Tailor-made Training

Date: 12, 18 April 2023

Organisation: Joint Allocation Office

Place: Online

Topic: Flow-based capacity calculation and allocation

Description: The course was structured in two modules. The first module presented the intuition and the working of flow-based capacity calculation and allocation. In the second module the concepts presented in the first module were shown in their practical implementation, by going through a number of different scenarios using a simplified numerical model.

Module 1: the intuition and drivers of flow-based capacity calculation and allocation

• Introduction to (day-ahead) market coupling
• The intuition behind flow-based capacity calculation and allocation
• The inputs for flow-based allocation (minRAM, CNECs, allocation constraints, etc) and their impact on the available domain
• When flow-based calculation and allocation can be effectively used and when it can be counter-productive
• Flow-based capacity calculation and allocation in the longer-term timeframe

Module 2: Numerical examples of the implementation of flow-based capacity calculation and allocation

• This module will give the opportunity to go through a number of numerical examples, using a simplified network model, to put into practice the concepts covered in Module 1.

Date: 30 January 2023

Organisation: umlaut

Place: Online

Topic:Market Coupling

Description: The course was delivered in one module, involving a 3-hour live class with time for discussion and
Q&A.

The module covered:

• Trading in the day-ahead and intra-day timeframe of the EU Internal Electricity Market
• Market coupling in the day-ahead and intra-day timeframes
• NTC and flow-based capacity calculation

At the end of the course, participants were able to understand the way in which market coupling works in the day-ahead and intra-day
timeframes of the EU Internal Electricity Market; appreciate the difference between the Net Transfer Capacity (NTC) and the Flow-based
approach in capacity calculation, as applied in the EU Internal Electricity Market.

Date: 21 November 2022

Organisation: Coreso

Place: Brussels

Topic: Electricity sector liberalisation and trading

Description: This tailor-made course was designed to respond to the request of Coreso for training in the areas of electricity sector liberalisation and trading.
During this one-day training, participants had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the fundamentals of EU electricity market liberalisation and energy trading in the internal electricity market.

• During the first session in the morning, we started with an outlook on the main challenges facing the electricity sector and its market design. We then outlined the process of electricity sector liberalisation in the EU and presented the electricity target model which has been driving the electricity market design in the EU over the last fifteen years. We also discussed the governance of the electricity market, identifying the main actors and the role they fulfil. Then, we assessed the performance of the internal electricity market using different metrics (price convergence, efficiency in the use of cross-border capacity, etc…).
• In the afternoon session, we focused on the approaches to power trading in the EU (auction-based, continuous trading, OTC trading) and the functioning of power exchanges (bids, offers, market equilibrium). Participants learnt about the zonal market configuration, congestion and congestion management, as well capacity calculation methods (NTC/ATC vs Flow-based). We explored the use of the interconnection capacity in the market and rules for the allocation of long-term transmission rights. We concluded the training by discussing market coupling and the EU market coupling algorithm.

Date: 8-10 November 2022

Organisation:Climate Action Network

Place: Online

Topic: Fundamentals and future prospects of electricity trading in the EU

Description: This tailor-made course was designed to respond to the request of Climate Action Network (CAN) for a training on them fundamentals of electricity trading in the EU with a specific focus on the the current market design challenges linked to the increasing penetration of renewables in the electricity mix. Its aim was to complement the CAN Europe’s team expertise in electricity markets. To meet the learning objectives, the course was divided in 3 modules and covered the background and fundamentals of electricity trading; the day-ahead and intraday trading and balancing in the EU Internal Electricity Market and the current debate on electricity market. 

Date: 28 March – 7 November 2022

 Organisation: Mediterranean Transmission System Operators

Place: Online

Topic: Benefit and measures for international power exchanges

Description: This tailor-made course was designed to respond to the request of the Mediterranean Transmission System Operators to train MED-TSO representatives on three aspects of electricity market integration (“what”, “why” and “how”), by describing:

• The concept of cross-border electricity exchange and system and market integration (in Module 2);
• The theoretical framework for cross-border electricity trading and the benefits from market integration (in Module 1);
• The different possible models of market integration, their pre-requisites, governance and institutional implications and the available international experience (in Modules 3 to 8);
• Electricity generation pricing (in Module 9 and 10).

Date: November-December 2021

 Organisation: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Place: Online

 Topic: Regional power system integration trans- mission capacity calculation and pricing, smart grids and cybersecurity

 Description: This tailor-made course was designed to respond to the request of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific to promote energy connectivity as an essential strategy to support the achievement of the SDG7 targets and to support efforts to decarbonise the region’s power grids. Its aim was to complement the ESCAP’s mandate to strengthen ASEAN’s efforts in developing a common understanding of the role of utilities and energy regulators in the context of power system connectivity, in line with UNESCAP’s Regional Road Map on Power System Connectivity. To meet the learning objectives, the course covered regional electricity market integration, cross-zonal capacity calculation and transmission charges and smart grids and related cybersecurity issues.

Date: 20 October 2021, 17 February 2022, 17 October 2022, 27 March 2023

 Organisation: Baker Hughes

Place: Florence

 Topic: EU Energy and environmental Policies and their impact on the industry

 Description: This training explored the EU policy approach in addressing environmental concerns and climate change issues, which concretely translated into the publication of a number of energy and climate regulatory initiatives in recent years. In the first part of the session, participants had a chance to understand how the so-called EU Green Deal and the main climate policies could shape the future energy sector and what the implications for the industry would be. In the second part, we opened a window on a very topical debate at the moment in Europe: the recent shift from natural gas towards hydrogen and renewable or decarbonised gases and the possible impact of this policy shift on gas infrastructure. We concluded with a dedicated focus on methane emissions and role in international climate strategies, a topic which has been gaining importance in recent years and is now the focus of important global initiatives.

Date: June-July 2021

Organisation: EBRD

Place: Online

Topic: Renewable Energies

Description:

This tailor-made course has been designed to respond to the request of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for training in the renewable energy area, with a specific focus on the economic and regulatory aspects. Its aim was to complement the EBRD’s team expertise in contractual and project finance aspects.

To meet the learning objectives, the course was structured in three modules:

• Module 1 – The economics of renewables
• Module 2 – Fundamentals of national and regional wholesale electricity markets, renewable support and the integration of renewables
• Module 3 – The contractual framework and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for renewables

Date: April-May 2021

Organisation: UNESCAP

Place: Online

Topic: Regional electricity trading and market integration

Description:

The proposed training aimed at creating the capacity in the HAPUA and AERN members, as well as in other relevant actors in the ASEAN region, to take an informed decision on the most appropriate electricity trading and market integration model, also taking into account the need for consistency with the SDGs, including the targets for renewables deployment.

In this respect, the general objective of the proposed training was twofold:

• to provide the beneficiaries with the basic tools to evaluate different solutions for multilateral regional electricity trading and market integration, by presenting different solutions adopted in other parts of the world – including Europe, the US, Central America, Southern Africa – and discussing their respective benefits, challenges, requirements, pros and cons;
• to assess the role of national electricity regulators in supporting and governing regional electricity trading and market integration, highlighting the required institutional and statutory enhancement with respect to the current situation.

More specifically, the course aimed at introducing participants to the key elements of regional power system integration and multilateral power trade, with a particular focus on the respective roles of utilities, regulators and policy makers, and ways they can help ensure that regional integration and multilateral power trade enable renewables integration and power sector decarbonisation throughout the ASEAN region.

To meet these objectives, the course has been structured in four modules and one roundtable, as follows:

• Module 1: Introduction to cross-border power system integration: general context for cross-border arrangements, key expected benefits, key prerequisites, governance and regulatory challenges;
• Module 2: Different cross-border trading practices: case studies drawing on experiences from, for example, Central America (SIEPAC), Southern Africa (SAPP), market coupling in the EU, and regional electricity markets in the US;
• Module 3: Institutional and governance of regional power system integration: the role of electricity regulators and regional collaboration;
• Module 4: Integrating renewables into regional electricity trading;
• Final Roundtable.

All modules, will, to the extent relevant, discuss implications of regional power system integration for the sustainable development goals, including renewables integration and decarbonisation.

Date: January 2021

Organisation: Innovation and Networks Executive Agency | INEA

Place: Online

Topic: Renewable Energy Sources

Description: The FSR tailor-made training has been designed to meet INEA’s requirements, and was composed of two parts:

1. Introduction to renewable energy sources (RES) and their promotion in the EU
2. Supporting RES in liberalised electricity markets

This course addressed the promotion of renewable energy sources and their integration in the energy sector with an emphasis on electricity. After an introduction to the main economic and technological aspects of RES and their status in the EU, the course provided a summary of the European policy on RES, from its emergence in the late 1990s to the recent discussion on the Green Deal. Building on this framework, significant attention has been devoted to the various instruments available to policymakers and which have been typically implemented to support RES uptake in the EU. For each of the main policy tools, a description was given, highlighting its main advantages and drawbacks. Auctions were discussed in detail to show how they can be used – and have been used – to promote competition and improve cost-effectiveness in the use of public resources. Concrete experience from two jurisdictions complemented the general description of this instrument, which has gained centre-stage in the past few years. The course considered also how the deployment of RES affects the functioning of the electricity market and system. Indeed, the rapid penetration of wind and solar PV poses challenges that must be understood if the ultimate goal of RES policies is to ensure a decarbonisation of the energy system that is least-cost and compatible with the internal market for energy.

Date: 8 – 30 June 2020

Organisation: World Bank

Place: Online

Topic: Renewable Energy

Description: This FSR tailor-made training on Renewable Energy was designed to meet the World Bank’s specific requirements. The training course was the first tailor-made training designed and delivered entirely online. It was composed of two modules:

1. Renewable support schemes and integration of renewables in electricity markets
2. Integration of renewables beyond electricity (renewable gas and sector coupling with power-to-gas)

Each module was composed of:

• Tailored training resources and materials that allowed participants to get familiar with the topic at their own pace prior to each Live Session.
• A two-hour interactive Live Class with leading experts in the field where participants had the opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of and discuss advanced topics, lesson learned from the RES schemes and their particular challenges.

Date: 3 March 2020

Organisation: DG ENER

Place: Brussels, Belgium

Topic: Energy

Description: This course was specifically designed to meet DG ENER’s requirements to cover the fundamentals of unbundling in the energy sector, and market issues in the electricity and gas sector. Effective unbundling is a precondition for the development of fair competition in the energy sector. An appropriate market design promotes competition and therefore efficiency in the energy sector, ensuring fair prices and greater choice for EU consumers. Well-functioning markets make also easier to pursue the multiple objectives of EU energy policy (sustainability/decarbonisation, efficiency, security of supply, affordability) in a consistent way. In fact, if markets are well designed, it is easier to ensure the smooth functioning and interaction of parallel markets, than it is the case with administrative instruments. The course focused on specific aspects which have proved to be particularly complex or sensitive in their implementation.

 Date: 4-5 October 2018

 Organisation: Indian Ocean Commission

 Place: Antananarivo, Madagascar

 Topic: Electricity Regulation

 Description: This one-and-a-half-day residential training session represented the second block of a tailor-made blended learning programme specifically designed by the Florence School of Regulation to meet the learning objectives of participants from Comoros and Madagascar.

 Date: 20 March 2018

 Organisation: VII World Forum on Energy Regulation 2018

 Place: Cancun, Mexico

 Topic: Electricity Regulation

 Description: This course was specifically designed for the Regulatory Training Day at the World Energy Forum to cover the fundamentals of the electricity industry. Namely, the course reviewed the basics of economic regulation and regulatory institutions, the structures of the electricity industry focussing on competition and regulation, and the wholesale market design. It also provided an overview of the most important aspects of electrification and renewable energy markets.

 Date: 11-19 December 2017

 Organisation: Perusahaan Gas Negara

 Place: Bandung, Indonesia

 Topic: Gas Tariffs

 Description: The main objective of the five-day training course is to transfer knowledge to participants through the presentation of the regulatory toolbox used internationally for Network Access Rules and practices.

 Date: 4-8 December 2017

 Organisation: Perusahaan Gas Negara

 Place: Bandung, Indonesia

 Topic: Gas Network Codes

 Description: The main objective of the study is to transfer the knowledge to participants through the presentation of the regulatory toolbox used internationally for Accounting Unbundling and Tariff Setting. Besides the general regulatory framework, the participants will be introduced to simple worksheet tools that will enable them to calculate tariffs by means of different methodologies and to evaluate results of different solutions. The study will address Accounting Unbundling and Tariffs adopting a very practical orientation.

 Date: 14-15 November 2017

 Organisation: FSR, Technological University of Pereira (UTP) and University of Chile

 Place: Bogotà, Colombia

 Topic: Regulatory Challenges

 Description: This joint training consisted of a tailor-made blended programme, specifically designed to meet the learning objectives of the participants from the Colombian Commission for the Regulation of Energy and Gas (CREG). The course explained the most critical challenges that distribution networks regulators are facing because of the high penetration of distributed energy resources. It covered a brief overview of their technical characteristics a review of international experiences, and an extensive dialogue with experts about the latest regulatory trends and practices.

 Date: 31 October – 1 November 2017

 Organisation: German Development Agency (GIZ)

 Place: Rabat, Morocco

 Topic: Energy Regulation and RES

 Description: This two-day ad hoc training is supporting the German Development Agency (GIZ) in the creation of a Moroccan Regulatory Agency for electricity. The course will provide participants with a fundamental understanding of energy regulation and markets, as well as on the integration of renewables and distribution grids.

 Date: 26-27 September 2016

 Organisation: Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism

 Place: Nicosia, Cyprus

 Topic: Electricity and Gas Markets

 Description: The three days training were organised to reach the targets described in the tender specifications: to combine principles with realities and cases; to adapt EU legal and regulatory frames to the circumstances of insular systems; to open the analysis to the entry of gas and of renewables into the energy system; to identify ways of cooperation between the many parties involved.

 Date: 4-9 December 2016 / 10-11 July 2017 / 25-27 September 2017

 Organisation: Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) – Indonesia

 Place: Bandung, Indonesia / Florence, Italy / Jakarta, Indonesia

 Topic: Natural Gas Regulation

 Description: The first part of the training course gave a comprehensive overview of different types of regulatory models and practices in the gas industry around the world and performed an in-depth review of the best practices in tariff design.
The second part of the training course consisted in a workshop developed by the Florence School of Regulation to assist Perusahaan Gas Negara in analyzing and proposing potential solutions for the current regulatory challenges that the Indonesian gas industry is facing.
The third part of the training course consisted of a workshop in Jakarta meant to present a preliminary report that resulted from the previous two parts of the training course and to discuss the last adjustments to the same.
The fourth and last part of the training course consisted in the delivery of an ample training report to PGN containing potential paths for regulatory improvement in Indonesia and recommendations.

 Date: 6-8 February 2017 / 20-21 July 2017

 Organisation: Ministries and Companies from five islands (Mauritius, Madagaskar, Comoros, La Reunion and Seychelles)

 Place: Mauritius

 Topic: Power, Renewables, Energy Efficiency

 Description: The training cycle consisted of a tailor-made blended learning programme which was specifically designed to meet the learning objectives of the Indian Ocean participants. It consisted of three blocks and combined theory and practice throughout the programme. The first block consisted of a three day residential training which provided an introduction to power systems and grid regulation; renewables and how to introduce them into power systems; and how to optimise energy efficiency.
The second block consisted of an eight-week online training course focusing on the regulation of power systems and allowed participants to focus on the main challenges within their local settings.
After the completion of the online training, the third and final block of the programme consisted of a two-day residential training course which allowed participants to discuss any outstanding issues raised during the online course on energy regulation and energy policy in practice.

 Date: 28 February 2017

 Organisation: Renewables Grid Initiative

 Place: Brussels

 Topic: Power Markets

 Description: The training, organised in cooperation with Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI), was tailored made for NGOs to provide insights into the current state of play of power markets, including the development, integration and challenges of wholesale and balancing markets.