A balancing group, known as a balance group in Austria, is an important control element in the European energy market. It ensures that feed-in and consumption in the electricity grid are balanced at all times and enables precise billing of energy flows.
A balancing group, or balance group in Austria, is a virtual account in the energy industry that represents the balance between energy feed-in and energy consumption in a specific grid area. It is used to settle energy flows and enables energy trading and system balancing to be organised efficiently. Each balancing group is managed by a balancing group manager (BKV), who ensures that the energy input and consumption within the balancing group are balanced.
Main tasks of the balancing group:
- Recording and balancing: It measures how much energy is fed into the grid (e.g. by power plants) and how much is withdrawn (e.g. by consumers). The balancing group manager continuously balances these quantities.
- Balancing: At the end of a defined period (e.g. a quarter of an hour), the balancing group must be balanced, i.e. the amount of energy fed into the grid and the amount withdrawn must match. Otherwise, deviations arise that must be compensated for financially.
- Trading: Energy companies trade energy on the market and supply it to their customers. The balancing group is used to organise these trading activities and ensure that the energy bought and sold corresponds to actual consumption.
- Control energy: If there are deviations, the balancing group manager must use control energy to maintain the balance in the grid. Control energy is provided by special power plants that can react quickly to fluctuations.
Balancing groups are therefore a key instrument for ensuring the stability and reliability of the energy supply in a grid area.
