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Ancillary services markets — FCR and aFRR — demand super-fast response times. Any delay in dispatching instructions can cause further grid instability. The TSO needs absolute confidence that when it sends a signal for activation, the asset will respond immediately and precisely. This certainty comes from two areas:
  1. Asset performance: Proven through the Ancillary Services Prequalification process.
  2. Communication infrastructure: The physical and digital infrastructure required to send and receive activation signals within milliseconds — especially for FCR.
Achieving this level of speed and reliability is extremely difficult over standard internet connections.

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The Role of the Ancillary Services Pool Provider

An Ancillary Services Pool Provider is a specialised company dedicated to providing the infrastructure and expertise needed to participate in these demanding markets. Their key functions are:
  • Aggregating assets: Individual asset owners can register their BESS units (Technical Units and RPUs/RPGs) into a larger Ancillary Services Pool. This aggregation helps meet the minimum capacity requirements typically set by TSOs.
  • Direct TSO connection: The pool provider maintains the necessary direct, highly reliable, and fast communication infrastructure to connect directly to the TSO’s control systems. When the TSO sends a signal, it reaches the pool provider instantaneously.
  • Rapid dispatch: The pool provider translates the TSO’s signal into precise dispatch instructions for each asset, sending them via the Gateway to make the battery react as required.
  • Unavailability insurance: TSOs require that if they send an activation signal, the pool can fulfil it under all circumstances — even if the pool’s largest single asset suddenly becomes unavailable due to a technical fault.
Maintaining this level of reliability requires the pool provider to constantly monitor available power capacity across the entire pool to ensure redundancy, and to maintain robust technical backup infrastructure for fault detection and alternative activation. This is a very demanding operational requirement.

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Why Pool Providers Exist

The infrastructure, expertise, and operational demands required to provide this service are typically too complex and capital-intensive for a single asset owner to manage alone. Pool Providers therefore exist as dedicated infrastructure companies that provide the necessary hardware, software, and expertise. By joining a pool, individual asset owners gain access to the fast, direct TSO connections they could not otherwise establish — unlocking participation in the FCR and aFRR markets that generate significant revenue for BESS assets.
Last modified on April 20, 2026