13/12/2023

ERSE – Energy Services Regulatory Entity approved, after the public consultation n. 118, the methodologies for estimating load and injection profiles for the electricity and gas sectors, as well as the methodology for construction of power loss profiles for the electricity transmission and distribution networks. Finally, the rules for calculating the adequacy factor for the electricity sector were also approved.

Theses methodologies are foreseen in the Commercial Relations Code for the electricity and gas sectors (RRC) and in the Access to Networks and Interconnections Code (RARI).

In the case of load profiles and power loss profiles, the main motivation for this regulatory review was the simplification of the respective annual approval processes, along with the reinforcement of transparency and the participation of the various interested parties in the development of the methodologies that support this approval.

Load profiles are estimated for each period (quarter-hourly, in the case of the electricity sector, and daily, in the case of the gas sector) of each day of the year and correspond to the proportion of annual consumption attributed to each of these periods. Network operators must publish load profiles annually, applying the approved methodologies.

With smart grids, consumption and injection into the grid are measured and collected in great detail and made available to the customer and market agents, reflecting the specificities of each one in their participation in the energy markets. In mainland Portugal, by the end of 2024, all customers will have smart meters on their premises with disaggregated data collection. Each customer can consult their real load profile on the network operator's electronic platform.

Power loss profiles serve as the basis for the loss adjustment process, which relates the electrical energy measured at one point in the network to the power losses caused by its transit from another point.

In the case of the rules applicable to the adequacy factor, the regulatory review results from the evolution of the electricity sector itself, in particular the installation of smart meters with daily collection of load diagrams. The adequacy factor divides the differences between the electrical energy delivered to the grid (measured at entry points) and the electrical energy determined for the various suppliers (measured at consumption points).

Access to the approved methodologies and rules