Platone as Pioneer for Local Flexibility Markets in Rome

01.06.2023 | The lessons learnt in the Platone project have been used by Platone partner areti, the DSO of Rome, to define RomeFlex (Reshaping Operational methods to run grid flexibility).

Areti, through the Platone project, is already engaged in the development of solutions to favour the flexibility of its distribution grid through its digitisation. In fact, in Rome, tests are already underway in some neighbourhoods; now, with RomeFlex, the project extends to the whole city.

In RomeFlex, areti plays the role of enabler and facilitator of the energy transition, in compliance with current European positionings, outlined by the Clean Energy Package, that allows DSOs to procure local flexibility services through market approach, in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, to address the new energy scenario.

The project involves, through a Balance Service Provider (BSP), the Distribution Energy Resources (DERs), located in Rome, that could modulate their consumptions/ productions to provide flexibility to areti to solve the local congestions.

The solution implemented by areti allows the participation of every type of DERs (from individual users 3 kW to large generation or consumption plants), both in a single form and in aggregate form.

The procurement phase encompasses:

• long term auctions, where the DERs receives a payment for the availability and another for the delivery, to guarantee the capacity to solve the yearly flexibility needs;
• short term auctions, where the DERs receive a payment only for the delivery. The auctions take place daily identifying the flexibility needs during the day (infra-day sessions) and for the day ahead (day ahead sessions). The offers placed in this market could be coming from the long term market.

Long term and short term auctions are connected, indeed, the BSP can improve the offers awarded into long term session during the short term market.

The solution implemented by areti guarantees the automation of the market phases, moreover the blockchain helps the transparency and the certification of the economic transactions. The reporting of the energy exchanged in the market (thanks to the potential offered by the Smart-Contract used), decreases the litigation, recalculation or uncertainty about the performance required by the DSO.

The RomeFlex solutions will give a notable contribution to the Italian electrical framework.

More in details the Market Operator that manages the Local Flexibility Market of RomeFlex will be a third party, identified by the Italian NRA (ARERA). Moreover, several platforms (like BSP Platform, Flexibility Register, Market Interface Platform) and a device (PGUI – i.e., the Light-Node of Platone) will be made available to all Italian DSOs. Indeed, there are several Italian DSOs that have expressed their intention to use the RomeFlex solution to purchase local flexibility services.