Advisory

Capacity market (BMWE). After a political decision to introduce a capacity market, this multi-year project develops such a market for Germany’s economics ministry. It examines options from a hedging obligation to a central capacity market. Consentec coordinates the overall project with r2b and Öko-Institut; we lead the work on hedging obligations. 2024–26.

Austrian electricity market design (multi client). The rapid transformation of the power system keeps raising new market design questions. For Austrian renewable energy associations, we ran workshops on current topics in electricity market design, such as system-friendly operation and capacity markets. 2025–26.

Industrial grid fees (Aurubis). Building on Model C of Germany’s network regulator, we develop a proposal to reform industrial grid fee discounts. We identify grid operators’ needs, analyze the flexible processes of copper producer Aurubis, and specify key design parameters such as lead times and intervention frequency, keeping the grid benefit at the center.

Costs of transformers (industrial company). The EU shields domestic makers of transformer steel through anti-dumping duties, and further trade measures are under discussion amid rising imports. For a steelmaker, we quantified how rising costs of transformer core steel would feed through to grid costs and tariffs for European electricity consumers.

Congestion management review (ENTSO-E). With the rise of wind and solar energy, batteries, and electrification, grid congestion is a growing challenge for many TSOs. ENTSO-E’s report provides a comprehensive summary and evaluation of solutions for congestion management and system operation. We reviewed and discussed the study with TSO representatives from 20 European countries.

DataFlex (TSOs). Germany manages grid congestion through mandatory, cost-compensated redispatch, but fair compensation for flexible demand is hard to determine. Market-based redispatch is an alternative but invites baseline manipulation and inc-dec gaming. With Consentec, we help two German TSOs refine the auction and compensation rules and prepare deployment. 2025–26.

Grid impact of thermal storage (industrial company). Heat batteries turn variable renewable power into steady industrial heat, but grid tariffs favor baseload profiles and discourage flexible operation. We supported a heat battery provider in Germany’s grid fee reform consultation, showing that flexible demand offers both grid and customer cost advantages over baseload. 2025–26.

Smart charging & V2G analysis (Enercity). For the German utility Enercity, we assessed decentralized flexibility with a focus on smart charging and vehicle-to-grid. We analyzed how market and grid signals shape flexibility use and evaluated smart bidirectional charging strategies for vehicle fleets, providing a clear basis for internal strategy and communication.

Scheduling process (TSOs). Market parties have to submit a schedule to their connecting TSO, forecasting generation and consumption. However, they often have an incentive to submit a biased forecast. For the German TSOs, we evaluated options to improve schedule accuracy, building on lessons learned from other countries. 2024–25.

Real-time price (Elia). Belgian TSO Elia worked on reforming its imbalance settlement price in the context of PICASSO. As part of a review committee, we provided input and assessments and supported external communication. 2023–24.

Renewables support scheme (BMWE). Germany needs to reform its support scheme by January 2027. A particular concern is undistorted dispatch incentives for wind and solar energy. Along with our partners Guidehouse, Consentec, Fraunhofer ISI, and Becker Büttner Held, we provide the ministry with assessment and advice on various proposed reforms. Options include two-sided CfDs. 2024–26.

Solar bonus (Green Party). A novel proposal would provide German residential consumers with a block of electricity free of charge. For the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag, we assessed the proposal’s design and its economic effects.

Grid impact of BESS (investor). Very large battery storage projects connect directly to the transmission grid, where their impact on congestion and system operation shapes connection terms. For a storage investor, we simulate the grid impact of a very large stand-alone, TSO-connected BESS project.

Subsidies for co-located BESS (MECO). Luxembourg’s economy ministry MECO is considering support for utility-scale batteries sharing a grid connection with PV plants. Using our BESS optimization model, we quantified BESS revenues under a wide range of parameters and scenarios and assessed subsidy options, delivering a spreadsheet and an interactive dashboard for the ministry.

Flexibility (industrial company). For an industrial company, we assessed the potential to market its flexibility, with a focus on balancing services. We reviewed the technical and regulatory requirements, ran a workshop on the fundamentals of balancing energy and prequalification, and identified concrete options for commercialization.

Electricity procurement costs (industrial company). Wholesale prices, subsidies, and grid tariffs are critical for electrification investments in energy-intensive industries. For a major European energy consumer, we provided technical and regulatory expertise for a planned billion-euro investment.

Imbalance settlement price (Swissgrid). Concerned about large system imbalances, Switzerland has decided to reform its imbalance settlement price. For the Swiss TSO, we provided a quantitative assessment of the proposed system and developed a new pricing regime, derived from first principles and informed by the real-world experience of other countries.

PV support scheme design (Swissgrid). As solar becomes central to Switzerland’s power system, its support scheme must safeguard generation adequacy cost-effectively. For Swissgrid, we reviewed European support instruments and proposed an optimized contract for differences to strengthen security of supply.