Balance Group Model
The balance group model is the basis on which the liberalized Austrian gas market operates.
The introduction of the balance group model, the separation of trading and
distribution, on the one side, and the operation of the grid, on the other, were the fundamental
changes implemented to the structure of the Austrian gas sector.
In Austria, a framework has been established modeled after the Scandinavian
balance group model.
The model fulfills the following tasks:
- Secure the balancing of the actual inflows into the grid as well the outflows from the grid.
- Make balancing energy available to cover the differences between the actual and estimated outflows and inflows of gas into the grid
- Establish a system for the financial settlement of balancing energy and similar services
Market Actors
The deregulated gas market is characterized by the emergence of new market
actors with different tasks and areas of responsibility that guarantee the functioning of the gas
market:
- Grid operators – These include operators of transmission and distribution grids.
- System operator – He is responsible for balancing the balance area. In balance area Ost, AGGM is responsible for the technical balancing.
- Balance group – This means the grouping of suppliers and customers into a virtual group within which the balancing of gas supply and demand takes place. The representative of the balance group vis-à-vis the other market participants is the balance responsible party.
- The Imbalance Settlement Responsible Party is an organization that calculates the balancing energy and its price based on the data supplied by the grid operators and market participants and also administrates the registration and the settlement for balance groups. In Austria, there are imbalance settlement responsible parties for the balance area Ost and balance area West. The imbalance settlement responsible party in Austria is also called balance group coordinator .