Balancing regime
In order to ensure safe and efficient gas transport, the GTS network must be in constant balance. In principle, entry and exit must therefore be equal. The Balancing regime section and the underlying web pages explain how the balance in the GTS network is maintained and, if it is disturbed, what measures can be taken to restore the balance, both by GTS and by network users.
If a shipper fails to maintain a balanced portfolio, this can have significant negative financial consequences. These web pages therefore provide a general explanation of the current market model and balancing regime that came into effect on 1 April 2011 and was amended in a number of areas on 3 June 2014 to comply with the European Network Codes.
A market-based balancing regime
The gas transport network must be balanced in order to transport gas safely and efficiently. “Balanced” means that the transport network remains at the correct pressure by ensuring that, on balance, no more gas is withdrawn from the network than is fed into it, and vice versa.
Each market party is responsible for the amount of gas it withdraws or feeds into its portfolio. This means that the market parties are collectively (co-)responsible for maintaining the balance of the transport network. Network users have insight into their own position at all times (24/7) and are therefore able to contribute to keeping the transmission network in balance. They also have 24/7 insight into the situation of the transmission network as a whole, which corresponds to the positions of all network users combined.
As long as the total position of the transmission network remains within the permissible limits (dark green zone), the transmission network is in balance and none of the parties need to take action. If the transmission network becomes or threatens to become unbalanced, market parties can take action by feeding gas into or withdrawing gas from the network. If this has too little effect and the imbalance becomes too high, a market-based correction mechanism will be triggered and GTS will buy or sell gas.
How does this work in practice and can you provide more detail?
Before the start of a gas day, shippers submit a programme specifying their hourly entries, exits and TTF deals for the following day. In this programme, shippers who supply households apply a damping formula, which dampens their feed-in pattern compared to the off-take pattern during the gas day.
During the gas day, the entry and exit allocations are determined on the basis of the confirmed nominations and near-real-time measurement data, in order to determine the imbalance per portfolio per hour. The cumulative hourly imbalances form the Portfolio Imbalance Signal (POS), which is shared with the network user on an individual basis.
The sum of all individual POSs forms the System Balance Signal (SBS); the SBS is published on the same time scale as the POS.
GTS monitors the SBS and initiates a balancing action if the situation requires it. If the SBS is not equal to zero, this is generally an indication of an imbalance in the system. The imbalance margin is divided into so-called buffer zones. As long as the SBS remains in the dark green zone, no balancing action is required. As soon as the SBS enters the light green, orange or red zone, the correction mechanism is triggered, after which gas is purchased or sold on the ICE Endex Spot Market by means of a Within-Day-Balancing-Action (WDBA).
As a result of these balancing actions, the imbalance position of all grid users causing the imbalance is (partially) adjusted in the right direction. These market parties also bear the costs of the gas needed to resolve the imbalance.
In the event of undesirable balancing behaviour, an (additional) financial levy will be charged; in the event of substantial undesirable balancing behaviour, the licence of the shipper concerned may be revoked.
The balancing regime does not have a fixed balancing period. A “short” or “long” position in a portfolio can remain without consequences for some time, provided that the SBS remains in the dark green zone.
Would you like to read the full terms and conditions? These are set out in the Dutch Transmission Code Gas TSO.
FAQ
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Yes, traders must also be aware of the balancing regime and must be able to receive and send all electronic messages related to it. Although traders are unlikely to experience imbalances in their portfolios, this cannot be ruled out, for example as a result of incorrect portfolio management or an error in nominations with or by counterparties.
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If you wish to become a provider on the gas exchange, you must meet the criteria set by ICE Endex. For an overview of these criteria, please refer to the ICE Endex website. Once you are authorised to trade on the ICE Endex exchange, this is sufficient to offer flexibility in the run-up to a balancing action. GTS does not impose any additional requirements.
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In principle, your POS will never be reset. WDBA's affect the POS: when a WDBA is executed, called volumes are settled pro rata with the POS of the parties responsible. The POS of shippers who, at the time of the balancing action, have a POS that is opposite to the SBS (long vs. short) will not be affected.
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This cannot be predicted in advance. A WDBA is conducted when the (forecast) position of the SBS gives cause to do so.
Every 10 and 15 minutes past the hour, the end-of-hour forecast for the SBS is calculated. If the outcome at 10 minutes past the hour gives cause for a WDBA, an advance notice is published on Gasport and a Request for Quote (RfQ) is posted on the ICE Endex trading screen. The advance notice and the RfQ provide an estimate of the volume to be called on the ICE Endex spot market based on the most recent information.
If the predicted SBS at 15 minutes past the hour still gives rise to a WDBA, the advance notice on Gasport is updated and another RfQ is placed on the ICE Endex trading screen.
If, in the 21st minute, the SBS forecast for the next hour (still) gives rise to a WDBA, an order will be placed on the ICE Endex spot market.
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Based on the estimated transport load (based on the programmes submitted by the Shippers), the size of the zones per hour is announced at least two hours before the start of the gas day. These hourly values are not changed after they have been published.
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No, you are only obliged to apply damping when you transport gas intended for delivery to domestic consumers.
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The volume called off during a WDBA is calculated as follows:
- The difference between the predicted end-of-hour value of the SBS and the border value of the dark green zone.
- If applicable, the part of previous WDBA calls that has not yet been delivered is included in the determination of the volume of a subsequent WDBA.
- If the predicted imbalance has reduced compared to the imbalance of the previous hour, no WDBA call will take place.
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Due to the processing time required, the POS of xx:15 is published at approximately xx:20. For all 5-minute values, it takes approximately 5 minutes to calculate, process and publish the values.
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The accountable POS for the entire hour (xx:00) takes into account allocations at exit points to distribution networks (DSB). These allocations become available around xx:13 for the past hour. If a shipper does not have any DSB exit points in its portfolio, the accountable POS (available around xx:20) is equal to the near-real-time POS that becomes available around xx:05. Please note both indicate the value of the POS at xx:00.
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Yes, it is possible; a POS is created for each portfolio. Multiple portfolios for a shipper result in multiple (independent) POSs. These must be balanced separately.
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No, GTS only has an SBS forecast for the next hour.
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Yes, a POS is also determined for a wheeling portfolio, which may be influenced by a WDBA.
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Yes this is possible.
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Yes
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Yes, an Excel file containing the zones for the current gas day can be downloaded from the website.
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The WDBA announcement in Gasport is displayed immediately as soon as the SBS forecast gives reason to post an RfQ on ICE Endex. The announcement is displayed on all screens in the Dispatching menu item. The following information is displayed:
GTS WDM Order Forecast at: <xx:05>/<xx:10> LET - GTS <buys>/<sells>
Product: <remainder of day> (as from 1-1-2026 the only balancing product)
Amount per hour: <value> MW/h
Total amount: <value> MWh
SBS forecast value: <+/-value> MWh