European Cooperations
Amprion’s transmission grid lies at the heart of Europe and is connected to the grids in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Austria and Switzerland by cross-border interconnecting feeders. In future, Belgium too will be connected to our grid by the new ALEGrO interconnector. Amprion is party to numerous cooperation agreements with European TSOs with whom we are working closely to make our grids even safer, even more reliable and even more capable. The focus is on system reliability and grid planning, the transnational electricity market and further development of transmission technologies.
Conseil International des Grands Réseaux Électriques (CIGRÉ)
CIGRÉ (International Council on Large Electric Systems) is an international science- and technology-based organisation that deals with issues concerning the transmission and supply of electrical energy. It was founded in Paris in 1921. Today, CIGRÉ comprises over 8,000 professionals from the fields of science and technology, from more than 90 countries, and some 1,100 corporate members from industry, utilities and science. These experts use CIGRÉ as a platform through which to exchange information and promote scientific advancement. Amprion supports CIGRÉ’s activities vigorously with its own contributions and is active in the German national committee of CIGRÉ, the German CIGRÉ study committees and CIGRÉ’s international working groups.
European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E)
Under the auspices of ENTSO-E, Amprion and 40 other TSOs are working hand in hand to enhance the European electricity grid. Its core tasks are to promote the European internal electricity market and grid expansion, and to draw up rules for grid operation. ENTSO-E was set up in 2009 as part of the EU’s Third Energy Package for the internal energy market, which aims to further liberalise the gas and electricity markets in the EU and has a legal mandate.
EPEX SPOT
Amprion has had an indirect interest in the European Power Exchange EPEX SPOT since November 2015. To this end, the company acquired 5 per cent of the original stock of Holding des Gestionnaires de Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (HGRT). HGRT holds 49 per cent in EPEX SPOT, the leading power spot market in Europe. Amprion’s investment is helping to bring the European electricity markets even closer together and to further secure the high level of system security and availability in the German grid.
International Grid Control Cooperation (IGCC)
Some eleven TSOs from eight countries are operational members (as known as participating TSOs) of the IGCC, which was founded in 2011. Within the framework of IGCC, imbalances between electricity generation and consumption are automatically balanced across load frequency control (LFC) areas. This avoids the simultaneous cross-border activation of frequency restoration reserves (RFF) in opposite directions, reduces the use of (secondary) balancing power and allows the free balancing power gained to be utilised to maintain system security.
Joint Allocation Office (JAO)
Together with 22 other European TSOs, Amprion has a holding in the Luxembourg-based allocation platform JAO (Joint Allocation Office). This company acts as the central auction platform and contact point for the long-term allocation of transmission capacities for the trading of electricity within the European Union.
Market Coupling Initiatives (CWE, MRC, XBID)
As a party to numerous market coupling initiatives in Central Western Europe (CWE) and in Europe as a whole (MRC, XBID), Amprion is actively engaged in shaping Europe’s internal electricity market. One particular focus of these efforts is to ensure the efficient allocation of transmission capacities for the cross-border exchange of electricity.
Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI)
Since 2016, Amprion has been a member of RGI, an exchange and dialogue platform for TSOs and environmental associations. Together we are working to further develop Europe’s electricity grids in a sustainable and socially acceptable manner and to improve the integration of renewables. Founded in 2009 on the initiative of a consortium of NGOs and TSOs, RGI is committed to promoting environmentally aware and transparent grid restructuring and expansion and to the development of smart power grids and storage technologies.
Security Service Centre (SSC)
At the SSC located in Rommerskirchen near Cologne, a team of experts drawn from Amprion and both TenneT Netherlands and TenneT Germany is helping to facilitate and underpin security management within the German and Dutch EHV grids. The SSC began operating in 2009 and is Europe’s first such security centre.
Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP)
Every two years, Amprion and the other European TSOs who are members of ENTSO-E draw up the Ten-Year Network Development Plan ( TYNDP). Based on forecasts of how electricity generation and consumption will develop, the TYNDP identifies which new power links will be needed in the future across Europe and also highlights important developments in the market and technology sectors.
TSO Security Cooperation (TSC)
Together with twelve European TSOs, Amprion is party to the security cooperation TSCNET Services. This service company, headquartered in Munich, helps its member TSOs coordinate and plan grid operation, analyse grid situations and calculate available transmission capacities.
