‘Disruption management’ plan to be held through auctions

The European Commission’s approval of a “disruption management” plan to enable energy cost savings for major-scale industry in exchange for a reduction in energy consumption whenever required by the system operator will concern amounts of 100,000 euros per MW, annually, and a benefit cap of 15 euros per MW, per participating company.

The benefits to be offered to heavy industry will entail breaking up the amount to be offered through monthly auctions.

The first auction, to be staged as a pilot program, will concern a total of 500 MW for all participating industrial firms, while this capacity will vary from month to month depending on the requirements at the Independent Electricity Transmission System Operator (IPTO) for primary and secondary reserves.

In practical terms, the greater the penetration of renewable energy source (RES) production, the greater the required reserves, both primary and secondary, will be.

To be eligible to take part in the auctions, industrial companies will need to have a capacity of at least five MW.

The auctions will be competitive, meaning that starting prices will be 100,000 euros per MW, annually, broken up into twelve-month amounts of 8,333 euros per MW, while industrial companies participating in the auctions will be able to offer lower prices.