Energinet Publishes Historical Assessment of Geotagged mFRR Bid Activation for Local Congestion Management

Energinet released a detailed assessment of how geotagged mFRR (and to a lesser extent aFRR) energy bids have been activated over the past year to manage local grid congestion under its existing approved local-flexibility procurement methodology, breaking down activation volumes, frequency and magnitude by sub-area across DK1 and DK2.

The data shows local congestion management via geotagged bids is currently non-systematic and driven mainly by non-intact grid situations, but an emerging structural trend is appearing whereby downward regulation needs concentrate in wind/solar-dominated areas (notably West Jutland and Lolland). This informs how balancing service providers should geotag and structure portfolio bids, and signals that demand for geographically differentiated flexibility procurement will grow as renewable penetration increases.

This is an operational/market-impact disclosure rather than a new rule change: Energinet is reporting on outcomes under an already-approved methodology that lets it activate geotagged aFRR/mFRR bids (settled as special regulation) to relieve local bottlenecks and exclude bids that would worsen them. The granular area-by-area data (10 sub-zones across DK1/DK2) reveals highly concentrated activation in a few areas—DK1_West Jutland and DK2_Lolland dominate downward regulation volumes—reflecting renewable buildout outpacing local grid reinforcement. The temporary spike in Western Jutland downward regulation tied to Viking Link commissioning and the delayed West Coast Connection project illustrates how interconnector commissioning interacts with local balancing needs. For market design, this reinforces the trajectory toward more granular, locational balancing/flexibility products in EU balancing markets, and provides an evidence base that could feed into future methodology revisions or expanded geotagging requirements.

Energinet's approved methodology for procuring local flexibility via geotagged aFRR/mFRR energy bids, settled as special regulation

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