Med-TSO defines potential candidate pilot zones under the Mediterranean Project 2

Med-TSO moves forward to the next step in the Mediterranean Project 2 (MP2), releasing a new deliverable called Candidates for Pilot Projects, finalized by the Technical Committee “Regulation and Institutions”, chaired by Mr. Juan Manuel Rodriguez (REE, Spain). Having already achieved a complete set of rules for progressing in harmonising the regulation of power systems in the Mediterranean region, this committee intends, with this activity, to contribute to the proposal of a fast track implementation of the project through a “zonal approach.” With a focus on the execution of this sub-regional method, the activity proposes a practical application of harmonisation for a subset of technical rules in priority sub-regions that have the potential for faster integration. The main objective of the deliverable just released is to define the Pilot Project scope, which will subsequently be followed by a second step, aiming to define the structure and the development of activities within the related project. Med-TSO members defined an initial list of significant and potential locations for Pilot Projects. For this initial scouting, the committee followed a two-dimensional geographical and regulatory-based analysis with a participative approach among TSO members, in which the real existence of interconnections between countries is necessary within the proposed zones. Primarily, four zones, or sets of power systems within the Med-TSO perimeter, were considered as potential candidates to be analysed for the practical implementation of a harmonised initiative. However, taking into account the technical and practical aspects, as well as the short-term vision for project implementation, the Maghreb area of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia turned out to be the ideal first pilot zone. Nevertheless, depending on the results of the power system integration, future work may incorporate Libya and even interconnections with European countries. The deliverable issued by this Technical Committee goes on to fully describe the selected area in detail, including information such as the documented partnership among the three countries, features of their electricity systems, etc. It also takes into account common regulatory issues based on a mini-survey distributed among members of TSO. Once the Maghreb TSOs have harmonised the prime concerns defined in MP2, the association as a whole can move forward in selecting the priority project of the final phase to be realised in this Pilot Zone. The identification of the Pilot Zone under this activity marks a significant step towards achieving the goals of the harmonisation of electrical systems across the region.