy market redesign

The modernisation of the energy sector is not only technological, it also concerns the change within energy market’s rules of functioning including the legislative. Our key customer group – energy traders – has already undergone and undergoes changes. In the domain of electricity distribution and measuring technology we modernise and at the same time redesign the energy market for energy traders.

  • From nominating one consumption diagram to trading on intraday markets
  • Introduction of a ¼ of an hour trading interval
  • Connection of virtual blocks to the market with balancing energy
  • Use of tools for an operative control of resources with a quick start
  • Use of tools for postponing consumption based on the aggregation of flexibility of specific customer groups

Involving energy traders in the ongoing discussion about innovations within the energy sector can only help with the introduction of change.

      

Accumulation and batteries

Consumption points’ flexibility, acceleration of regulated supply resources’ start or consumption transfer require the ability to accumulate electricity in a place of consumption. The ability to accumulate electricity with the aim to re-supply it to the network or to consume it at another time are the basic principles related to the use of consumption points’ flexibility.

Accumulation does not have to translate only in a battery installation with the benefit of a controlled supply of energy on demand. It can also use other principles: technology for the production of hydrogen, gravitational accumulators or direct accumulation to heat or cold. The development of the use of renewable energy sources requires dynamic control of consumption.

Accumulation represents a progressive solution for the optimisation of the energy flow between the consumption point and the distribution system. Either by using batteries in households, industrial parks or directly within photovoltaic power plants.

 

Cooperation with the AKU-BAT CZ association

The decision to actively cooperate with the AKU-BAT CZ association is a logical step towards the support of introducing accumulation to the energy market. The association enables its members to participate in the discussion with all the relevant energy market entities. The AKU-BAT CZ association operates primarily on the Czech market; however, it is also directly and indirectly involved in the development here in Slovakia. Modernisation and innovations in the energy sector do not know boundaries.

The BESS technologies – Battery energy storage system link products through various segments with multiple parties benefiting from one investment.

  • Large scale battery storage can be a tool to optimise an electricity trader’s diagram
  • A battery can help optimise the consumption of locally produced energy without necessarily transferring it from/to a distribution network
  • Large scale batteries will enable the construction of charging stations for electric vehicles even in areas where a distribution network is situated and where it would not be possible without accumulation
  • Battery storage can be improving the quality of electricity supply and eliminate micro outages of the distribution network

 

Improving the quality of electricity supply

Today we see an analogy between the current electricity market redesign and the use of the consumption postponing principle. We have adapted the tools developed for the analysis of HDO groups and prediction models to modern technology and AMM. Experience with load and production control of renewable resources gives us an advantage when creating solutions that link the flexibility of consumption points that use local resources with accumulation, with tools for trading in real time. To customers who already use our solutions we bring a multiplication of their investment’s value spent on innovations.

 

You can read the entire article A Modern energy sector requires an innovative approach to products in the June issue of the  ATJ Journal.

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