Dispatching is the activity by which Terna, the national transmission system operator, keeps the energy produced and the energy consumed in balance at all times. It is carried out in the National Control Centre, which operates 24 hours a day. For a business it is above all a cost item: the services Terna buys to keep the grid secure are spread over withdrawals and reach the invoice through the supplier.
Why it is needed
The nominal frequency is 50 Hz in all European synchronous areas and in Continental Europe the standard range is ±50 mHz: when production and consumption drift apart, frequency tends to leave this band. To bring it back to its nominal value Terna relies on power reserves, which Regulation (EU) 2017/1485 divides into frequency containment reserves (FCR), frequency restoration reserves (FRR) and replacement reserves (RR).
MSD: where Terna buys the resources
The resources are purchased on the dispatching services market (MSD), which GME now calls the balancing and redispatching market. Here Terna procures what it needs to resolve congestion, build up reserves and balance the grid in real time. Unlike the Day-Ahead Market, accepted offers are paid at the offered price and not at a single marginal price.
What the TIDE changed
Since 1 January 2025 dispatching has been governed by the Integrated Text on Electricity Dispatching (TIDE), approved by the regulator ARERA with Resolution 345/2023/R/eel in place of Resolution 111/06. Implementation is in three phases: transitional until 31 January 2026, consolidation from 1 February 2026, and steady state from a date to be defined by Terna. The changes include: imbalances settled per quarter-hour; a distinction between those responsible for injection and withdrawal schedules (BRP) and those providing services to the grid (BSP); access to services also for distributed and aggregated resources; an uplift fee from which the items not related to the purchase of services have been separated.
How the cost reaches the invoice
Terna calculates the dispatching fee, expressed in euro cents per kWh, as the ratio between the value of its components and the energy withdrawn from the grid. It is paid by the withdrawal dispatching users, i.e. the operators on which consumers rely to buy energy on the markets, who pass it on in the supply price.
| Component | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Uplift | Procurement of ancillary services, on and off the market |
| UESS | Plants essential for system security |
| FTE | Terna's operating costs for dispatching, determined by ARERA every year |
| MOD RID | Extraordinary upward modulation and reduction of withdrawals |
| M PROD | Lost production of non-programmable renewables curtailed by Terna |
| OTHER | Further economic items of the service |
The components are published every quarter, by the 15th of the last month of the previous quarter; the final uplift is published every month. In bills that follow the ARERA layout, dispatching falls under "Spesa per la vendita di energia elettrica" (expenditure for the sale of electricity), together with energy purchase and retail marketing. A separate fee covers the capacity market.
For a business: what to look at
- In the contract. Dispatching can be pass-through, i.e. follow the values published by Terna quarter by quarter, or be fixed or included in the price. Check which components are listed and who bears imbalance costs: some offers include clauses linked to the deviation between forecast and actual consumption.
- In the invoice. With a pass-through formula, the unit values charged can be compared with those published by Terna for the same quarter.
- The decisions it affects. In the budget this item should be treated as variable. Those with flexible loads can assess, with an aggregator, the provision of services to the grid: it is one of the topics of energy risk management. When choosing a supplier, the treatment of dispatching is a procurement criterion.
- Typical mistakes. Comparing as like-for-like two offers that treat dispatching differently; considering it an unchangeable tariff; comparing the forecast uplift with the final one, which Terna itself describes as not directly comparable.
To check how dispatching is treated in your contract, with an IPGS ENERGY consultant: Request a discussion.
Sources
- Terna — Dispacciamento (accessed 10 October 2026)
- Terna — I corrispettivi di dispacciamento (accessed 10 October 2026)
- Terna — Mercato elettrico (accessed 10 October 2026)
- GME — Glossario (accessed 10 October 2026)
- GME — Vademecum della borsa elettrica, aggiornamento 31.01.2026 (accessed 10 October 2026)
- ARERA — Delibera 345/2023/R/eel, approvazione del TIDE (accessed 10 October 2026)
- ARERA — Delibera 304/2024/R/eel, modifiche al TIDE e fasi di attuazione (accessed 10 October 2026)
- ARERA — Relazione 274/2026/I, relazione annuale ad ACER e alla Commissione europea (accessed 10 October 2026)
- ARERA — Glossario della bolletta per la fornitura di energia elettrica, allegato A alla delibera 118/2025/R/com (accessed 10 October 2026)
- European Commission — Regulation (EU) 2017/1485 establishing a guideline on electricity transmission system operation (accessed 10 October 2026)
Informational content by IPGS ENERGY. Information is reviewed as of the stated update date and does not replace a contractual, tax or regulatory assessment specific to an individual business.
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