SEEBURGER Solutions for the Utilities Industry

Redispatch 2.0: High-Quality Congestion Management Requires High-Performance Data Exchange

The first power company to be connected to RAIDA1

The challenge

Redispatch 2.0 is a set of measures designed to prevent grid congestion in the German power grid. Grid operators are obliged to comply with these from 1st October 2021 onwards, with the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) setting several milestones along the way. Connect+, a Germany-wide association of distribution and transmission system operators, developed RAIDA, software which fulfils the market role of data provider in Redispatch 2.0. For the power companies Westnetz and MITNETZ STROM, their highest priority was initially to meet the deadlines set by BNetzA to connect to RAIDA. These were 1st July 2021 and 1st October 2021 respectively. The next important milestone for the two companies was to be ready for when BNetzA withdrew its interim solution on 1st June 2022.

It was clear that when searching for a suitable integration partner, this would need to be someone who could implement complex, completely new data exchange processes under high time pressure, and be able to react agilely to sudden changes in specifications. The search was therefore on for company with a tried and tested solution, experienced employees, and enough experience in market communication in the power industry to understand they’d need to make a large number of interfaces available to all systems in a very short time frame.

 


1 RAIDA is a Connect+ software solution for the data provider role in Redispatch 2.0.

Industry:
Utilities
 

Scenarios:
BIS Suite
 

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The solution

With SEEBURGER at their side to help implement Redispatch 2.0, Westnetz and MITNETZ STROM were able to benefit from many years of experience and know-how in electronic data exchange. The power companies have a long-standing, trusting relationship with SEEBURGER with many successful projects, such as implementing the Mako system.

Both network operators have been using the SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite (BIS) for many years. Not only has BIS proven itself in that time, it is also able to meet the new data exchange criteria for Redispatch 2.0.

These include:

  • implementing a certificate-based system,
  • supplying connectors for RAIDA (Connect+),
  • connecting peripheral systems to provide data for RAIDA (Connect+)
  • mapping RAIDA communication processes.

SEEBURGER's flexible integration platform meets the challenge of bringing office-based and process-based IT even closer together for these critical infrastructure companies, while also reliably complying with all communication security rules. To this end, BIS ensures that the new Redispatch 2.0 processes are dovetail with network security processes in accordance to legal requirements.

As the the SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite is designed for networking systems and processes, it is easy to expand it to meet new needs as a company grows and develops.

 

Facts & figures

Once Westnetz decided to use the SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite (BIS) to implement the Redispatch 2.0 measures, the project was launched in November 2019. MITNETZ STROM joined the project in January 2020. The project encompassed the following milestones:

  • The first, non-redispatch interfaces were adopted in December 2019.
  • Numerous interfaces were set up for an initial MVP test in April 2021.
  • Westnetz was the first system in Germany to be connected to the RAIDA test system, closely followed by MITNETZ STROM.
  • On 1st July 2021, Westnetz's BIS was the first system to be connected to RAIDA in a productive environment when the project was ramped up.
  • The remaining functions were rolled out on 1st October 2021.
  • XML formats were updated by 01.04.2022 to enable communication with RAIDA.
  • The remaining interfaces were developed and adapted by 1st June 2022.

Further facts:

  • A REST-API was used to connect to RAIDA.
  • We fully met the need for high system availability.

Figures:

  • Westnetz: Volume of traffic grew from around 150,000 processes in October 2021 to about 1.5 million data exchanges per month (as of April 2022)
  • MITNETZ STROM are at around 500,000 data exchange messages per month, and increasing (as of April 2022)

The benefits

  • The functions available in the SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite for connecting systems and exchanging files (Managed File Transfer) have helped the two distribution grid operators to react extremely quickly to the new demands BNetzA has placed on all grid operators with Redispatch 2.0. Once compatibility had been checked with the systems involved, the companies were able to systematically introduce the many new interfaces one by one.
  • Westnetz and MITNETZ STROM worked closely in a joint project team to deliver their new Redispatch 2.0 processes on time and to ensure they complied at all times with regulations. The rapid pace of change in the market required they take an agile approach to implementing Redispatch 2.0.
  • A real strength in the project was the cooperative partnership between SEEBURGER, MITNETZ STROM and Westnetz, and the continuous sharing of expertise.

High-performance, reliable data exchange is crucial to the success of the industry-wide introduction of the new Redispatch 2.0 processes. MITNETZ STROM/Westnetz and SEEBURGER worked together to ace this task under extremely dynamic conditions and immense time pressure. A great success for all involved. THANK YOU!

Wilma Becker, Project Lead at MITNETZ STROM 2020/21

About Westnetz

Westnetz operates electricity and gas grids in western Germany. Based in Dortmund, Westnetz is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the energy company Westenergie AG. Westnetz operates grids belonging to various owners, which they make available to all market participants without discrimination. The company builds, plans and operates a huge network, stretching from the Emsland valley to the Hunsrück mountains 500 km away, and from the Dutch border to the German Weserberg region. With 5,800 employees, a 175,000 km electricity network and a 24,000 km gas network, Westnetz has been efficiently supplying customers with energy around the clock for many years.

www.westnetz.de

About MITNETZ STROM

A distribution grid operator, MITNETZ STROM ensures secure and reliable electricity supply to more than 2.2 million people in parts of the federal states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Thuringia. All in all, MITNETZ STROM is responsible for an area of 30,804 km².

MITNETZ STROM is actively involved in working towards a greener, more sustainable energy future, from grid expansion to participation in numerous national and international research projects.

In order to ensure a high level of quality, MITNETZ STROM regularly undergoes certification to industry standards by independent third parties such as VDE or TÜV SÜD.

www.mitnetz-strom.de