Ex-Post-Analysis

Following its statutory mandate (Section 23a of the Austrian Electricity Industry and Organisation Act 2010, ElWOG) APG carries out an annual system analysis to forecast the expected minimum demand for securely available flexible capacity and the grid reserve requirements in the Austrian transmission grid two to three years in the future. Due to its central location in Europe, the Austrian electricity grid is facing ever greater challenges: in times of the energy transition with increasing integration of volatile renewable energy sources, growing cross-border trading, and simultaneous decommissioning intentions of thermal power plant operators in Austria, the grid reserve is a fundamental instrument for securing the electricity supply and meeting demand 24/7.

The ex-post analysis highlights the central role of the grid reserve in the Austrian electricity grid for the past contracting period from October 2022 to September 2023.

The historical grid reserve requirement is influenced by a complex interplay of various factors, such as the energy industry environment in Europe, the grid topology, and the meteorological and climatic situation, which were examined as part of the ex-post analysis for the year 2023, which also looked at the demand for flexible power and the line loads in the Austrian electricity grid. This revealed a wide range of different scenarios in the energy system, which must be taken into account when dimensioning the grid reserve requirements to ensure the security of supply, particularly in critical situations.

In 2023, the grid reserve was required for over 200 hours to ensure that demand was met. Thus the grid reserve as a safety mechanism for the electricity supply and secure transmission grid operation continued to be of great importance in 2023.