UVAM: what they are and the benefits for consumers

UVAM, Mixed Enabled Virtual Units, can be composed of a group of sites capable of modulating their energy production and consumption through an aggregator, effectively acting as a virtual generation/consumption plant. The experimentation of UVAMs was born from the desire to allow various types of resources to participate in the dispatching services market (these resources may also include residential photovoltaic systems connected to a storage system), as part of a broader project that aims to distribute, rather than centralize, the regulation of the national electricity system.
Enel has launched a UVAM pilot project in Lombardy that includes owners of residential storage systems, through which it is possible to provide tertiary reserve and balancing services.
“First of all - explain Francesco Reale and Alessandra Martino from Enel, summarizing the trial - we are confident that the technology developed and deployed so far will pass all expected tests. We also expect it will later be applicable to other assets (electric vehicles, forklifts, etc.); we foresee aggregating a high number of residential batteries in the future while also being able to provide the requested service in such a way that Terna sees it as delivered by a single entity, rather than by an aggregation of many small units, thus minimizing the impact on individual residential customers”.

“Secondly - they continue - we want to demonstrate that batteries can be used not only for self-consumption, but also to provide flexibility services to the grid, allowing residential customers to be compensated for their participation in the dispatching services market”. These objectives include a broader vision of how Enel can - and is already starting to - change the energy landscape, also enhancing the role of renewable sources, which are characterized by variable availability and can be difficult to forecast. However, when many production and/or consumption sites are aggregated, it becomes possible to achieve much more reliable forecasts. “In the medium term - the two experts explain - we are working on making the batteries sold by Enel ‘Aggregation Ready’, in order to have the widest possible customer base. Moreover, we want to assess the possibility of participating in other services to extract the maximum value from a flexible asset like batteries”.

We are working to give a clear commercial perspective to the UVAM project while also “offering aggregable batteries from the outset, so that as soon as the market opens, we are ready to offer service participation to all our customers”.

What are the developments in residential batteries within the UVAM project?

The project is also looking ahead to Virtual Units with a strong storage component, for example for the provision of “Fast-Reserve”. The ultra-fast reserve program “Fast-Reserve” - Reale and Martino specify - refers to a rapid modulation service of input/output based on grid frequency monitoring, aimed at contributing to the system’s stability and security. Currently, residential batteries are not eligible to provide Fast-Reserve services due to existing constraints and requirements. However, we believe that it is worth considering the creation of additional compensated services useful for grid management, with constraints and performance standards better suited to small-scale storage systems, so that the electricity system can also benefit from these devices”. Because batteries are an asset whose potential has not yet been fully expressed - “Like having a Ferrari and keeping it parked in the garage», in the words of Francesco Reale, and in the case of larger systems, such as those of small and medium-sized Italian businesses, they could unlock even greater value and make a more significant contribution to the grid.

Focusing on what is already possible today for residential customers, a crucial topic is the compensation of storage systems. In principle, batteries could also enable peer-to-peer energy exchange scenarios, although, it must be specified - such exchanges are not currently allowed under existing regulations. However, even today there are loyalty programs for customers that are independent of legislative decisions regarding remuneration. “We have developed benefits specifically for customers. Residential customers who join the initiative automatically become members of our Smart Community - conclude Francesco Reale and Alessandra Martino - where they can receive monthly updates on the performance of their systems. In addition, as members of the Smart Community, they can take part in initiatives that allow them to earn points (measured in virtual kWh). These points can then be converted into vouchers to be spent on products and services, such as charging their electric car using the Waybox App or other products available on www.enel.it, excluding subscription-based services”.