Supplying electricity: a balancing act for the APG Team
The APG team is made up of over 600 specialists working around the clock, 365 days a year, to make sure that Austria is supplied with electricity. Their core task is to maintain a constant balance between electricity supply and demand.
Grid System Operation
Over 600 highly trained APG employees work every day to ensure safe, failure-free operation of all APG systems, to maintain the APG grid and, should malfunctions occur, to see to it that the glitch is resolved quickly. Moreover, steadily rising electricity consumption and an enormous increase in the feed-in of electricity from renewables mean that electricity transmission networks must be carefully expanded with an eye to tomorrow’s needs.
APG is responsible for maintaining grid voltage and frequency as well as for handling electricity imports and exports both to and from Austria. It provides a technically and economically optimised structure for grid operations and for supplying the distribution networks operated by the state energy companies.
Grid system operation: a matter of balance
APG is Austria’s control area leader, and is therefore responsible for balancing the supply and demand of electricity in Austria on an ongoing basis. When the grid frequency is maintained at a constant 50 hertz, the supply of electricity is stable and functions smoothly.
As the share of renewable energies in the total power supply rises, it becomes increasingly challenging to keep the balance between generation and consumption steady given that generation from renewables is subject to fluctuation based on weather conditions.
Network safety and security: the utmost priority
Safety and security are key values at APG. In operating its grid, APG ensures N-1 redundancy. This means that if one system component fails, another is available to replace it to ensure that the power supply is uninterrupted. Ongoing calculations ensure the N-1 security of the system. APG employees follow the highest of safety standards in the operation, servicing and maintenance of APG’s systems. Their safety, too, is of the utmost importance.
APG Control Centre
The control centre’s tasks include...
planning and coordinating more than 100,000 electricity transports each year
managing operation of the APG grid
optimising load flows
implementing congestion management procedures
coordinating plant shutdowns for overhaul