Control energy and balancing group accounting

Financial balancing maps, on a monthly basis, the relation of cash flows from procurement of control energy for which tenders have been invited, and of credit notes and invoices laid to balancing group operators based on the balancing group accounts. The tables below show the financial balance of the 50Hertz Transmission control area.

The costs of maintaining capacity for control energy are additionally reported.

Infobox

Control energy and control power

Electrical energy cannot be stored in large quantities. This is why the production of electrical energy has to exactly match consumption at any given time. Unforeseen variations must therefore be set off with control energy within short response times to prevent the frequency from becoming unstable. Control energy is mostly procured from power plants that keep spare reserve capacity precisely for this purpose. A distinction is made between primary control power, secondary control power and minutes reserve. Primary control power is the first type arriving in a matter of seconds to prevent frequency decay. After 30 seconds at the latest, secondary control energy is automatically procured. In order to maintain the ability for secondary control, minutes reserve must additionally be mobilised in certain situations. Such reserve energy must be delivered 15 minutes after the call-off – hence the name "minutes reserve".

The indicated figures represent the costs per month of the control energy used by 50Hertz Transmission GmbH for balancing in the control area, and the monthly revenues from passing-on the charges for compensation energy in the control area. The figures are supplemented each month, subject to a time lag of up to three months.

Costs of capacity provision for control energy

2012	Costs of capacity provision in € *
January	7.929.017,08
February	6.074.936,33
March	4.003.151,35
April	5.701.723,66
May	9.134.287,45
June	8.314.681,54
July	8.843.028,78
August	8.606.742,86
September	8.704.856,55
October	10.433.730,99
November	7.713.390,08
December	7.965.830,50

Please note: The indicated costs for maintaining control power include the costs incurred by 50Hertz after re-sale, and after inter-TSO balancing, on a monthly basis. This covers all three types of control power, i.e. primary control power, secondary control power and minute reserve. The costs of capacity provision are factored into the use-of-system charges.

* These data are of a provisional nature.

Compilation of costs and revenues from balancing group accounts

2011	(1) Costs of control energy in €	(2) Credits to parties responsible for balancing groups in €	(3) Invoices to parties responsible for balancing groups in €
January	6.590.859,00	8.979.287,71	15.570.146,71
February	1.168.022,00	6.328.042.76	7.496.064,76
March	2.006.176,00	6.428.038,25	8.434.214,25
April	4.018.032,75	7.196.040,20	11.214.072,95
May	2.970.805,20	4.869.502,59	7.840.307,79
June	3.510.513,74	7.978.850,66	11.489.364,40
July	773.158,65	5.011.300,36	5.784.459,01
August	2.276.067,66*	6.436.596,42*	8.712.664,08*
September	1.150.666,29*	8.144.718,48*	9.295.384,77*
October	1.657.310,91*	7.762.435,59*	9.419.746,50*
November	4.023.374,87*	13.217.512,96*	17.240.887,83*
December	2.191.929,69*	5.905.996,57*	8.097.926,26*

Please note: The costs and revenues from balancing group accounting are derived from the provisional balancing group account produced 42 business days after the end of a given month. The final costs and revenues are derived from the second, and thereby final, balancing group account (eight months after the end of a given month) and are considered accordingly in the reported figures.

* These data are of a provisional nature and are subject to changes in the final bill.
** The calculation rule for the balance is: (4) = (1) + (2) - (3)