For any enquiry on the Guide to Prices, please email to Market Operations team.
In the event that the real-time and procurement markets are suspended, the Market Rules: Chapter 6, Section 1.2.5 states that all market participants shall be settled for physical services injected onto and withdrawn from the transmission system. The prices used for this settlement may be calculated using a methodology determined by the EMA in consultation with EMC and the Power System Operator (PSO). Chapter 6, Section 1.2.5A specifies EMC to publish the methodology provided by the EMA. The methodology was provided by the EMA for publication on 1 October 2003.
On behalf of and at the request of the Power System Operator (PSO), EMC procures, primarily through contracts, certain physical services that are needed to maintain reliable system operations but are not offered on real-time markets.
The principal contracted ancillary services that EMC may procure are:- reactive support and voltage control service,
- black-start capability,
- fast-start services, and
- reliability must-run services.
Read more about Contracted Ancillary Services.
At the end of each calendar month, EMC calculates the Monthly Energy Uplift Charge (MEUC) for the following calendar month and recovers from the load on the basis of withdrawal quantity in MWh. This charge, levied on retailers, covers the following potential payments and refunds each month:
- the cost of procuring contracted ancillary services (e.g., black-start services) and related costs,
- compensation claims and refunds,
- financial penalties and refunds, and
- the estimated monthly energy uplift shortfall to be recovered and/or deducted in the following calendar month.
A reserve provider group is a group of reserve providers that share similar effectiveness characteristics. In the standing data of the NEMS, reserve provider groups range from A to E. These correspond to a payment incentive structure range of 1 to 0.25, illustrated in the table below.
Reserve Provider Group | Parameter applied on reserve payments |
---|---|
A | 1 |
B | 0.85 |
C | 0.75 |
D | 0.60 |
E | 0.25 |
A reserve provider group is a group of reserve providers that have similar effectiveness characteristics. Based on the PSO's System Operation Manual (SOM), the reserve provider groups (or groups are defined as) are calculated as follows:
- A surge is referred to as an event in which the frequency dips by 0.2Hz.
- The PSO will measure all surges in a quarter. However, the PSO needs at least six surges to perform the computation(s).
- In the event that fewer than six surges are observed in a quarter, the PSO will use figures from the previous quarter to perform the computation.