Ignitis partnership with Estonian start-up allowed to introduce a novelty in the Lithuanian electricity market

Ignitis started cooperation with Estonian start-up Fusebox, which plans to become the first independent electricity demand aggregator in Lithuania. Electricity demand service is novelty in the Lithuanian electricity market and is crucial in contributing to energy security and efficiency.

Independent electricity demand aggregators will provide services of reserve power and power grid balancing. Fusebox is based on connecting hardware to electrical appliances which use the most electricity, e.g. to commercial refrigerator.

Independent electricity demand aggregators participate in electricity balancing auctions which are organized by the transmission system operators of the Baltic States. In these auctions transmission system operators uses submitted offers of demand aggregators and provide instructions for rapid changes of electricity generation or consumption regimes in case overall balance of system of the  Baltic states is not maintained.   In other words demand aggregators ask their customers to reduce or increase electricity consumption over a period of time.

“Innovation and leadership in the energy sector is one of the goals set in the strategy of Ignitis Group. This time, we are the first in Lithuania to contribute to the development of a completely new activity in the electricity market, which is strategically important for the whole country.

Independent demand aggregators will increase the flexibility of the Lithuanian electricity system and play an important role in the electricity balancing market. The services provided by demand aggregators will be especially important after the synchronization of the electricity networks of all the Baltic States with Western Europe, when the need for capacity maintaining the system frequency will increase. In this way, it will also contribute to the strengthening of the energy security of the whole country,” says Darius Maikštėnas, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Ignitis Group.

While cooperating with Fusebox, Ignitis will be the Balance Responsible Party to the transmission system operator and will enable the start-up to provide the services required for balancing the electricity network.

Representatives of Fusebox note that cooperation with electricity demand aggregators would allow companies which consumes a lot of electricity to receive additional income. They would not have to invest in the installation of new equipment, but could use existing infrastructure.

“Now Fusebox can enable large electricity consumers like Rimi, Via 3L and many others to benefit by participating in grid balancing processes also in Lithuania. They can start earning revenue while at the same time bring positive socio-economic benefits for all Lithuanian electricity consumers“, says Tarvo Õng, CEO of Fusebox.

The opportunity to provide demand response service both to companies and individuals arose in June 2020 after the Seimas approved amendments to the Law on Electricity.