System services

© Swissgrid

ElCom monitors compliance with the ESA and developments on the electricity markets in relation to secure and affordable supply. Its remit also covers monitoring the procurement of system services, particularly control energy and reserve power supply.

Swissgrid, the national grid operator, ensures non-discriminatory, reliable and high-performance operation of the transmission grid which plays a key role in guaranteeing secure supply for Switzerland (Art. 20 para. 1 ESA). This requires sufficient production capacity for the generation of electricity, while adequately sized transmission and distribution networks are needed for the supply of energy to customers. Since electricity cannot be stored on the power network, the amount of energy fed into the grid must always be equal to the quantity taken out of it. Despite the high-quality production and consumption forecasts provided by energy suppliers, precise forward planning is not feasible. This means that even minor deviations from the targeted levels must be continually balanced out. Generally, this balancing process involves bringing the production of electricity into line with the current level of consumption. Power plants are required to achieve this goal as their production can be well controlled. Swissgrid procures the control energy required based on a market-oriented, non-discriminatory and transparent procedure (Art. 22 para. 1 ESO).