CASSANDRA – A multivariate platform for assessing the impact of strategic decisions in electrical power systems

FOUNDER

EU

VALUE

Approx £3.2m Euros

COLLABORATORS

Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/ Informatics and Telematics Institute, Greece

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

VaasaETT Global Energy Think Tank. Finland

Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Luleå University of Technology, Sweden

Cleopa GmbH, Germany

Erasmus research Institute of Management, Netherlands

DRAXIS S.A, Greece

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Cassandra aims to build a platform for the realistic modeling of the energy market stakeholders, also involving small-scale consumers.

It provides users with the ability to test and benchmark working scenarios that can affect system operation, company policies, and environmental regulations at different levels of abstraction, starting from a basic level to large consumer areas.

The project outcomes are the aggregation methodology, the framework for scenario assessment, and an expandable software platform that provides different energy stakeholders with the ability to model segments of the energy market, in order to run and assess scenarios for their own purposes.

RESEARCH IMPACT

Conservation impacts

By providing better and more regular information and insights to consumers about their consumption and by suggesting actions to reduce it, feedback programs can improve customer awareness of their electricity consumption, foster energy efficient behaviours leading to reduction in overall electricity consumption and associated pollutant emissions. Feedback on energy consumption has been shown to influence the behaviour of residential and consumers and lead to a conserving behavioural effect. The This project has influenced the targeted users to reduce electricity consumption.

Demand response impacts

Peak demand in Europe is primarily driven by the increasing use of electric heating on very cold days or the increasing use of air-conditioning on very hot days leading to two issues. Firstly, there is the issue of a potential inability of the supply system to meet extremes of peak demand without significant new investment in the electricity supply system and secondly, there is a cost factor; supply costs escalate exponentially on days of extreme peak demand because of the low utilization of the assets to cover the short duration peaks. The consumers reduce the energy consumption at peak time due to price signal proposed by the system.

Financial impacts

European electricity prices have typically been increasing much faster than inflation over the past few years. In Italy for instance, industrial electricity prices adjusted to inflation have increased by 27% between 2008 and 2012. The consumers save on electricity bill due to intervention of the project.