Start Page > UMM > Disclosure Guidelines for Urgent Market Messages 1 March 2007

Disclosure Guidelines for Urgent Market Messages 1 March 2007

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sender’s focus:	Simple generation of messages informing about the reason and consequences of planned and unplanned production and consumption outages
Reader’s focus:	Clear and understandable messages where the meaning, i.e. consequences for production and consumption is easily comprehensible

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A.	General:
1.	The capacities informed in UMM’s shall describe available and changes in available production or consumption capacity to the Nordic electricity market, and not inform about the actual generating or consuming values.
2.	It is only required (i.e. minimum rule) to report failures and planned outages if the available capacity represents a change of over 100 MW from installed total capacity.
3.	If a station consists of both production and consumption of electricity, information shall only be given as net change in available capacity to the market (grid).
4.	It is recommended to establish internal routines for handling of price sensitive information in order to comply with the market conduct rules at Nord Pool Spot AS and Nord Pool ASA
5.	Make relevant controls before sending UMM’s in order to avoid unnecessary errors in the message
6.	Send consistent information in new UMM’s and Follow-up’s (compare Follow-up’s with earlier sent UMM’s)
7.	If two or more plans and/or failures about the same station coincide in time, make a reference in Remarks to the other UMM and make relevant consideration in the capacity information
8.	If two or more production stations at different locations are simultaneously unavailable due to same reason, make information about total available capacity, e.g. when reporting about failures or planned outages of individual stations within a river system the overall consequences should be considered and preferably be coordinated and informed through one responsible participant
9.	When changes in available production capacity occur during the event period, the ”decision time” in the follow-up will state the time when the change took place and the “available production/consumption capacity during event” will state the new capacity
10.	Information in the UMM can be important for both spot and long-term forward markets

B.	Planned production or consumption outages:
11.	Inform about changes in future available production/consum
12.	Give correct times in CET for “Event start”, “Event stop” and “Decision time”
13.	Always enter a date in ”Event start” and ”Event stop”
14.	State correct “Decision time” in CET (and new decision time when Follow-up)
15.	Never change “Event start” after a plan is carried into effect
16.	When the restart occurs according to previously reported time it is not required to send an UMM follow-up that confirms the restart.

C.	Production or consumption failures
17.	Send UMM as soon as possible and never later than 60 minutes after the event has occurred
18.	If a new failure occurs in connection with start up of production or consumption units, it is recommended to check if it is a lasting failure of more than 60 minutes before sending a UMM. If the start-up problem is shorter then 1 hour it is not required to send an UMM
19.	If a failure is short, thus fixed within 60 minutes, there is no obligation to send an UMM. This also applies if the outage is very likely to be shorter then 60 minutes.
20.	If the reason of the failure is not known state ”reason unknown” in ”Remarks” and remember to get back with additional information about the reason as soon as possible and no more than 4 hours later
21.	If time for “Event stop” is not known state ”duration unknown” in ”Remarks, and remember to get back with additional information about the estimated/known ”event stop” time as soon as possible and no more than 4 hours later
22.	When sending follow-up’s never change “Event start” of an occurred failure
23.	Alternative information solutions for the ”Event stop” box: a. Uncertainty: date only b. Less uncertainty: date (state ”expected back during night/morning/afternoon/evening” in ”Remarks”) c. Reasonable certainty: date + time
24.	If date and time is given in ”Event stop” and this information does not deviate by more than 60 minutes, there is no need to send further UMM’s (consider deviation in time with respect to capacity size, if market is open and underlying uncertainty)

D.	Reporting of Special information
25.	This reporting choice shall only be used to report events related to production/consumption that can not be considered as, or fitted in the categories, failures (disturbances) or planned outages.
26.	Some examples of information that may require an UMM and where the reporting choice special information is appropriate: • Decommissioning (closing) of power plants or consumption sites • Decided start-up of new production or consumption facilities • Special request from TSO’s to hold back additional production or consumption from the market due to problems with peak load • Allowance from TSO’s to dispose of production or consumption units that normally are kept by TSO’s as peak load reserves

E.	Nuclear power plant outages including how to report Coast-down (coast-up) of power plants linked to planned outages
27.	Always report the actual duration of the planned outage in the field “Event start” and “Event stop” and refer to it as the “(yearly) maintenance period”.Always report the actual duration of the planned outage in the field “Event start” and “Event stop” and refer to it as the “(yearly) maintenance period”.
28.	When informing about coast-down, give information “Yearly maintenance. Coast-down will start at……..” under “Remarks/ additional information”.
29.	When informing about coast-up, give information “Back in operation. Full production is expected at………” under “Remarks/ additional information”.
30.	If there is no clear information about the coast-down period at the time when the outage period is first informed about, then make sure that when the coast-down period is given that it is done as a follow-up to the last message about the actual planned outage.
31.	Regardless of if a coast-down (coast-up) period exist the capacity given in the fields available capacity before, during and after the event shall refer only to the actual outage period and as if coast-down/coast-up did not exist. Thus, if no disturbance or other specific reason for limitation exist the capacity before and after should be given as full normal capacity.
32.	When informing about new production outages: state the time when the unit will be off bars / when 0% of installed effect is reached in “Event start”. If the reduction of power before an outage is a prolonged activity over many hours or even days give information on when the power reduction from 100% starts (alternatively the duration of the power reduction) in “Remarks”.
33.	When informing about the start up after an outage: state the time when the unit is expected to be on bars/ start up from 0% in “Event start”. If the start-up process is a prolonged activity over many hours or even days give information on when the power output is estimated to be run at 100% (alternatively the duration of the power increase) in “Remarks”.