GOPACS

What Is GOPACS?

GOPACS is a congestion management platform run on behalf of the Dutch grid operators. It connects them with market participants: large consumers and producers, battery owners and congestion service providers (CSPs) that aggregate flexible capacity from several sites.

The platform does not sell software subscriptions. Grid operators use it to request flexibility in congested areas, and participants are paid for the capacity they provide. GOPACS also helps companies register their sites, choose a suitable contract and find a CSP, and it publishes congestion data so the market can see where flexibility is needed.

The platform keeps developing. In October 2026 GOPACS Auctions launched as a new way to contract flexible capacity, from 1 November 2026 other grid operators can activate a participant’s capacity contract (Cross Operator activations), and TenneT’s own redispatch channel is being connected to GOPACS by the end of 2026.

Features

• Redispatch: Participants decide when, how much and at what price they offer flexible capacity, and the GOPACS algorithm matches bids with congestion requests.
• GOPACS Auctions: Grid operators publish where, when and how much flexible capacity they need, including day-ahead demand, and parties respond with bids.
• Capacity steering contracts: CSC-A contracts let the grid operator ask for higher or lower use of transport capacity at peak times; CSC-T contracts fix the moments in advance.
• TDTR and mandatory bidding: Time-bound transport rights give TenneT customers their contracted capacity 85% of the time, and mandatory bidding contracts oblige parties to offer flexibility when congestion threatens.
• Cross Operator activations: Since November 2026, an operator other than your own can activate your capacity contract, so TenneT can use flexibility contracted by regional operators.
• Congestion data: A public redispatch announcements map, called redispatch volumes and costs, CSC activations and performance metrics.
• Onboarding support: Help with site registration, asset linking and choosing between participating directly or through a CSP.

GOPACS Pricing

There is no subscription fee for using GOPACS as a market participant. Companies earn money by offering flexibility: through bids in redispatch and auctions, or through the compensation set in their capacity contract. The terms of each contract are agreed with the grid operator.

Integrations

Market participants and CSPs work through the GOPACS web application, and a developer portal documents the interfaces for automated bidding and data exchange. Flexible assets are linked to the participant’s grid connection during registration. Most smaller companies take part through a CSP that handles the technical connection and bidding for them.

How to Set Up GOPACS

1. Check on the GOPACS website which products suit your site, using the product comparison.
2. Decide whether to take part directly or through a congestion service provider.
3. Create a GOPACS account and register your company and grid connection.
4. Apply for a flexible contract with your grid operator or, as a CSP, apply to join and link your customers’ assets.
5. Activate redispatch or auctions and start submitting bids.

How to Use GOPACS

When a grid operator expects congestion, it publishes a flexibility request for a specific area and time. A factory, battery owner or CSP in that area offers to reduce or increase its consumption or production, and the GOPACS algorithm selects bids that solve the congestion. To avoid causing new imbalances elsewhere, each bid inside the congested area is paired with an opposite bid outside it.

Participants with a capacity steering contract receive activation requests instead and adjust their load at the agreed moments. The public congestion map and data pages help them see where and when flexibility is most in demand, and therefore where their capacity is worth the most.

What You Can Manage with GOPACS

• Grid connections and assets: Registered sites and the flexible equipment linked to them.
• Bids: Redispatch and auction offers with volume, time and price.
• Contracts: Capacity steering, TDTR and mandatory bidding agreements.
• Activations: Requests from grid operators and the response delivered.
• Market data: Congestion announcements, called volumes and costs by region.