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Cited by 1Electric Vehicles and InfrastructureSmart Grid Energy ManagementElectric Power System Optimization

Balancing service provision by EV aggregator in different TSO-DSO coordination schemes

Open access
Nguyen, Hang, Nguyen, Phuong, Kok, Koen·2025·2025 IEEE Kiel PowerTech
DOI 10.1109/powertech59965.2025.11180333
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Abstract

The increasing penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in the distribution system has led to the emergence of a new market actor - the aggregator. Aggregator serves as a facilitator, enabling flexibility asset owners to access various markets. Among them, electric vehicle (EV) aggregators are gaining more attention due to their expanding use and potential to provide services across multiple markets, particularly in the reserve market. Currently, the transmission system operator (TSO) indirectly utilizes the resources under the management of the distribution system operators (DSO), which can negatively impact the distribution grid. Conversely, adjustments from DSOs can impact service provision to TSO due to the shortage of TSO usage information. These factors highlight the importance of evaluating the service provision from aggregators under different TSO-DSO coordination schemes. This paper focuses on the provision of flexibility from electric vehicles (EVs) aggregators for balancing service in the TSO-DSO hybrid-managed scheme and compares it to the DSO-managed coordination schemes. The behavior of aggregators reacting to price fluctuations and TSO requests under different coordination schemes and simulation scenarios is thoroughly assessed. Additionally, their impact on the grid is analyzed through the DSO’s congestion management process and validated using data from a real part of the Dutch distribution network. Results find that the hybrid-managed coordination scheme gives more benefit to the aggregator than the DSO-managed scheme, and the price paid for the BRP for the deviation has a large impact on the aggregator’s behavior.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This paper models an EV aggregator providing aFRR balancing service under TSO-DSO hybrid-managed and DSO-managed coordination schemes, using a real Dutch distribution network. It finds the hybrid scheme gives more aggregator benefit and lower TSO cost than the DSO-managed scheme, while the BRP deviation price strongly shapes aggregator behavior.

Key findings

  • The hybrid-managed scheme gives more benefit to the aggregator than the DSO-managed scheme: aggregator benefit is lower under DSO-managed by 7.3% (05/May), 1.9% (18/Jul), 10.1% (14/Aug), 11.0% (05/Sep), and 4.0% (06/Sep). TSO cost is also higher under DSO-managed by 0.1% to 0.4% across the reported days.
  • The BRP deviation price has a large impact on aggregator behavior. When the BRP price increases from 30 €/MWh to 200 €/MWh, downward regulation service almost disappears, upward volume decreases, and the volume bought from the day-ahead market is reduced because less energy is needed to compensate for upward discharge.
  • Activating TSO balancing service at ISP 45 causes overloading in the main line, with line loading over 95% due to upward regulation in a low-demand situation and reversed flow from distribution to transmission. Both coordination schemes resolve this through DSO validation, but the DSO-managed scheme reduces flexibility boundaries across all units, leading to lower loading and lost aggregator profit.
  • Downward service occurs very little and has the lowest total volume, followed by upward service, while day-ahead market purchase volume is highest. Summer distributions for day-ahead and downward prices are broader due to solar surplus and negative prices, while winter has a wider upward-price distribution due to energy shortage.

Methods

  • The paper builds MILP models for the EV aggregator, TSO, and DSO. The aggregator maximizes benefit from upward/downward aFRR and day-ahead energy, with EV SOC constrained between 20% and 100%, one departure per day, home charging only, and 96 time steps. The TSO minimizes balancing cost and builds a merit order list; the DSO minimizes congestion cost using power flow and linearized ACOPF, with a traffic-light concept. Models are solved with Gurobi in Pyomo.
  • The case study uses the real distribution network at Bleiswijk station in the northern Netherlands: 4 step-down two-winding transformers from 25 kV to 10.5 kV, 182 busbars, 867 terminals, 224 lines, 25 synchronous machines, 170 substations, and 166 loads. Total installed capacity is 66.06 MW, total spinning reserve is 11.36 MW, and PV penetration is 12.85% (8.5 MW) from 16 installation points.
  • Ten EV aggregators are modeled, each managing 100 EVs and offering the same total flexibility volume but with different bid prices. Five upward aggregators are at nodes 12, 42, 145, 146, and 147; five downward aggregators are at nodes 15, 18, 41, 179, and 183. Analysis compares hybrid and DSO-managed schemes across selected days, with one summer week (26 June–2 July 2023) and one winter week (1–7 January 2024), using a BRP price of 30 and consumer price of 85 as reported.

Limitations

  • The paper states that risks from inaccurate forecasts of demand, price, and EV sessions significantly influence participant decisions and will be addressed in future studies. It also notes the hybrid scheme requires a more complex TSO-DSO decision process, may lower DER dispatch efficiency, and needs more information sharing, possibly requiring more cybersecurity investment.
  • The paper states several modeling assumptions: the TSO-managed scheme is beyond scope; the TSO is assumed to use all resources provided by the aggregator; congestion is assumed to arise solely from activation of downward or upward regulation from EV aggregators; each EV has a single departure session per day and charges exclusively at home.
  • Evident from the text: the validation uses one real Dutch distribution network and a limited set of days/weeks, without incorporating forecast uncertainty or the TSO-managed coordination scheme in the simulations.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1109/powertech59965.2025.11180333

Cites

0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

0 of 7 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingreasoning

    The distribution of DA purchase volume by DA price and downward regulation volume by downward price is broader in summer than in winter.

    “The distribution of purchase volume by DA price and downward regulation volume by downward price (three figures in the first row) is broader in summer compared to winter (three figures in the second row), primarily due to energy surplus from solar power plants.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Each EV has a single departure session per day and charges exclusively at home.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: When an EV leaves home, its energy decreases gradually by the total trip energy divided by the trip length.
  • Findingreasoning

    The hybrid-managed scheme gives lower cost to the TSO than the DSO-managed scheme.

    “Results show that the hybrid model offers greater benefits for both TSO and the aggregator.”
    • Also stated in: § B. Grid constraint evaluation via two coordination schemes · plain
      “Therefore, the hybrid model helps TSO reduce costs by accessing a larger volume of DER flexibility than the DSO-managed model.”
    • Also stated in: § V. CONCLUSION · plain
      “lower cost to the TSO than the DSO-managed scheme.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: TSO will use all resources provided by the aggregator.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Reserve capacity prices for upward and downward regulation from reserve units are equal to balancing prices.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Congestion prices of flexibility for adjusting upward and downward at node x are equal to the price for the reserve bid by using the same flexibility unit.
  • Findingown data

    The hybrid-managed coordination scheme gives more benefit to the aggregator than the DSO-managed scheme.

    “Results find that the hybrid-managed coordination scheme gives more benefit to the aggregator than the DSO-managed scheme”
    • Also stated in: § B. Grid constraint evaluation via two coordination schemes · plain
      “Results show that the hybrid model offers greater benefits for both TSO and the aggregator.”
    • Also stated in: § V. CONCLUSION · plain
      “the hybrid-managed scheme gives an advantage with more volume provided and more benefit to the aggregator and lower cost to the TSO than the DSO-managed scheme.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: TSO will use all resources provided by the aggregator.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Each EV has a single departure session per day and charges exclusively at home.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Reserve capacity prices for upward and downward regulation from reserve units are equal to balancing prices.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Congestion prices of flexibility for adjusting upward and downward at node x are equal to the price for the reserve bid by using the same flexibility unit.
  • Findingown data

    The price paid to the BRP for deviation has a large impact on the aggregator's behavior.

    “the price paid for the BRP for the deviation has a large impact on the aggregator's behavior.”
    • Also stated in: § IV. CASE STUDIES · plain
      “BRP price impact is also illustrated in the total volume upward, downward regulation, and buy from the DA market of each EV.”
    • Also stated in: § V. CONCLUSION · boosted
      “the price the aggregator contracts with BRP for their real-time deviation has a great impact on the decision to provide services and the final profit.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Each EV has a single departure session per day and charges exclusively at home.
  • Findingreasoning

    The increase in aggregate benefits from the hybrid scheme compared with the DSO-managed scheme ranges from 2% to 11%.

    “Although the reduction in TSO costs may not be significant, the increase in aggregate benefits, ranging from 2% to 11%, is worth considered.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: TSO will use all resources provided by the aggregator.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Reserve capacity prices for upward and downward regulation from reserve units are equal to balancing prices.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Congestion prices of flexibility for adjusting upward and downward at node x are equal to the price for the reserve bid by using the same flexibility unit.
  • May combine two claims. 9
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 3

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In both winter and summer, downward service by downward price has the lowest total volume, followed by upward service, and DA market purchase has the highest volume.

    “Both in winter and summer, the occurrence of downward service by downward price is very low and has the lowest total volume, followed by upward service, and the highest is the volume purchased from the DA market, which is presented in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Each EV has a single departure session per day and charges exclusively at home.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: When an EV leaves home, its energy decreases gradually by the total trip energy divided by the trip length.

  • The quote only partly states this claim.

    Findingown data

    In the hybrid scheme, after DSO validation, loading at the observed line after TSO uses flexibility with the new boundaries remains below the 95% constraint threshold.

    “Loading at the observed line after TSO use flexibility with the new boundaries remains below the constraints threshold, which is presented by the orange line in Fig. 5.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Congestion arises solely from activation of downward or upward regulation from EV aggregators.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    When BRP prices are high, downward volume and upward volume significantly decrease, while DA market buy volume increases, especially in winter.

    “Additionally, when BRP prices are high, downward volume (green part) and upward volume (blue part) significantly decrease, while buy volume (orange part) increases, especially in winter.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Each EV has a single departure session per day and charges exclusively at home.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: When an EV leaves home, its energy decreases gradually by the total trip energy divided by the trip length.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    When providing services to the TSO, the aggregator deviates from the day-ahead schedule submitted to the BRP and incurs a deviation fee payable to the BRP, which influences the aggregator's decisions regarding how much flexibility to reserve.

    “Moreover, when providing services to the TSO, the aggregator deviates from the day-ahead schedule submitted to the BRP in the day before [20].As a result, the aggregator incurs a deviation fee payable to the BRP to compensate for their imbalance.This fee influences the aggregator's decisions regarding how much flexibility to reserve.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [20]

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    EV aggregators have great potential to provide flexibility services and bring benefits not only for aggregators but also for prosumers and system operators.

    “The above studies show that EV aggregators have great prospective to provide flexibility services and bring benefits not only for aggregators but also for prosumers and system operators.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites [3]

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites [7]

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites [10]

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The TSO-managed coordination model places a significant computational burden on the TSO and limits the DSO's ability to flexibly utilize services from resources connected to its own network, leading to reduced efficiency and fairness.

    “The TSO-managed model places a significant computational burden on the TSO and limits the DSO's ability to flexibly utilize services from resources connected to its own network.This restriction can lead to reduced efficiency and fairness in the facilitation of DER flexibility services.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [15]

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    While more flexibility is provided, the aggregator earns more profit, which explains the higher benefit in the hybrid model compared with the DSO-managed model.

    “Furthermore, while more flexibility is provided, the aggregator earns more profit, which explains the higher benefit in the hybrid model compared with the DSO-managed model.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: TSO will use all resources provided by the aggregator.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Reserve capacity prices for upward and downward regulation from reserve units are equal to balancing prices.
    • The authors state this as an assumption: Congestion prices of flexibility for adjusting upward and downward at node x are equal to the price for the reserve bid by using the same flexibility unit.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    The hybrid scheme requires a more complex decision process between TSO and DSO, which may lead to lower DER dispatch efficiency.

    “Besides the economic benefits, the hybrid scheme requires more complex decision process between TSO and DSO, which may lead to lower DER dispatch efficiency.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisereasoning

    Among the three TSO-DSO coordination schemes, the hybrid TSO-DSO managed model is the most balanced option and offers advantages by empowering DSOs and fostering greater social welfare.

    “Among these 3 schemes, the Hybrid TSO-DSO managed model appears to be the most balanced option as TSO and DSO manage their own market and allow TSO to use service with DSO's consent.”
    • Also stated in: § I. INTRODUCTION · boosted
      “This coordination aligns well with the prevailing circumstances in many countries and offers distinct advantages over others by empowering DSOs role and fostering greater social welfare.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [15]

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    The hybrid scheme requires more information sharing between TSO and DSO, which might require more investment in cybersecurity management.

    “Furthermore, more information needs to be shared between TSO and DSO, which might require more investment in cybersecurity management.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
10 of 10

  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    TSO will use all resources provided by the aggregator.

    “Therefore, this study assumes that TSO will use all resources provided by the aggregator.”

  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Each EV has a single departure session per day and charges exclusively at home.

    “Each EV is assumed to have a single departure session per day and to charge exclusively at home.”

  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    When an EV leaves home, its energy decreases gradually by the total trip energy divided by the trip length.

    “When EV leaves home, energy is assumed to decrease gradually by the total energy for the trip (E EV,trip i ) divided by the trip length (T L) via Eq.10.”

  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Reserve capacity prices for upward and downward regulation from reserve units are equal to balancing prices.

    “These prices are assumed to be equal to the balancing prices (the imbalance price is derived from the balancing price, and in most cases, when only upward or downward regulation is required, these prices are identical).”

  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Congestion arises solely from activation of downward or upward regulation from EV aggregators.

    “In this case, congestion is assumed to arise solely from the activation of downward or upward regulation from the EV aggregators.”

  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Congestion prices of flexibility for adjusting upward and downward at node x are equal to the price for the reserve bid by using the same flexibility unit.

    “C ↑ x and C ↓ x are congestion prices of flexibility for adjusting upward and downward at node x, this price is assumed to be equal to the price for the reserve bid by using the same flexibility unit.”

  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    In the DSO-managed model, the dispatched bid is assumed unchanged through the DSO.

    “due to the dispatched bid is assumed unchanged through the DSO.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    In the Dutch balancing service, coordination is primarily limited to the pre-qualification phase, with no interaction during the offering and activation stages.

    “In the context of the Dutch balancing service, coordination is primarily limited to the pre-qualification phase, where equipment specifications are reviewed before granting grid connection approval.However, no interaction occurs during the offering and activation stages, which are conducted in real-time or near real-time”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    This topic has not been widely explored in the literature.

    “To the best of the authors's knowledge, this topic has not been widely explored in the literature.”
9 of 9

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Exclusivity constraint omits the day-ahead decision variable

    Minor

    Equation 6 uses v twice and does not include w. It therefore cannot enforce the stated rule that an EV provides neither balancing service nor buys from the day-ahead market in the same time step; it also prevents v from taking the value 1.

1 of 1

Cites

The publisher hasn’t deposited this paper’s reference list.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Ö. Okur. Aggregators' business models for flexibility from electricity consumers. [Dissertation (TU Delft), Delft University of Technology], 2021.
  2. Junjie Hu, Guangya Yang, Charalampos Ziras, and Koen Kok. Ag- gregator operation in the balancing market through network-constrained transactive energy. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 34(5):4071- 4080, 2019.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Nguyen, H., Nguyen, P., & Kok, K.
Affiliations
Eindhoven University of Technology (NL)
ORCID
Kok, Koen
Venue
2025 IEEE Kiel PowerTech
Publisher
IEEE
Published
2025-06-29
Pages
1-7
DOI
10.1109/powertech59965.2025.11180333
OpenAlex
W4414941031
Cited by
1
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 1
FWCI
2.32
Type
conference paper
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • TU/e Research Portal (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (cc-by)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Smart Grid Energy Management
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Electric Power System Optimization
Keywords
electric vehicle aggregators, TSO-DSO coordination, balancing services, reserve markets, flexibility services, distribution system operators, transmission system operators, congestion management, price fluctuations, distributed energy resources

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