Q&A
Frequently Asked Questions

An Energy Management System (EMS) is a set of digital tools used to supervise, control and optimize electricity consumption or production while ensuring uninterrupted service.

Agregio Solutions’ EMS is a stand-alone software package, installed on a hybrid energy site with a battery energy storage system.

Thanks to its intelligence, it controls all the equipment at a given site: solar panels or wind turbines, batteries, electric vehicle charging stations…Each EMS consists of an optimizer and a controller. The optimizer determines the best trajectory according to weather forecasts, consumption forecasts, price forecasts, equipment status and site requirements. The controller pilots the equipment (e.g. batteries, PV, generators) intelligently and autonomously in real time to follow the optimizer’s trajectory as closely as possible.

The Off-grid EMS is an Energy Management System installed on a site completely disconnected from the national grid, such as an isolated site, a remote village, an island or a mining site.

This type of EMS allows a site to ensure uninterrupted access to electricity,  reduce carbon-based fuel consumption and energy costs, and maximize the integration of renewable energies. Off-grid EMS can connect to gensets (diesel, gas, HO), batteries or renewable assets (e.g. PV, wind, hydro).

A microgrid is a small-scale electrical network that brings together various energy production facilities (e.g. photovoltaic panels, diesel generators, small hydraulics, etc), storage facilities (e.g. battery energy storage systems) and consumption facilities, as well as monitoring tools.

A hybrid site is one that uses multiple energy sources, such as wind and solar power.

Electrical flexibility refers to the ability of stakeholders (producers, consumers, operators with storage assets) to adapt to variations in the electrical system, particularly those created through the production of intermittent renewable energy, by injecting or withdrawing electricity from the network.

Load shedding, otherwise known as a ‘curtailment mechanism’ or ‘consumption curtailment’, refers to the modulation or interruption of electricity consumption by energy-intensive consumers, such as industrial or service companies, during peak consumption periods. In return for providing this service to the electricity grid, these consumers receive remuneration.
In short, load shedding makes it possible to contribute to the supply-demand balance and to grid stability, for which RTE is the guarantor, while at the same time being rewarded financially.

Electrical flexibility can be useful to a broad range of stakeholders. They may be private or business customers, industrial or service companies (e.g. shopping centers), electricity producers or operators with electricity storage assets. Similarly, a wide range of sectors can be involved: metallurgy, water treatment, paper mills, supermarkets, data centers, the food industry, hospitals, the automotive industry, waste treatment, etc.
Overall, almost all sectors of activity are capable of implementing load shedding strategies to relieve the network in the event of high grid stress, according to their wishes and constraints.

An aggregator, such as Agregio Solutions, assesses your load shedding potential on the basis of your consumption data, using a number of criteria: the sheddable electrical power you are prepared to make available to the electricity grid and the length of time you are committed to doing so. Based on a study of these elements and certified methods for determining the reference power, the aggregator is then able to propose a load shedding valorization contract tailored to your needs.

The notice period for activation is defined in your contract. It is from D-1 to a maximum of 21:00 for erasure on day D as part of our Erasure Solution. This notice period can be much shorter – as little as a few minutes for same-day activation — in customized multi-market offers.

A PPA, or Power Purchase Agreement, is a win-win electricity purchase contract that allows the renewable energy producer to sell its energy production and the consumer to buy green electricity. With this type of contract, both producers and consumers contribute to the stability of the grid. In France, the use of flexibility is also an opportunity for solar farms to avoid producing during periods of negative prices (or negative spot prices).

The abbreviation “PP” stands for “Peak Period”. Consequently, PP1 and PP2 days (the numbering distinguishes each day concerned by the peak) are days of high stress on the electricity grid, otherwise known as “peak electricity consumption days”. These are days when electricity consumption on the national grid is very high, mainly in winter. They are declared by RTE the day before the day in question.

The value of storage assets is captured on 5 markets:

– Day-Ahead (DA) wholesale (Spot): the value is derived from temporal price spreads
(loading during the cheapest hours, unloading during the most expensive hours).
– Intraday (ID): the value is derived from position changes with Spot (re-arbitrage in D+1 between positions taken in D at Sport), and from position reduction in ID (30min. step vs. 1h step at Sport).

– Primary Frequency Regulation (PFR/Primary Reserve/PR/R1): the value is taken from the power reservation (€/MW/h), in D for D+1.

– Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve (aFRR/Secondary Reserve/SR/R2): the value is taken from the power reservation (€/MW/h) in D for D+1, and from the energy activation in D (€/MWh).

– Capacity mechanism: the value is derived from the availability of system services on PP2 days (10 to 15 days per year).

“The AOFD, formerly known as the AOE, is a scheme to support the development of low-carbon flexibilities, i.e. load shedding and electricity storage (articles L.271-4 and L.352-1-1 of the French Energy Code). The terms and conditions of the call for tenders are set by the Minister in charge of energy, after consultation and proposal by RTE. This call for tenders provides additional remuneration to that provided by the capacity mechanism “*.
To find out more about the AOFD 2025, click HERE.

*source: RTE

The flexibility of electric vehicles refers to their ability to interact intelligently with the electrical grid to help balance energy supply and demand. This flexibility is based on intelligent charging technologies, of which there are two main types:

V1G consists of optimizing charging periods for electric vehicles. By recharging mainly when electricity demand is low, V1G not only minimizes recharging costs for users, but also maximizes the integration of renewable energies.

V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) offers additional functionalities, enabling vehicles not only to recharge, but also to feed the energy stored in their batteries back into the power grid. So in the event of high demand or tension on the grid, vehicles can supply electricity to support the system. This capability enables vehicle owners to reduce their charging costs by taking advantage of periods of low electricity costs, and even generate revenue by selling stored energy to the grid. V2G plays a key role in the stability of the electricity grid, acting as a backup source during periods of high demand.

Electric vehicles are becoming an increasingly important flexibility lever for the power grid. With the development of this type of vehicle, the number of storage assets available to the grid increases considerably, improving its stability. In fact, when aggregated, batteries represent a significant source of energy on which the grid can draw to meet periods of high demand or high grid stress. Plus, by positioning the load at the best moment, either when the price per kWh is most competitive or when the grid is least carbon-intensive, these flexibilities guarantee the integration of renewable energies by compensating for their intermittency, and offer savings for users, who can recharge at the best price.