[en] Deregulation of electricity industry in Europe has tended to start with a grace period of energy surplus inherited from the previously expansive coordinated economies and further amplified by better resource utilisation from extended international trade. The regulatory challenge has therefore primarily been to allocate existing generation to consumers in an efficient way. However, as energy demand increases, due to economic growth, the challenge of providing new capacity surfaces. The Nordic region, which has been a pioneer in internationalising and deregulating electricity, is now approaching this stage, ahead of most of the rest of Europe. While the Nordic case is characterised by specificities related to hydropower it also raises the more general challenge of capacity expansion under a deregulated market economy. The article therefore discusses how the Nordic investment challenges of today shed light on more generic challenges that may become more general European challenges of tomorrow. In a final section, the article discusses policy options available to address the investment/price-hike challenge. The argument is put forward that recursion to some degree of coordinated governance might seem necessary if solutions are confined within large-scale technical systems. However, within the context of a small-scale decentralised technological development, one may be more confident of competitive solutions. (Author)

[en] The Board of the Nordic Nuclear Safety Research (NKS) decided in the autumn 2000 to contract out two separate evaluations on the NKS Programme 1998-2001. Martin Oeiby from the NorwegiOe Radiation Protection Authority was requested to perform an evaluation on overall administration of the NKS Programme. Two experts conducted the scientific evaluation. Gustaf Lowenhielm from the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate was requested to assess projects on nuclear safety issues and waste management, and Raimo Mustonen from the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority to evaluate projects on radiation protection and nuclear emergency preparedness. This report deals with the scientific evaluation. The report contains brief review on the history of the Nordic nuclear and radiation safety co-operation and on the development of Programme for 1998-2001. Brief summaries of activities in all the projects are given, together with the main results of the projects. The evaluators give their subjective assessments on the success and effectiveness of the projects based on the evaluation criteria agreed With the NKS Board in the beginning of work. Also some general recommendations for the future co-operation are given. (au)

[en] Demand-side flexibility and demand response to high prices are prerequisites for the proper functioning of the Nordic power market. If the consumers are unwilling to respond to high prices, the market may fail the clearing, and this may result in unwanted forced demand disconnections. Being the TSO of Western Denmark, Eltra is responsible of both security of supply and the design of the power market within its area. On this basis, Eltra has developed a new mathematical model tool for analysing the Nordic wholesale market. The model is named MARS (MARket Simulation). The model is able to handle hydropower and thermal production, nuclear power and wind power. Production, demand and exchanges modelled on an hourly basis are new important features of the model. The model uses the same principles as Nord Pool (The Nordic Power Exchange), including the division of the Nordic countries into price areas. On the demand side, price elasticity is taken into account and described by a Cobb-Douglas function. Apart from simulating perfect competition markets, particular attention has been given to modelling imperfect market conditions, i.e. exercise of market power on the supply side. Market power is simulated by using game theory, including the Nash equilibrium concept. The paper gives a short description of the MARS model. Besides, focus is on the application of the model in order to illustrate the importance of demand response in the Nordic market. Simulations with different values of demand elasticity are compared. Calculations are carried out for perfect competition and for the situation in which market power is exercised by the large power producers in the Nordic countries (oligopoly). (au)

[en] The peak power balance in the Nordic power system is gradually turning to be very tight, especially in the electric area of southern Sweden and eastern Denmark. Power stations are closed and hardly any investments in new production are carried out. Demand response is considered essential when the formation of spot prices shall send the signal of needed investments in new capacity. Demand response which are based on individual preferences, and carried out automatically, can be one way to increase the volume of price elastic demand. Demand response need hourly metering for calculation and documentation of the decrease in demand, and controllability in order to meet the timing requirements. Within the EU SAVE project EFFLOCOM (2002 - 2004), a Danish demand response pilot project was established in 2003 including 25 single family homes with direct electrical heating. The system has been tested during the winter 2003/2004. The tested technologies include hourly metering, communication by GRPS as well as the Internet. GPRS is used for daily remote meter reading and automatic control of the electric heating including individual control of up to five zones. The system is designed for automatic activation when the Nord Pool hourly Elspot prices exceed preset levels. The system can also be used as regulating power. The EFFLOCOM Web Bite includes an interactive demonstrator of the system. The developed customer Web Bite is including the services: 1) Access to setting the limits for the maximum duration of interruption for up to five different control zones for two periods of the day and for three price levels. 2) Access to stop an actual interruption. 3) A report on the hourly, daily, weekly and monthly use of electricity and the saved bonus by demand response control. The report is updated daily. The goals of up to 5 kW controlled per house were fulfilled. Besides the demand response bonus the customers have also saved electricity. A customer survey did show that the customers wanted to continue with the system. The Danish TSO's have decided to continue the pilot in the winter 2004/2005 including some new features. (au)

[en] The liberalization of the energy market is near. In two years the second group of large-scale energy consumers (60,000 customers) in the Netherlands can choose their own energy supplier. In this fourth part of a series of articles on the energy market attention is paid to the position of the small-scale consumers, the last group that will be free to choose their natural gas supplier

[en] Energy-intensive industries in the Netherlands pay far too much for electric power. It could bring such industries to produce their own electricity or even supply electricity on the free market. The question is whether the industry considers this as a viable option

[en] This report summarises the findings of a study undertaken to investigate the potential for establishing ancillary service markets at the distribution level in the UK. Existing arrangements for ancillary service markets globally, the design of these markets, regulatory and legislative changes that may be required, different forms of distributed generation (DG), and prospects of increasing the connection to the distributed network are examined along with commercial frameworks and technical procedures, infrastructure requirements, and the effects on different market participants. The scope for new ancillary services at the distribution level, ancillary services from DG, the prospects for DG, commercial and technical aspects, and impact assessments are reviewed

[en] The article gives a short survey of the Scandinavian energy policies and the quota trade in connection with the opening of the power exchange Nord Pool

[en] Capacity Subscription (CS) implies that consumers buy (subscribe to) a certain amount of capacity. Their demand is limited to this capacity when the total power system is short of capacity and the System Operator activates controllable Load Limiting Devices (LLDs). The objective is to maintain system security by avoiding involuntary load shedding. The report describes a market design with CS. As a case study, an analysis is made of the changes in the market design of the Nordic system that would be necessary to implement CS. First the present Nordic market design is described. Focus is on the various market participants, their roles within various time horizons and their interactions. So it is described how CS works, why it works and what is necessary to make it work. Subsequently the necessary changes in the Nordic market structure are described. The major changes are the installation of the LLDs, the establishment of the necessary infrastructure to control the LLDs and the rules governing their control and the establishment of a capacity market. The major rule is that the System Operator announces LLD activation when a shortage situation is expected. In the capacity market generators offer available capacity during system peak conditions, while consumers bid their need for capacity. Market participants are the same as on the spot market, while small consumers buy through retailer. Generators are obliged to offer the capacity sold on the capacity market on the spot market during LLD activation. Failure to do so results in a penalty payment. The report further discusses issues like the need for verification procedures, import and export, generation pooling, the handling of small consumers, reserves and a possible implementation path of CS. With respect to transmission constraints it is argued that market splitting can be a viable option. It is concluded that CS can be a possible solution to maintain generation adequacy, but there are some serious challenges. The most important are the establishment of the necessary infrastructure and the acceptability for especially small consumers. Implementation should be evaluated against other options like Capacity Obligation and Reliability Contracts. (author)

[en] This report, which is based on the Health and Safety Executive's 'Offshore Installations: Guidance on Design, Construction and Certification', provides information on the meteorological and oceanographic environment for offshore installations in UK waters. Metocean parameters examined include winds; waves; water depths and sea level variations; currents; air and sea temperatures; snow and ice; marine growths; combinations of extreme parameters; and metocean parameters for fatigue calculations