The use of aFRR and mFRR is cost-optimized. For both types of balancing capacity and both balancing directions, the bids submitted are ranked in a so-called "merit order list" (MOL) throughout Germany in the order of the working prices and only the most favorable surcharges are called up in accordance with demand.
In the aFRR and mFRR platforms PICASSO and MARI, the bids of the participating transmission system operators (TSOs) are ranked in the same way and used to optimize the aFRR and mFRR call-off, taking into account the permissible power exchange between the TSOs. The optimization of the balancing capacity call-off results in an exchange of power, i.e. an export or import per TSO, which must be taken into account when calculating the respective LFC Area balance.