WEMO 2025 (complet) - Flipbook - Page 35
W E M O 202 5
O U T LO O K
Managing congestion: Electricity congestion
arises from limited transmission capacity when
demand exceeds the available infrastructure. In
the United States transmission grid congestion
costs peaked at almost $21 bn 261 in 2022 and fell
to an estimated $11.5 bn in 2023 thanks to less
extreme weather events and lower gas prices.
The cost of managing congested EU power grids
reached €4.26bn in 2023262, down 21% on the
year before, mainly due to lower power prices.
There are di昀昀erent ways to manage congestion:
— Constructing new electrical transmission lines is a
key strategy to alleviate grid congestion. New lines
increase grid capacity, enabling better integration
of renewable energy sources and facilitating
power transfer between regions. For example,
in Spain, the Red Eléctrica’s 400 kV line from
Galicia to Asturias263, completed in 2024, reduced
congestion by 20%, allowing excess wind power
to reach demand centers. These projects that
often span on more than 10 years, require careful
planning to address technical, regulatory, local
public oppositions and economic challenges264.
— Implementing Demand Response (DR) programs
incentivizes consumers to reduce electricity use
during peak times. (see below)
— Increasing energy storage systems (see above)
that store excess renewable energy and dispatch
it during high demand, reducing congestion.
These solutions complement new lines, o昀昀ering
faster, cost-e昀昀ective ways to manage congestion.
Grid-forming inverters are power electronics that actively control voltage and frequency to
stabilize grids, mimicking synchronous generators,
Virtual Synchronous Machine (VSM) controls are advanced algorithms in inverters that emulate
the inertial characteristics of traditional synchronous generators
261
https://gridstrategiesllc.com/wp-content/uploads/Grid-Strategies_2023-TransmissionCongestion-Report.pdf
262
https://montelnews.com/news/0c669a04-99cc-440a-80b5-4ea70ebdde05/eu-powergrid-congestion-cost-eur-4bn-in-2023-acer#:~:text=(Montel)%20The%20cost%20of%20
managing,regulatory%20agency%20Acer%20on%20Wednesday.
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Interconnections between countries enable crossborder electricity trade and resource sharing. For
instance, the North Sea Link between Norway and the
UK, operational since 2021, facilitates bidirectional
trade, allowing Norway to export surplus hydropower
and the UK to supply wind power, reducing
electricity supply costs and cutting emissions.265
In March 2022, Ukraine’s electricity grid was
synchronized with the ENTSO-E Continental
European grid, ensuring ongoing stability despite
Russian attacks. The connection supports 935
million kWh of imports and export revenues.
Stronger interconnections between Spain and
France or Morocco might have mitigated the April
2025 blackout by enabling faster power imports to
balance the grid after the 15 GW generation loss.266
In Europe, the ENTSO-E synchronous grid connects
667 GW of generation, enabling e昀케cient renewable
integration but requiring robust management rules
implementation and cybersecurity to prevent cascade
failures.
259
260
263
https://www.ree.es/en/press-o昀케ce/news/press-releases/2019/02/
red-electrica-invests-more-9-million-euros-improve-asturias-galicia-axis
264
https://powerline.net.in/2025/05/01/cea-noti昀椀es-draft-cea-technical-standards-forconstruction-of-electrical-plants-and-electric-lines-regulations-2025/
265
https://www.nationalgrid.com/
national-grids-north-sea-link-strengthens-electricity-supply-and-repays-its-carbon-cost-just-six
266
https://smcint.com/electrical-testing/
analysis-of-spains-april-2025-blackout-causes-low-inertia-grid-risks-and-protection-solutions/
WEMO 2025
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Inertia increase : Supplying inertia on a grid with a high
share of intermittent renewables is critical to maintain
stability, as these sources lack the physical inertia
provided by traditional synchronous generators. Grid
inertia can be emulated using advanced technologies
such as grid-forming inverters259, and battery energy
storage systems (BESS) equipped with virtual
synchronous machine (VSM)260 controls.
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