EU power grid secure this summer as demand recovers slowly: TSOs

Brussels — European power transmission system operators expect no major problems with supply availability this summer, as demand recovers slowly from the coronavirus pandemic-related crash in spring, their formal body Entso-e said June 17.

The lower-than-normal demand is particularly significant in southern European countries, where supply margins usually shrink during the summer, Entso-e said in its Summer Outlook 2020.

It identified some minor generation adequacy risks in some Italian and Polish bidding zones that TSOs and regional security coordinators would monitor.

Entso-e concluded that the market will be able to supply all the power needed this summer across most of Europe, without recourse to non-market measures such as dedicated generation capacity for grid stability.

Some planned outages had to be rescheduled, however, which could impact generation adequacy this winter, it said.

TSOs are already cooperating to mitigate any potential risks from rescheduling outages.

Entso-e said it would monitor this outage risk when it assesses generation adequacy for its Winter Outlook 2020/2021, due before the end of this year.

Last winter was the warmest on record in Europe, with storms and the pandemic-related demand crash creating challenges for TSOs, Entso-e said in its accompanying 2019-2020 Winter Review.

TSOs had to struggle to keep system voltage in the operational range, and also cope with unusual flow patterns when renewable generation was high and demand low.

They managed by relying on markets to a large extent, only curtailing renewable generation as a last resort, Entso-e said.

"Despite these exceptional circumstances, no security of supply incident was recorded," it said.