The transmission grid operator Austrian Power Grid played a leading role in the development of new electricity software. The two tools called "Outage Planning Coordination" (OPC) and "Short Term Adequacy forecast" (STA) are designed not only to simplify forecasting and planning, but also to integrate electricity from renewable energy sources.
"We developed the software together with our European partners in ENTSO-E. A total of 38 European transmission system providers have been using it since spring 2020. We were able to keep the schedule for the planned go-live despite the corona pandemic," says Tahir Kapetanovic , Head of the APG control center. APG is convinced that the new software will simplify cooperation in Europe and make the power supply in Europe and Austria even more secure.
Innovative solutions necessary
With OPC, the network operators involved plan shutdowns on a regional basis, including coordinating maintenance, revision and project schedules. Power supply and trading are thus ensured, for example, despite necessary shutdowns. STA, on the other hand, enables a load coverage forecast to be made between one week and one day in advance. In view of the energy turnaround, this is particularly important: "Innovative solutions are needed to intelligently integrate the ecological, but weather-fluctuating form of electricity generation from renewable energies into the system, and to be able to manage it efficiently in the future."
"Cross-border coordination and intensive cooperation between all national transmission system operators (TSOs, Transmission System Operators) are the prerequisite for ensuring that the power supply works smoothly across the EU. Uniform rules and standards for network operation are put into practice by such jointly developed tools. "
