Over 1,000 residential batteries are now contributing to a more renewable energy system in a new and significant way. New market regulations have led to substantial costs for energy market participants, particularly producers of renewable energy, who face high fees for imbalances caused by deviations between forecasted and actual production and consumption. These costs have even led to the temporary shutdown of wind farms. CheckWatt is now mitigating these imbalances by aggregating residential batteries on a large scale to deliver the ancillary service mFRR, which corrects grid imbalances during the operational 15-minute period.

The ancillary service mFRR (manual Frequency Restoration Reserve) is procured by Svenska kraftnät (the authority responsible for Sweden’s national grid). Its purpose is to manage the imbalances that are becoming increasingly common as the share of renewable, weather-dependent energy grows. If left unmanaged, these imbalances ultimately drive up electricity prices for consumers.

“This supports the expansion of affordable renewable energy from solar and wind. It is a prerequisite for keeping consumer costs down and accelerating the energy transition. These new reserves also provide reliability and operational security to the system, allowing fossil fuel-based reserves, such as the Karlshamn and Öresund power plants, to be phased out — saving both costs and emissions,” said Dan-Eric Archer, CEO of CheckWatt.

CheckWatt has been delivering mFRR using larger commercial batteries since earlier this year, but now a significant number of residential batteries are participating as well. This is achieved through an agreement with Bixia acting as the balance responsible party (BRP). The BRP is responsible for maintaining the balance between all produced and consumed electricity within a specific bidding zone and is the party with whom CheckWatt enters into agreements for mFRR delivery.

“As a balance responsible party, we help our customers participate in the mFRR market and contribute to a more flexible and stable power system. Our open solution for aggregators makes it easier for different actors to collaborate and creates new opportunities in the energy transition. Being able to include residential batteries is a major step toward more renewable energy, while providing even greater value to our customers,” says Anders Larsson, Head of Strategy and Product Management at Bixia.

In total, CheckWatt will now be able to deliver mFRR with a capacity of 37 megawatts (MW) from batteries located in Swedish businesses and households. Most of these batteries are located in bidding zones SE3 and SE4 in southern Sweden. CheckWatt is working to ensure that all batteries aggregated by the company — currently totaling approximately 300 MW across Sweden, Finland, and Denmark — will eventually be able to deliver mFRR in their respective markets.

The need for resources capable of delivering mFRR has grown rapidly. This is due not only to the increase in solar and wind power but also to new regulations introduced by Svenska kraftnät in March this year with the launch of a new market: mFRR EAM (Energy Activation Market). This market sets the price for imbalances that arise when production and consumption deviate from forecasts. This has resulted in frequent instances of extreme prices on mFRR EAM, significantly increasing the risk of high costs being passed on to consumers and renewable energy producers. Consequently, mFRR is currently the most lucrative revenue stream for battery owners, while the increased participation of such resources helps to dampen overall market prices and costs.

For more information and interview requests, please contact:

CheckWatt press contact: Daniel Dickson, Head of Communications, daniel.dickson@checkwatt.se, +46 (0)72-648 03 91

Bixia Press Contact: +46 (0)13-20 91 40