As distribution networks will increasingly integrate decentralised renewables and active energy consumers, new network management and planning models are required. In this context, the creation of the first Portuguese local market for flexibility services, FIRMe, supports the use of flexibility services as a complement to investment where grid constraints arise, maximising the hosting capacity of the existing network.
In 2023, 15 flexibility service providers – i.e. aggregators and individual owners of consumption, production and storage assets – were contracted to reduce consumption or inject energy into the grid depending on pre-defined DSO needs. Contracts for 43 different assets with a cumulative power of 36 MW have already been signed between E-REDES and the pioneering applicants, while new auctions are planned for the upcoming months.
