Transcript Linepack

RG0291 – NTS Licence SC27 – Balancing Arrangements
Linepack – Commercial Considerations/Options
Review Group 291 – 19th July 2010
Contents
1. What is the C27 Linepack Product?
2. Key Measures
3. End-of-Day Linepack Product - assumptions
4. Pricing Mechanism
5. Options
6. Options scored against Key Measures
7. Issues
8. Recommendations
What is a C27 Linepack product?
 What is the C27 linepack product?
 NBP EoD balance transfer
 When are Users most likely to need the product?
 To benefit from a more favourable D+1 price?
 Benefit from a more favourable export price on D+1 (arbitrage between
European prices and UK market)?
 To balance Users portfolio within day and avoid cashout on D, carryover
imbalance to D+1.
 Others?
 Consider interactions between the development of a Linepack product and the
SMP defaults.
 National Grid NTS believes;
 SMP default, and any proposed revision or replacement, places a value on
Linepack.
 SMP default is a component used to establish the value for an interday
Linepack product
Key Measures
 Relevant Objectives
 Better facilitates competition
 Efficient and economic operation of the system
 Viable commercial opportunity
 No adverse impact on Physical Linepack and other flexibility utilisation
 Doesn’t prevent future potential development of additional within day
flexibility products
 No adverse effect on the Residual Balancing Role
 Should not impact Safety Case/obligations
EoD Linepack Product Assumptions
 Inter-day product

 NBP product

 Made available within day

 Park and Loan

 NG NTS is the counter-party to all LP product transactions

 NG NTS will have a Linepack account

 Linepack released as a discretionary quantity

 One or Multiple Linepack releases within day
to be discussed
 Timing of release (within business hours/ after hours) to be discussed
Pricing Mechanism options
 Price determined through;
 Administered price
 Fixed price
 SAP differentials
 How is the price derived?
 differential between:
?
 D and D+1 Cashout price
 OCM cashout price on D and TTF price on D+1
 Market based
 Auction
 Determined by participants
 If a release is oversubscribed, how will product be allocated ?
Options
1. EOD Linepack product made available within day:
a) Single release
b) Multiple releases
2. EOD Linepack product made available within day through
a single release (out of hours)
3. Hybrid Model
(hybrid of SMP default cashout and C27 Linepack
product)
Option 1a) EOD Linepack made available within day:
single release
1. Single product release within business hours
2. Discretionary release of product
Considerations;
-
Appropriate time of release?
Pros - Product available to all User within business hours
Cons - Less certainty of linepack volumes available within day may mean
less product quantity is made available.
Option 1b) EOD Linepack made available within day:
multiple release
1. Multiple product releases within business hours
2. Discretionary release of product
Considerations;
-
What quantity is made available in each release?
Pros - Facilitates opportunities to adjust User imbalance positions
through the day.
-
Additional releases could be available closer to EoD when
available quantities are clearer.
Cons - Multiple releases may represent less product quantity available in
each release.
-
Possibly more complex to administer
Option 2 - EOD Linepack made available late in the
day through a single release
1. Single product release at [24:00]
2. Discretionary release of product
Consideration;
-
Time of release
Pros
-
Increased confidence of flexibility available
-
Mitigates impact on physical operation and flexibility management
-
After hours release may reduce potential conflicts with Residual
Balancing obligations
Cons
-
May exclude Users that do not operate out of hours
Flow/demand information and timing of product release
upside and down
side associated
with release time
Accuracy of
flow/demand
information
Risk of getting it
wrong
Incentive to release
quantity
Later Release
Early Release
Option 3 – Hybrid Model
1. Hybrid of SMP default cashout and C27 Linepack product
2. Seeks to value linepack through applying a charge or cashout
differential to a User’s EoD imbalance position, which reflects the cost
using linepack to absorb the imbalance.
3. Application of the price differential for short, long or balanced positions
may be different depending on whether or not the User’s imbalance
position was in line with the movement in linepack position for the D.
4. National Grid Transmission would enable linepack to move more
between days to accommodate the service, linepack incentive
revisions would be required.
5. This is not a Park and Loan service
 This hybrid option does not fit with the assumptions of the EoD
Linepack Product. National Grid Transmission proposes to discuss this
in greater detail at the August review group session.
Options initial scoring against Key Measures
Options
1(a)
1(b)
2
Discretionary Release
Within day Single
release
Within day
Multiple release
Late day single
release



to be discussed
to be discussed
to be discussed
Does not impact NG NTS Residual
Role
to be discussed
to be discussed

Commercial opportunities
to be discussed
to be discussed
to be discussed
Does not impact on Safety
to be discussed
to be discussed

No impact on Physical Linepack and
flexibility utilisation
to be discussed
to be discussed

Minimal impact on development of
additional within-day flexibility
products
to be discussed
to be discussed

Key Measures
Relevant Objective:
Facilitates Competition
Relevant Objective:
Improves Operation of the Pipeline
System
Interactions
 Interaction between Linepack Product with Residual
Balancing Role
 Impact on, and trade-offs with, future potential
development of additional within day flexibility products
Recommendations – Way Forward
 NG NTS would like to further develop Option 2
 NG NTS believes that the development of this option:
 May be achieved at potentially minimal system development
cost
 Dependent on the costs associated with the development of a
Bulletin Board on Gemini systems
 Compliments the Default SMP developments
 Option 3 to be discussed at the next Review Group session
in August, in conjunction with SMP default cashout
discussions