Networks turned green from excess energy

The rapid development of renewable energy sources in certain regions of the Russian Federation is becoming a problem for electric grid companies. As Kommersant found out, the business of Kalmykia can pay for a sharp increase in energy transit from local wind stations to neighboring regions, since such a volume of transit leads to an increase in technological losses in the networks and the costs of Rosseti. Analysts say it makes sense to shift the burden to energy end users in neighboring regions, and regulators are calling for more judicious placement of solar and wind generation.

As Kommersant found out, the Ministry of Energy proposes to allow regulators to include in electricity transmission tariffs the increased costs of Rosseti for energy transit between regions. Kalmykia, where the volume of renewable energy generation exceeds 450 MW (approximately equal in solar and wind generation), sparked discussion in the industry. After the introduction of green generation, the republic sharply increased the transit of surplus energy to the Rostov region and Stavropol region via 110 kV power lines, which led to unplanned expenses for Rosseti. The volume of technological losses in intersystem power lines began to exceed the standards. “The grid company must buy energy on the market to compensate for losses, but the purchase of volumes above the standard is not included in their tariff,” says Kommersant’s interlocutor.

As a result, the increase in transit will have to be paid for by commercial consumers of electricity in Kalmykia (except for the population). The Ministry of Energy proposes to allow regulators to increase the tariff to compensate for excess losses due to transit, follows from the draft government resolution (published on regulation.gov.ru). “In Kalmykia, transit costs have indeed increased, they should be compensated for by the network company,” Deputy Head of the Ministry of Energy Pavel Snikkars told Kommersant on the sidelines of Russian Energy Week. “The government staff made comments on the project, we are now finalizing it.”

For the first time, a sharp increase in losses in Kalmykia’s high-voltage power grids occurred in 2021, when the figure more than doubled, to 85.35 million kWh. The total volume of losses across all of the company’s networks in the region increased by 75%, to 196 million kWh. At the same time, the general standard is 124.8 million kWh, or 18.7% of the productive supply. In 2022, the loss level indicators remained virtually unchanged. Rosseti does not say how much the tariff in Kalmykia may increase after the amendments are adopted. They only note that the mechanism was proposed “to level out significant deviations from the planned balance.”

The proposal from the Ministry of Energy is a factor in the growth of tariffs in Kalmykia, but the current standards for calculating gross revenues make it possible to smooth out the tariff burden by distributing additional growth over time, says Sergei Sasim, director of the Center for Research in the Electric Power Industry at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. However, it would be more correct to transfer transit costs to electricity consumers, in whose interests such transit is carried out, he believes. At the same time, to solve such problems, a comprehensive solution is needed, the expert believes.

The System Operator (SO, energy system dispatcher) notes that Kalmykia has the highest share of RES generation – 92.3%, while the average for the power system of the South is 5.8%. With maximum power consumption in Kalmykia up to 150 MW, the RES load is 250 MW. Peak transit values ​​from Kalmykia to the Rostov energy system are up to 150 MW, and to the Stavropol Territory – up to 120 MW (at maximum values ​​of RES generation).

RES provides positive economic effects for consumers in Kalmykia, reducing the wholesale price of electricity. The Market Council (the energy market regulator) told Kommersant that since 2020, thanks to renewable energy sources in Kalmykia, there has been a decrease in the day-ahead market index (DAM, the electricity trading sector) during the daytime hours. If in 2020, on average, during peak hours, the prices of the DAM in Kalmykia relative to the price of the entire energy system of the South were lower by a maximum of 20 rubles. for 1 MWh, then in 2022–2023 – already by 180 rubles. The Market Council believes that the problem with rising transit costs in Kalmykia arose due to the fact that the selection of renewable energy projects is carried out without taking into account the cost of their integration into the energy system. They propose to work out a procedure for a comprehensive assessment of any new projects so that their introduction does not cause negative consequences in the energy system.

Director of the Association for the Development of Renewable Energy Alexey Zhikharev does not agree that the problem in Kalmykia is related to renewable energy sources: “The republic has become energy surplus, but such changes in the energy balance were not taken into account in advance when planning the development of the energy system and, accordingly, when setting the network tariff.”

Polina Smertina