The existing electricity grid is increasingly reaching its limits. Over the past 120 years, it has been built according to the principle that large central power plants based on hydroelectric and nuclear power generate electricity and deliver it to urban centers, villages, and houses.

But this setup is currently undergoing a fundamental shift. More and more private households with solar modules are contributing to electricity production, and consumer behavior is changing. In 2023 alone, 3624 photovoltaic systems, 1375 EV charging stations, and 2282 heat pumps were added to the BKW distribution grid. As a result, power generation is becoming more decentralized and more volatile due to its dependence on the weather. At the same time, electricity consumption is rising sharply and threatens to overload the grid with unprecedented power peaks.

So there is an urgent need to reshape the power system, and BKW Power Grid decided to use an application, the BKW ProgRés Explorer, to illustrate the necessity of expanding and remodeling the electricity grid and to explain imminent challenges. For this purpose, the Technology and Innovation Team at BKW Power Grid developed complex algorithms that can simulate a wide range of detailed market development scenarios. The solution, however, lacked an efficient and intuitive frontend that could make the findings of these calculations comprehensible to non-specialist stakeholders and decision-makers. This is where Adnovum entered the picture.