Tuesday 18 March 2014

Polish Transmission System - information

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This article aims to introduce the readers to the Polish Transmission System and provide reliable information about the Polish TSO called Polskie Sieci Elektoenergetyczne /PSE/ (eng.: Polish Electric Network).
 

Poland, like many other European countries (for example Switzerland or Italy) has one transmission system operator (TSO) – PSE [ Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne – Polish Electric Network ]. PSE is responsible for total of 245 lines with a overall length of 13 445 km, including:

◦ 1 line of 750 kV with a length of 114 km,
◦ 77 lines of 400 kV with a total length of 5 383 km,
◦ 167 lines with a voltage of 220 kV with a total length of 7 948 km,
• 101 station high voltage (LV)
• and seabed cable of  450 kV connecting Poland and Sweden, with a total length of 254 km.
Based on the Polish Energy Law, PSE has certain responsibilities regarding the operation and maintenance of the transmission system. To describe it shortly, it can be said that Polish TSO needs to ensure smooth functioning of the grid, ensure short and long-term security of its function and plan and perform operation, maintenance and eventual repairs that need to take place. If we would like to look at what is translates into in more detail, we can say that PSE needs to:
-        Ensure the security and functionality of the transmission grid of high and medium voltage, as well as of a low voltage (110 kV) in a form of co-operation with distribution companies
-        Operate, maintain and overhaul the transmission grid, all ancillary installations and machinery enabling the connection with other TSOs, in a manner that guarantees reliability of the whole system
-        Purchase the necessary services that enable correct functioning of the system
-        Elaborate the emergency plan that describes the behavior of TSO in case of significant interference of the system, as well as the action TSO has to take in order of restoring
 
It is important to point out that PSE is the body responsible to balancing of electricity in Poland. As the electricity cannot be stored (there is the need of the constant in – out ratio ), the electricity that is produced by the power plants and the electricity that is required by final users needs to be equal. The unbalance of the system might happen due to many reasons such as rapid incapacity of the power plant to produce scheduled amount of electricity but also miscalculation or not profitable production due to the market condition. Since the party which causes the unbalance is being penalized (the price mechanism of unbalancing will be described in another post), companies do their best in order to ensure the reliability of the schedules.
In some countries, common method to avoid unbalancing is so-called ‘Balance Group Management’ (for example, in Germany and Switzerland). It is a system that allocates power plants that belong to particular company into one pool and enables the firm to manage its balancing individually. The example below illustrates how the balance group works.
 
Look at the example. If the company owns three power plants, there needs to be a scheduling of production for each of them separately. We see that due to different circumstances, some power plants cannot deliver the electricity that they planned to produce. In order to avoid fee from the system operator who would need to buy that electricity to make sure there is correct delivery, the power plants balance each other. Power plant 1 and 2 produce less than they planned and plant 3 has capacity that enables it to produce more – consequently, that power plant produces enough electricity to balance the saldo.
In Poland, such system does not exist – it is standard balancing mechanism that imposes the responsibility of balanced grid on the transmission system operator. In order to ensure the balance in the transmission network, PSE is buying lacking energy from the power plant that can provide such production. In that case, the power plant that produces is receiving additional remuneration. The illustration presents the mechanism.
 
 
 
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Picture used is the logo of PSE.

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