Briefing on

Ancillary Services

For Potential AS
Providers
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Back-up energy supply

Unscheduled Available Capacity

Ancillary Service Capacity • Stabilize system frequency

• Maintain voltage levels
• Recover from blackout

Energy Supply
Serve the energy
demand of consumers
 Ancillary Services
Ancillary Services are support services necessary to sustain the
transmission capacity and energy that are essential in maintaining
the power quality, reliability, and security of the grid.

Primary function is to maintain the load-generation balance of the

system.

Ancillary Services is being provided by qualified generating plants

and procured, managed by the System Operator.
 Types of Ancillary Services
Regulating Reserve
Generating capacity needed to balance the
supply (generation) and load in real time
(seconds to minutes) due to fluctuations of
Reactive Power Support
either load (switching on/off) or generation
(ramping up/down) Ensures Power Quality and Stability
of the Grid.
Contingency Reserve
Insurance Generating capacity necessary to
adjust automatically in response to sudden Black Start Service
reduction of generation output or tripping of
Ensures that the grid can be
generating unit
revived immediately following a
collapse
Dispatchable Reserve
Insurance Generating capacity necessary to
replenish the Contingency Reserve.

2006 Ancillary Services Procurement Plan

Regulating Reserve
Functions of RR
Provides generating capacity necessary to adjust total system generation over
short periods of time to match system load changes
Address temporary variation in load and unintended fluctuation in generation
Control the frequency within the limits of 59.7Hz to 60.3Hz as per PGC
Generating plant capacity scheduled as RR must be dedicated to the grid RR
service during its designated period.
Total RR capacity per grid shall be 4% of the hourly system demand.
 frequency
Generator
response to grid
MW

110
115
120
125
130
135
140
145

2:57:32 PM
2:58:48 PM
3:00:04 PM
3:01:20 PM
3:02:36 PM
3:03:52 PM
3:05:08 PM
3:06:24 PM
3:07:40 PM
3:08:56 PM
3:10:12 PM
3:11:28 PM
3:12:44 PM
3:14:00 PM
3:15:16 PM
3:16:32 PM
3:17:48 PM
3:19:04 PM
3:20:20 PM
Time

3:21:36 PM
3:22:52 PM
3:24:08 PM
3:25:24 PM
3:26:40 PM
3:27:56 PM
3:29:12 PM
3:30:28 PM
3:31:44 PM
3:33:00 PM
3:34:16 PM
3:35:32 PM
3:36:48 PM
3:38:04 PM
3:39:20 PM
3:40:36 PM
3:41:52 PM
59.65
59.75
59.80
59.90
60.00
60.05
60.15
60.25
60.30
60.35
60.40

59.70
59.85
59.95
60.10
60.20

frequency
Illustration of Regulating Reserve Response
Grid frequency

The generator providing RR mirrors the change in grid frequency, in order to maintain the frequency as close to 60Hz as possible.
Regulating Reserve
Technical Requirements to become an RR provider
Primary Response RR operate in an automatic frequency sensitive mode or Free Governor Mode with deadband of
+/-0.15Hz with maximum response time of 5 seconds and sustainable for 25 seconds
Secondary Response RR operate in an Automatic Generation Control (AGC) of the SCADA/EMS of the National
Control Center or manual adjustment of load with specific instructions from the SO. Maximum response time is 25
seconds and sustainable for 30 minutes
Generating units shall be fitted with a fast-acting speed-governing system to provide frequency control under
normal operating conditions.
Speed governing system shall have an overall speed-droop characteristic of 5% or better. For thermal plants, 5%
speed-droop; for hydro, 3% speed-droop is required.
Generating unit’s speed governing system shall have a ramp rate of at least 5MW/minute.
The speed governing system shall be capable of accepting raise and lower signals from its AGC.
A generating unit that is already scheduled for RR cannot be scheduled for CR, DR or RPS on the same interval.
Pmin of the generating unit shall not be part of the RR capacity. Generating unit must already be
spinning/synchronized to the grid at the start of its RR schedule.
Contingency Reserve
Functions of CR
Provides generating capacity necessary to respond to infrequent, but usually large,
failures of generating units and/or transmission tie lines.
Generating unit shall also ensure that the rate of occurrence of frequency
fluctuation does not exceed the level set out in the PGC.
No generating unit shall be assigned a CR level greater than 20% of the total
required CR for any particular hour to avoid a single point of failure.
Total CR capacity per grid shall be equivalent to the largest generating unit online,
which includes its scheduled capacity for energy supply plus its scheduled capacity
for AS, if any. This is computed on an hourly basis.
Illustration of Contingency Reserve Response
DEMAND GENERATION DEMAND GENERATION DEMAND GENERATION

C
R

C D C D D
R R R R R

BALANCED FREQUENCY = 60Hz LOSS OF GENERATION RESULTS IN CONTINGENCY RESERVE TEMPORARILY

SUDDEN CHANGE IN FREQUENCY REPLACES THE LOST GENERATION TO
FREQUENCY < 60Hz ADJUST FREQUENCY TO 60Hz
FREQUENCY = 60Hz
Contingency Reserve
Technical Requirements to become a CR provider
Primary Response CR operate in an automatic frequency sensitive mode or Free Governor Mode
with deadband setting between 0.15Hz and -0.30Hz
Secondary Response CR operate in an Automatic Generation Control (AGC) of the SCADA/EMS of the
National Control Center or manual adjustment of load with specific instructions from the SO.
Maximum time to full capacity of 10 minutes and sustainable for at least 30 minutes
Generating unit providing CR shall be on-line and synchronized to the grid, operating below its
maximum capability, and can automatically respond to change in frequency caused by a loss of large
generating unit
A generating unit that is already scheduled for CR cannot be scheduled for RR or DR on the same
interval.
Pmin of the generating unit shall not be part of the CR capacity. Generating unit must already be
spinning/synchronized to the grid at the start of its CR schedule.
Dispatchable Reserve
Functions and Technical Requirements of DR
Generating units that have fast start capability which can synchronize within 15
minutes upon dispatch instruction of SO, and can sustain its output for a minimum
period of 8 hours.
Replenishes the Contingency Reserve.
A generating unit that is already scheduled for DR cannot be scheduled for RR or
CR on the same interval.
The generating unit scheduled for DR shall be on shutdown, and shall only
synchronize to the grid upon dispatch instruction.
Illustration of Dispatchable Reserve Response

DEMAND GENERATION DEMAND GENERATION

C D
R R

D C
R R

DISPATCHABLE RESERVE REPLENISHES THE CONTINGENCY RESERVE, SO

THAT WHEN THERE IS ANOTHER SUDDEN LOSS OF GENERATION, THE
CONTINGENCY RESERVE WILL BE AVAILABLE AGAIN.
BALANCED FREQUENCY = 60Hz
 VOLTAGE LEVEL REQUIRED BY PGC

Emergency Normal Emergency

Alert level Alert level
level level
(0.90 – (0.95-1.05 (1.05-1.10
(below (above
0.95 p.u.) p.u.) p.u.)
0.90 p.u.) 1.10 p.u.)

UNDERVOLTAGE OVERVOLTAGE
230 kV
Below 207kV 207kV – 218.5kV 241.5kV – 253kV Above 253kV
(218.5kV – 241.5kV)
Reactive Power for Voltage Control
• High demand results to low voltage on the load side due to an increase in current
flow.
• Low voltage may result to tripping of generators, overheating of motors and poor
performance of electrical equipment (e.g. flickering or dimming of light bulbs)
• Extremely low demand, on the other hand, results to overvoltage
• Overvoltage may result to low power factor, insultation failure of electrical
equipment and transmission lines and automatic tripping of transmission
equipment
• Reactive Power adjusts voltage levels to within +/-5% of the nominal voltage
• Sources of reactive power include: generators, capacitors, reactors/inductors,
synchronous condensers
 RPS ADJUSTS VOLTAGE

Emergency Normal Emergency

Alert level Alert level
level level
(0.90 – (0.95-1.05 (1.05-1.10
(below (above
0.95 p.u.) p.u.) p.u.)
0.90 p.u.) 1.10 p.u.)

Generator provides kVAR Generator absorbs kVAR

230 kV
Below 207kV 207kV – 218.5kV 241.5kV – 253kV Above 253kV
(218.5kV – 241.5kV)
Reactive Power Support
Functions and Technical Specifications of RPS
The capability of a generating unit to supply reactive power to, or absorb reactive
power from, the transmission network in order to maintain the bus voltage within
5% of its nominal voltage.
Generating unit must operate beyond the range of 0.85 lagging power factor or
0.90 leading power factor, but within the unit’s capability curve.
In order to optimize the available ancillary services, NGCP now allows the CR and
DR providers to also provide RPS at the same time.
CAPABILITY CURVE
Black Start Service
Functions of BSS
The BSS providers should be able to energize a section of the network without the
use of external power sources, allowing further connection of transmission circuit,
and demand to be progressively connected, until the network is re-integrated.
BSS providers must be put on-line and ready to extend power within 30 minutes
upon receipt of dispatch instruction, and can sustain the operation for at least 12
hours.
BSS may be offered as available along with other AS types, since all other AS will be
canceled when a system black out occurs. Thus, during restoration, only BSS is
operating.
Ancillary Service Contracting
 Required AS Levels
AS Type Requirement
Regulating Reserve 4% of the hourly system demand
Contingency Reserve1 the most heavily loaded generating unit on-line and
its scheduled reserve
Dispatchable Reserve the second most heavily loaded generating unit on-
line and its scheduled reserve
Reactive Power Support dependent on system voltage condition
Black Start Service one black start plant per restoration highway
1theCR capacity that can be scheduled from a single AS provider is up to a maximum of
20% of the required CR level to avoid a single point of failure.
 Maximum Required Levels (in MW)

Luzon Visayas Mindanao

Regulating Reserve* 439 85 77

Contingency Reserve 647 150 150

Dispatchable Reserve 647 135 150

*Based on highest demand as of July 31, 2019

 Considering the current Firm AS levels per AS type, per Grid, NGCP can still
accommodate the following Firm AS capacities (in MW):

Luzon Visayas Mindanao

Peak Off-peak Peak Off-peak Peak Off-peak

Regulating Reserve 128 66 65 42 59 39

Contingency Reserve 428 458 49 49 120 120

Dispatchable Reserve 120 0 0 0 0 0

Notes:
1. In order to ensure the continuous availability of RR, acceptance of RR capacity from BESS
may be limited by NGCP.
2. Offers may vary for every month of the year, depending on the power plant’s operations.
Ancillary Services Rates for Firm Capacity
AS Type Firm AS Capacity Payment Rate
Regulating Reserve PhP 2.25/kW/hr
Contingency Reserve PhP 1.50/kW/hr
Dispatchable Reserve PhP 0.85/kW/hr

The abovesaid rates are for the Capacity Payment (CP) of the Firm Capacity, which is in essence the “reservation fee” for the
generating unit as it will be dedicated for Ancillary Service once scheduled, and can no longer be traded for energy supply. The
formula shall be:

CP = Undispatched Scheduled Capacity x Firm AS Capacity Payment Rate

There is an additional payment for Incidental Energy (IE) which will cover the cost of Variable O&M and actual fuel consumed
for the dispatch of Ancillary Service (“G”). Any energy revenue from the WESM will be deducted in order to avoid double
compensation. The formula shall be:

IE = [G x (Firm AS Capacity Payment Rate+VOM+Actual Fuel Cost)] – WESM Revenue

 Ancillary Services Payment
• Cost of Pmin for RR, CR and RPS shall not be part of the AS payment, and should
be recovered from the WESM or through bilateral contracts with load customers.
• Cost of start-up or shutdown outside the scheduled intervals shall not be part of
the AS payment. It is the obligation of the AS provider to ensure it is synchronized
at the start of its scheduled interval when providing RR, CR or RPS.
• The maximum AS capacity and energy dispatch must not exceed the scheduled AS
capacity. Any excess shall not be part of the AS payment. It is the obligation of the
AS provider to ensure that it provides only up to its maximum scheduled capacity.
• AS provider must limit its AS provision within its scheduled intervals. Capacity and
energy provided outside the scheduled intervals shall not be paid under AS.
• Payment shall be based on the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
For further inquiries
Send your email to
Ms. Lisaflor Bacani-Kater
at lgbacani@ngcp.ph