In August, grid balancing grew strongly in both directions, and the return of price extremes proved once again that the reaction speed of a smart energy management system (EMS) is the main cornerstone of asset profitability.
A comparison of July and August data illustrates market volatility perfectly and demonstrates that passivity on flexibility markets leaves money on the table. Let’s take a closer look at August’s main trends and turning points, using our own flexibility portfolio as the example.
Shift in volumes: the market needed both additional energy and down-regulation
In August, the system’s need for flexibility grew significantly.
- Up-regulation (additional energy) volume jumped by a full 20% compared to July, reaching nearly 20,800 MWh in August.
- Although July was the undisputed peak for down-regulation (easing overproduction), August managed to surpass even that: down-regulation volume grew by a further ~4% versus July, crossing the 22,300 MWh mark.
Total activated energy in the portfolio therefore grew by over 11% in August. The power system was restless, offering the EMS abundant opportunities to intervene in both directions every single day.
Profitability recovered: high margins are back
Where July’s general market stability pushed unit profitability down, August brought back volatility – a smart portfolio’s best friend. The EMS’s calculated value creation (the portfolio’s maximum theoretical total margin) grew by a full 32.7% in August compared to the previous month.
- Average up-regulation profitability, which had fallen to 90 €/MWh in July, climbed strongly to 106.5 €/MWh in August.
- Average down-regulation profitability also recovered slightly, rising from 41 euros to approximately 46 €/MWh.
The vital role of the EMS: peak days determine the month’s result
As in previous months, August showed that profit is not evenly distributed across days. Human capacity has its limits, but an intelligent EMS making thousands of micro-decisions per day also captures the most unexpected and extreme market anomalies.
August’s absolute peaks:
- 17 August: A genuine anomaly – the mFRR up-regulation price briefly surged to an extreme 1,140 €/MWh. This delivered almost 8.8% of the entire month’s profit.
- 31 August: On the last day of the month, the up-regulation price reached 1,240 €/MWh, adding a further ~8.5% to the total portfolio result.
- 12 and 18 August: Both days stood out with strong volatility and high mFRR up-regulation prices, each accounting for more than 6% of the month’s total profit.
These days alone made up 30% of August’s entire profit potential. Without a second-accurate, automated EMS, those windows of “golden” volatility would simply have gone unused.
Summary
August’s results prove that on the balancing markets (mFRR), there is no such thing as an “average, stable” day. A portfolio has to be ready to react at any moment – capable of offering the system both massive down-regulation during solar energy surpluses and critical up-regulation in the event of unexpected shortfalls. Companies that rely on smart algorithms extract the greatest possible benefit from market volatility, leaving participants using manual management far behind.
