The Icare Institute is developing a balance group management tool capable of automatically making balancing decisions in order to reduce balancing energy, make the most of small-scale flexibility and better integrate new renewable energy sources. The electricity network suppliers in the French-speaking part of the Valais, grouped together in the Valais balance group, must predict their customers’ electricity consumption in order to obtain the most accurate supplies on the electricity market and to produce the necessary energy. This information is transmitted daily to Swissgrid, the national transmission system operator. Once the figures have been settled, any discrepancies between the forecasts and the actual situation are subject to an adjustment penalty. This penalty can be substantial and involves a definite loss of income. Hence the importance of providing the most accurate forecast data possible. In a previous project, Icare developed the algorithms and the tool that allow us to know the deviations in real time, and therefore to react immediately to avoid adjustment penalties. Based on these real-time deviations, the Icare Institute is now developing an intelligent system to balance the Valais balance group, either by selling energy on a market place or by activating flexibility internally.
