ANCILLARY SERVICES

OPERATIONS AND
PRINCIPLES
What does Ancillary Services
mean?
• The literal meaning of the word ancillary is providing
support or help.
• Generally, the System Operator (SO) procures ancillary
services for ensuring security, reliability, stability and
quality of the power supply to the consumers.
• Ancillary services can be provided by generators, Load
Serving Entities (LSEs) and transmission operators.
• Ancillary services are classified, procured and
remunerated depending upon the operational practices of
the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI).
Types of Anci lary
Services
• NERC defines Ancillary Services as
“An Interconnected operation services necessary to effect
transfer of electricity between purchasing and selling
entities, and which a transmission provider must include
in an open access transmission tariff.”

• Ancillary services consist of services required for

• Maintaining generation and load balance (frequency control)
• Maintaining Voltage and reactive power support
• Maintaining generation and transmission reserves
• Emergency preparedness (system restart & stability control)
Services in the Electricity Supply
Chain

Source: Ancillary Services, Eric Herst & Brendan Kirby

F
r isA kept
certain amount of active power, called frequency control reserve,
available to perform this task.
eThree levels of control are generally used to achieve FCAS:
Primary frequency control (a response period of 5 to10s),
qSecondary frequency control (10s to 15min ) and
u Tertiary frequency control (10 to 30min).

e
n
c
y
N
eThese are the services required to maintain the
t network parameters within permissible range.
w
VCAS are required for supporting voltage to be
othe maintained within the permissible
r limit.
Primary – AVR, SVC
kSecondary – Centralized automatic control over a region
Tertiary – manual

C needed for the

purpose
Power offlowcontrol
improving Available Transfer Capability (ATC)
AS (PFCAS)
oand
are the performance of real time operation considering
nnetwork constraints.
S
y
These are the services related to
scapacity of the system and the capacity that is
backup
trequired to return the system to a
eoperation after a major blackout. normal
m

R
e
s
t
a
Ancillary Services Technologies Used
FCAS Governor, AGC, Rapid unit loading,
Rapid unit unloading, Demand side load
shedding

NCAS Generators, Capacitors, Inductors,

Synchronous condensers, FACTS
controllers
SRAS Generators
• While designing an ancillary services
market, a number of aspects have to be
considered,
• Time frame of the market,
• Type of the market (bilateral or competitive bid
based),
• Type of procurement (sequential or simultaneous),
• Settlement rules (price based or bid type, price based
on usage type, marginal price or pay as bid),
• Recovery (charging) scheme (uplift in energy charge,
use of system charge or other methods)
 Drivers for Ancillary Services in India
• Activities done for a common good • Reliability and Security
o Cannot be coupled with basic energy o ~ 160 GW Demand

services
• Changing nature of demand
• Distinguishing features of Indian Power o Ramp of ~ 500 – 600 MW/min in
System Morning/Evening peaks
o Increasing Maturity of Electricity Market o Penetration of renewables

o Introduction of Adequacy & Reserves

o Tightened Frequency Control • Portfolio/ Risk management of
o Introduction of Primary and Secondary Utilities
Response
o 175 GW renewables by 2022 • Congestion Management

• Restructured Power Systems • Services Embedded through

o Unbundling, Private Sector Participation regulatory provisions
• Charges for Reactive Power
• 10 paise/kVArh , increment @
0.5 paise / kVArh/year.
 Reserve Regulation Ancillary Services (RRAS)
Reserve Regulation Ancillary Services
– ‘Value Added Services’
•Keeping frequency within specified
limits
•Maintaining the voltage profile
•Load Following
•Ramp Management
•Reliability and Security of All India
Grid
•Utilization of Un-despatched Surplus
•Congestion Management
•Optimization at Regional & National
Level
•Grid Integration of Renewables
Ancillary Services Definition…
“Ancillary services are those functions
performed by the equipment and people
that generate, control, transmit, and
distribute electricity to support the basic
services of generating capacity, energy
supply, and power delivery.”
- Eric Hirst and Brendon Kirby
•As per IEGC, 2010
“Ancillary services in power
system (or grid) operation means
services necessary to support the
power system (or grid)
operation in maintaining power
quality, reliability and security of the
grid, e.g active power support for
load following, reactive power
support, black start etc”
 Pillars of Market Design

Sally Hunt – ‘ Making Competition Work in Electricity’

19
Ancillary Services – International Experience
Service NGC# Svenska Kraftnat# NEMMCO# NYISO# India
Scheduling Recognized System Operator
and and Not recognized Not recognized Recognized is mandated as per
Despatch provided explicitly explicitly and provided IEGC
Primary Mandated as per
Response Bilateral Contracts IEGC
Secondary
Frequency Response Provided Balance Service Recognized Absent by Design
Response through Recognized and price
Manual actions
Tertiary balance and based on
and frequency
Response service compensated market linked spot price.
Recognized Recognized Mandatory for
Reactive and and paid to Recognized generators.
Power and provided generators and and paid to Commercial
Voltage through No payment synchronous generators mechanism for
Control Grid Code scheme compensators only interchange.
Limited reserves
Recognized Recognized available. Not
Operating Within purview of and and treated as a
Reserve balance service compensated compensated service
Black Start Recognized Recognized
Capability Provided through and and Mandatory as per
Service Provided bilateral contract compensated compensated IEGC 20
 Ancillary Services Operations

CERC
Detailed 3 month CERC
CERC Procedure feedback revised
Regulation s submitte Detailed
s notified approved d to Procedur
on on CERC on es
13th 08th 01st 21st
Aug15 Mar16 Aug16 Nov’16

CERC RRAS Half yearly

order on implementatio feedback
Mark Up- n review by submitted
dtd. Hon’ble to CERC on
29th Feb Commission 17th Nov’16
16 on
27th July at
NLDC
Key to Ancillary Services - Undespatched Surplus in ISGS

URS ~
12,000
MW

URS ~
2,000
MW
 Role of Nodal Agency
Separate Stack
Regulation Up
Regulation Down URS
capacities of ISGS
Variable cost of
generation
Time-block wise Region-
wise
Factoring ramp up/down
rate, response time,
ttransmission constraints
– both inter-regional and
intra-regional
Extreme weather forecasts
and/or special day;
Generating unit or transmission
line outages;
Trend of load met; Trends of
frequency;
Abnormal event such as outage
of hydro generating; units due to
silt, coal supply blockade etc.;
Excessive loop flows leading to
congestion; and
Such other events
 Role of RRAS Provider and RPCs
• Despatch & Withdrawal
Instructions through RLDCs
by Nodal Agency
• Fixed charge, Variable charge
and any other statutory charges Nodal • Incorporation of instructions in
for merit order dispatch –
Monthly basis
Agency the Schedules of RRAS
Providers and respective VAE
by RLDCs
• Preparation of RRAS Providers
Energy/ Deviation Accounts

RRAS
RPC
Provider

Fixed charge, Variable charge and any other

statutory charges
 Scheduling, Despatch & Withdrawal of RRAS
Scheduling Despatch Withdrawal

• Quantum of generation • RRAS Generation • Nodal Agency direct the

directly incorporated in scheduled to the VAE in RRAS Provider to
the schedule of RRAS any one or more withdraw from the time
providers through Regional Grids block
RLDCs. • RRAS deemed to be • Satisfied that the
• Regulation Up Service triggered for Time circumstances leading
• Power scheduled period specified by the to triggering of RRAS
from the generating Nodal Agency Services no longer
station to the VAE • Schedules of the RRAS exist
• Regulation Down Provider revised by the
Service quantum scheduled by
• Power scheduled to the Nodal Agency
the generating station • Deviation in schedule of
from the VAE RRAS Providers
• Energy despatched beyond the revised
under RRAS shall be schedule as per CERC
deemed as delivered DSM Regulations
ex-bus.
RRAS Energy Accounting &
Settlement
RRAS Energy Accounting
•Done by RPC on weekly basis along with DSM Account
•Based on interface meters data and schedule of RRAS Providers
•Separate statement maintained along with
Regional Deviation Settlement Account for RRAS
RRAS Energy Settlement
•Under separate account head of RRAS from Regional DSM Pool
Account
•Regulation Up
• RRAS provider paid at their fixed & variable charges with markup
•Regulation Down
• RRAS provider shall pay 75 % of variable charges to Pool Fund
•No retrospective settlement
•Any deviation settled as per CERC DSM Regulations, 2014
•Penalties for sustained failure to provide RRAS and violation of
directions of RLDC
 Key Statistics of RRAS Implementation
Highest Variable Charge Lowest Variable Charge
RRAS Providers: Capacity under RRAS: ~ Rs. 8.12 / Unit (Anta ~ Rs. 1.25 / Unit (Korba
48 Nos. 51 GW LF– NR) – WR)

Maximum ‘Up’ Energy Despatched: Average Cost for Regulation

Regulation : Up – 6 MU / day Up Despatch: ₹ 4.34/ Unit
3746 MW (0.2% of Energy
met)

Average variable Charge

Maximum ‘Down’ Energy Despatched:
refunded to DSM Pool for
Regulation : Down – 1 MU / day
Regulation Down
1946 MW (0.03% of Energy
: ₹ 1.53/ Unit
met)

Avg. Daily Number of
RRAS Instructions : 06
to 07 Nos.
Average Variable
Average
charges retained by
Mark Up paid to RRAS
RRAS providers- 50 provider- 50 Paise/Unit
Paise/Unit
RRAS Despatch
RRAS Despatch
Trend of Load Met
Load Crash on a Festival Day
Transmission Line Outage
 Generation
Outage
Force Majeure Condition (High Silt): 06
th Aug-16
Real Time Congestion Management
 RRAS Providers following RRAS Schedule
Ramagundam Dadri Kahalgaon-II
“Up” “Up” “Up”

Dadri Vindhyachal – II
Vindhyachal –
“Down” “Down”
III “Down”
 Ancillary Services Available for Despatch

Possible UP
Regulation

Applied UP
Regulation

Applied DOWN
Regulation Possible DOWN
Regulation
 Key Learnings from Indian Experience
• Layer of Centralized Ancillary Despatch over Decentralized
Layer of Scheduling Process
• Improved Frequency Profile.
• Ramp Management - Evening Peak / Morning Peak
• Real Time Congestion Management
• Grid Resilience – Handling Low Probability High Impact Events
• Availability of Variable charges for first time in public domain
– Better Despatch Decisions
– Changing Merit Order month on month
• Handling impact of extreme weather conditions on the grid
• Reliability Support
• Information Dissemination
• Benefits to stakeholders – Generators & State Utilities
• Freedom and Choice available to states retained
 Challenges
Addressed by the Hon’ble Commission (Revised
approved Procedure dt 21st Nov’16)

• Minimum threshold raised to 10 MW(NER-5MW).

• Instructions to RRAS Providers via RLDCs
• Refund of Fixed Charges to the beneficiaries
proportionate to surrender.
• Periodicity of Refund of fixed charges changed from
weekly to monthly.
• Previous month RRAS provider details applicable if
not submitted timely.
 Way Forward (2)
CERC Roadmap for Reserves
• Report of the Committee on Spinning Reserves
– 17th September 2015
• Roadmap to operationalise Reserves in the
country
Primary
– 13thReserves
October 2015 Secondary Reserves Tertiary Reserves
(distributed ) (centralized approach) (decentralized)
4000 MW North : 800 MW All India level : 5218 MW
considering Ultra Mega East : 660 MW North : 1658 MW
Power Plant out West : 800 MW East : 857 MW
South :1000 MW North West : 1353 MW
East : 363 MW Total : South : 1343 MW North
3623 MW East : 65 MW
Reserves to be maintained
at intra state level
THANKS