| ©ICIS HEREN - Europe TSOs declared well-supplied for winter |
| 2010-04-06 |
| European transmission system operators (TSOs) do not envisage any risk of power shortages in the region this winter, according to an outlook published on Tuesday (1st December). “On the whole, no particular risk of shortage is expected for the winter under normal conditions,” the TSO grouping ENTSO-E said. But it added that France, Finland, Latvia and some parts of south-east Europe may depend on imports from their neighbors in some specific periods. France expects to import up to 4GW from mid-November through January to cover electricity demand and satisfy the grid operator RTE’s supply security criteria flowing from reduced availability of the country’s nuclear generating fleet this winter. “In an intense and sustained cold snap (with temperatures 7-8°C below the seasonal norm) the level of imports could reach the technical limit – 9GW – for the French network, potentially resulting in very tight supply-demand balance conditions in the region as a whole,” the report said. In south-east Europe, ENTSO-E argued available generation capacities in Bulgaria and Romania should be sufficient to cover neighboring countries’ import needs even in a severe winter. While Finland and Latvia will require imported power, the TSOs expected supplies to be readily available. Lithuania was predicted to be able to cover its Peakload period, despite the shutdown of the 1.3GW Ignalina nuclear plant at the end of this year. Despite the generally benign central scenario, ENTSO-E identified additional risks to system security this winter. These included the impact of extreme wind conditions on system congestion and balance, a cluster of unplanned outages at significant generation sites and gas supply issues. TSOs sign power security deal Meanwhile, the 11 members of the TSO security cooperation group (TSC) have signed a letter of intent to further improve security of electricity supply across Europe through the use of common measures. The TSOs agreed to adopt a new communication platform that would allow real-time collaboration between grid control centres and provide additional support for the coordination of grid operations. TSOs from Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic launched the TSC initiative last December to foster regional cooperation in power system security. (THE ICIS HEREN REPORTS - EDEM 13 233 / 1 December 2009) |
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