The Last SECI TSP Meeting Under the Patronage of USAID and USEA
The last SECI TSP meeting under the patronage of USAID and USEA was held in Vienna on October 24th, 2017. Since now, in the next two years, SECI TSP will work as a project of ENTSO-E working group CSE (ContinentSouthEast), with possibility to extend this duration.
USAID and ENTSO-E will sign Memorandum of understanding within type of SECI TSP membership under ENTSO-E umbrella will be defined, as well as USAID position as observer and co-financier of Project. It is planed all TSO from region to became status of regular members, Electricity Coordinating Center (EKC) and Hrvoje Pozar Institute would be engaged as consultant, while USAID/USEA, ENTSO-E, EnC would be observer members. Term of references has been done and it define work and obligation of SECI TSP under ENTSO-E.
Since 2001, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States Energy Association (USEA) have supported the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative Transmission System Planning Project (SECI TSP) with funds to conduct quarterly meetings of the SECI TSP Working Group, training and for limited consulting support required to integrate national models into regional transmission model and analyze the results of selected regional modelling scenarios.
The initial goal of the SECI TSP Project was to assist the regional TSOs to:
- Plan for robust, reliable cross border transmission interconnections as the backbone infrastructure for cross border trade of electricity generated; and
- Develop technical rules, guidelines and network infrastructure assessments to accelerate integration of clean and innovative energy technologies.
In the last sixteen years, with USAID/USEA support, all TSO in region had committed to voluntarily share system data, load forecasts and national planning models in an effort to develop common, region wide planning model.
As the largest contribution to this group’s work, except establishing excellent regional cooperation, can be specified reliable regional transmission planning models, which are regularly updated and which support a large number of different calculation and simulation. Besides, in the frame of this project, many studies of regional interest have been done and more curses and workshops have been organized.