The Manually Activated Reserves Initiative (MARI) project and Augstsprieguma tīkls as a project team member is conducting a first stakeholder consultation about the design of a common European manual frequency restoration reserves (mFRR) platform.

To ensure that remarks and views of the stakeholders are considered in a very early stage, the MARI project members decided to structure the consultation regarding the design of the mFRR platform in two steps:

• First Consultation – Call for Input;
• Second Consultation – mFRR Platform Design.

The first consultation was launched on the ENTSO-E page (https://consultations.entsoe.eu/markets/mari-first-consultation-call-for-input) on 21 November 2017 12:00 and will be closed on 20 December 2017. We encourage all stakeholders and market participants to take part in both consultations, so that the TSOs can consider their views while designing the mFRR platform. Only sufficient participation can ensure that the platform will successfully serve the needs of all relevant parties involved, be it TSOs, balancing service providers (BSP) or other stakeholders.

During this first phase, different options for the design aspects are presented to stakeholders and stakeholders are asked for their views and preferences. Taking into consideration the received feedback, MARI project members will prepare the final mFRR Platform Design. This design will then be consulted with the stakeholders around mid-2018. The final mFRR platform design is required to be submitted to the NRAs 12 months after entry into force of the Guideline on Electricity Balancing (GLEB) which is expected to be Q4/2017 or Q1/2018.

MARI was established by 19 transmission system operators (TSO) in April 2017 in order to propose the design of such a platform and was approved as the European implementation project by all TSOs in September 2017. Furthermore regular communication with the National Regulating Authorities (NRAs) through the Implementation Group meetings was established. The project currently comprises 19 members and 10 observers and all European TSOs are welcome to join at any time. „Augstsprieguma tīkls“ since MARI project establishment has been involved as observer and plans to join the project as a full member in December 2017.

The implementation of the European mFRR platform aims to secure an economically efficient purchase of balancing energy from manually activated frequency restoration reserves as well as to achieve the harmonization of the balancing energy products and a closer cooperation of TSO on the European level.

In particular, the platform will allow the BSPs to make available the balancing energy standard products to all European TSOs at once. The parties involved in the MARI project are aware that the feedback from stakeholders can be crucial for the creation of a well-functioning liquid platform.