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Today, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) took two major steps that aim to remove the barriers to demand response in electricity markets:
- ACER submitted its framework guideline on demand response to the European Commission;
- ACER’s study on the prequalification processes for the provision of balancing services sees scope for grid operators to simplify their prequalification processes to enable small-scale demand response to provide balancing services.
What is demand response?
Demand response essentially means a change in electricity consumption as customers (individually or collectively) respond to some market signal such as a change in electricity prices or some financial incentive to increase/decrease/shift the timing of their electricity consumption. In the context of this framework guideline only active participation of demand response in electricity markets is covered.
ACER Framework Guidelines on Demand Response
ACER’s Framework Guideline on Demand Response set out the main principles for the development of binding EU rules on demand response. The aim is to facilitate the participation of more demand response including consumers’ electricity demand, storage and distributed generation (e.g. rooftop solar panels, electric vehicles) in the wholesale electricity markets, as well as to facilitate market-based procurement of balancing, congestion management and voltage control services needed by grid operators.
Once ACER’s framework guideline is cleared by the European Commission, ENTSO-E and the EU DSO Entity will be asked by the Commission to draft (within 12 months) the proposal for the new binding EU rules.
