Terna is the operator and principal owner of the High voltage National Electricity Transmission Grid.
Terna is the company responsible for the transmission and dispatching of electricity in Italy along the entire territory’s high voltage grid and for safely managing 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, the balance between electricity demand and supply.
Terna is responsible for planning and developing the National Transmission Grid (NTG). It is in charge of maintenance and development of the NTG fully respecting the environment and joins expertise and technology to improve the efficiency and create value for shareholders and the community in which it operates.
The Italian electricity system is divided into four segments that form the production process: production, transmission, distribution and sales. Terna’s activities involve the transmission of electricity along the high voltage grid.
In greater detail:
Managing the electricity system: Terna guarantees the balance between energy demand and supply. The safe management of the energy flow of the national electricity system is carried out by the National Control Center and by the Territorial Centers. Terna guarantees the maximum efficiency of its infrastructures and their excellent maintenance. Through remote control centers, Terna manages its plants and monitors their operation and activity. - Engineering and plant management: Terna is responsible for the maximum efficiency of its infrastructures and for their excellent maintenance being strongly commitment toward technological innovation and also thanks to a highly specialized operational structure that is present throughout the territory.
- Grid development: Terna resolves and implements development measures for the National Transmission Grid on the basis of a ten year plan approved each year by the Ministry for Economic Development (MSE). In the 2009-2018 Electricity Grid’s Development Plan, projects equal to 2.6 billion euros of investments are expected for the next five years (2009–2013), 100 million more compared to the 2008 Development Plan. The Plan also includes an additional 3.3 billion euros to be invested in the years after 2013. By completing all the projects, mainly priority work in Italy and new interconnection capacities with other countries, nearly 4,600 km of new electricity lines are expected to be built as well as 111 new transforming stations; overall, the Grid’s transformation power will increase by 22,458 MegaVoltAmpers (MVA). Furthermore, in relation to the new principal projects for the country’s strategic infrastructures, the territory will be freed of over 1,200 km of old lines as part of the company’s environmental respect plan.
Terna’s Remuneration
For its activities, Terna is remunerated on the basis of a tariff system established by the Authority for Electricity and Gas for the two important regulated activities that it carries out in Italy: transmission and dispatching, both in compliance with the concession granted by the Ministry for Economic Development. The first is remunerated on the basis of the terms established by the Authority with resolution 5/2004: Terna accounts for less than 3% on the total of the electricity bill paid by the end user.
For dispatching Terna is remunerated a value equal to the costs incurred for necessary services such as reserve services, balancing and resolving congestion through an appropriate compensation also established and regulated by the Authority. Terna’s activities are carried out also in the free market, in particular maintenance for other companies, that are remunerated on the basis of free contracts.