The innovation consists of a rules-and-procurement architecture that enables a transmission system operator to procure grid-scale battery storage as a system asset while preserving competition and market integrity. In the past, storage was often added through ad hoc bilateral arrangements, pilot programs, or generation-style contracts that left dispatch rights, revenue treatment, and technical obligations ambiguous – slowing scale-up and creating inconsistent outcomes across projects.  

Government provides a formal policy mandate that sets the policy direction, budget envelope, and governance – including the roles of the energy ministry, regulator, and system operator. The system operator then runs a competitive tender, starting with pre-qualification to screen for safety, financial strength, delivery capability, cyber readiness, and proven performance.  

Tender lots are defined by location and grid need (for example congestion relief, voltage support, or fast frequency response), with technical minimums translated into verifiable obligations. Contracts align dispatch and accountability: the system operator holds dispatch rights (or defined dispatch windows), pays primarily for availability and performance, applies penalties for non-delivery, and sets transparent rules for market participation and revenue treatment to avoid double recovery.  

In parallel, storage-specific grid rules are developed and adopted, including connection requirements, grid-forming and fault-ride-through capabilities where required, metering and telemetry standards, state-of-charge obligations, and operational instructions. These elements ensure that storage assets can deliver multiple system services, including frequency response, reserves, and congestion management, in a predictable and controllable manner.  

The result is a bankable procurement approach that accelerates deployment while enabling storage to be treated as controllable, reliable system infrastructure. 

Main outcomes of the solution 

• Reliability & Flexibility: Clear dispatch rights and storage-specific grid rules enable batteries to provide dependable fast-response services, including frequency control, reserves, and congestion management, supporting system balancing as renewable penetration increases. 
• Institutional Efficiency & Transparency: Defined governance roles, transparent procurement criteria, and auditable performance frameworks reduce delays and disputes and support repeatable, scalable procurement. 
• Affordability: Competitive tendering combined with performance-based contracts reduces delivery risk, limits under-performance, and supports cost-efficient scaling as technology costs decline. 

Key implementation and scaling factors

1. Establish a formal policy mandate defining roles, budget envelope, and governance across ministry, regulator, and system operator 
2. Define procured services and technical minimums upfront, translating system needs into measurable availability and performance obligations 
3. Run an open, competitive tender with robust pre-qualification covering safety, delivery capability, cyber readiness, financial strength, and proven performance 
4. Use a dispatch and contract structure specifying dispatch rights, metering and telemetry, penalties for non-delivery, and clear rules for market participation and revenue treatment 
5. Adopt storage-specific grid and connection rules, including grid-forming and fault-ride-through capabilities where required 
6. Align market rules and price signals to ensure storage participation complements system operation and avoids distortions 

Case study 

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) and National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) (2026), Jordan 

Jordan is advancing its energy transition through a strategic framework between the EBRD and its Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, and NEPCO to support renewable energy expansion, grid-scale battery energy storage deployment, and transmission network modernisation. The agreement formalises a cooperation structure in which the EBRD supports procurement preparation and implementation for both renewables and battery energy storage systems, alongside reforms to strengthen NEPCO's financial and operational resilience as system operator. 

Under the framework, the EBRD provides structured support for tendering processes, technical assistance, and financing preparation, including for grid modernization investments and Jordan's ambition to develop Aqaba as a regional green hydrogen hub. This includes planned support for the launch of a tender for a 100 MW / 400 MWh BESS. The arrangement reflects a deliberate institutional design: aligning ministerial planning and energy mandates with the system operator's operational obligations and an international financial institution's transaction and reform support capacity. 

The framework directly supports Jordan's national target for renewables to account for 50% of energy supply by 2033. The project illustrates how a formal multi-party cooperation architecture, combining a policy mandate, procurement support, and sector reform, can underpin bankable storage and renewable integration at scale within a single-buyer transmission system. 

References:

1. Policy implications and recommendations – Batteries and Secure Energy Transitions – Analysis - IEA 
2. Procurement-Regulations-7th-Edition-Sep-2025.pdf 
3. CEER-Short-paper-on-the-ownership-of-Storage-Facilities-in-the-Electrical-Distribution-System.pdf 
4. EBRD and Jordan join forces to enhance energy security and green transition – EBRD News, April 2026  
5. Information provided to World Economic Forum by EBRD (June 2026)