Flexibility within market coupling in Southeast Europe

This work addresses the problem of optimizing the energy market-clearing of an integrated power system in a coupled market. More specifically, a wide range of market products (simple hourly, block, and complex orders) are simulated in order to determine the optimal energy allocation. Apart from conventional power plants, a series of flexibility service providers are also modeled, including electricity storage systems and electric vehicles under various smart charging and discharging options. The overall methodological framework is based on mixed-integer programming techniques and is tested in the integrated Greek-Bulgarian-Romanian power system as planned for 2030. A series of scenarios have also been examined to investigate the impacts of parameters such as PV availability, electricity demand, EV penetration, and natural gas and CO2 emission prices. The results highlight the impacts of market coupling in a series of fundamentals such as resulting energy mix, cross-border electricity flows, and environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions. It also underscores the role of flexible resources in alleviating the impacts of intermittency injected into the power systems through variable renewable energy sources. System operators, regulatory authorities, and potential investors can utilize the optimization framework developed to quantify the short-term dynamics of coupled electricity market operations and optimize the management of their resources and portfolios.