Lancelot ETRM: Nomination automation for IWB (Industrielle Werke Basel)
Unicorn has successfully delivered its Lancelot ETRM product solution for power scheduling to the Swiss company IWB. IWB is the company for electricity, heat, water, telecommunication and mobility in the canton of Basel-Stadt (Switzerland). The customer was looking for a modern, stable and efficient system to support the electricity nomination process.
Lancelot ETRM is deployed as a SaaS solution with 24/7 availability, providing nomination process automation, integration with Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and intraday scheduling support. The deployment of Lancelot ETRM at IWB is Lancelot's first reference in Western Europe and strategically strengthens Unicorn's presence in the Swiss energy trading market.
Client motivation and goals
As an energy trader in a dynamic liberalised market, IWB (Industrielle Werke Basel) trades not only in Switzerland but also in Germany, France and Italy. IWB is obliged to send nomination messages to all transmission system operators. Prior to the implementation of Lancelot to support nominations, the company was faced with a technologically outdated system. Therefore, IWB decided to upgrade its system for managing nominations more efficient and with higher visibility and ensuring communication with TSOs. Unicorn subsequently won the open tender.
The customer's primary needs were:
- The need for a robust, centralised and integrated nomination system for all trading positions.
- Seamless integration with the four TSOs.
- Automation and streamlining the communication with operators and powerplant partners.
- Flexibility to support specific nomination processes (e.g. hydropower plants).
- Centralised monitoring and visualisation of nomination data.
- Easier maintenance and higher system scalability.
- 24x7 Support.
The solution has been requested as a service (SaaS) to allow IWB to focus on business processes without having to maintain the operational IT infrastructure.
Our Solution
Lancelot ETRM is a robust and flexible system to support energy trading process management. It offers a wide range of functionalities for recording contracts, working with time series, risk monitoring, regulatory and user reporting, and supporting nomination processes in electricity, gas and emissions trading and certificates. Its scalability and easy integration with external systems make it an ideal solution for traders, producers and energy suppliers.
- Connection to several TSOs, including integration with Unicorn's two Damas systems:
- Swissgrid (Switzerland),
- RTE (France),
- Terna (Italy),
- Amprion (Germany).
- Intraday scheduling support - implementation of specific dashboards and position monitoring for efficient tracking and management of nominations during dynamic intraday trading.
- Data processing for hydroelectric power plants - supporting communication with specific Excel files used by operators of large hydroelectric power plants to transmit production or pumping information.
- API for integrating nomination positions, where Lancelot retrieves individual nomination positions from several other applications in the IWB in a fully automated way, including e.g. automatic scenario coverage for new counterparties or provision of short-term capacity identifiers for cross-border transfers.
Technology and architecture
Thin client:
- HTLM5, ReactJS, Unicorn Application Framework (UAF)
- NodeJS
- MongoDB
- Lancelot platform implemented on .NET Framework
- Azure MS SQL Server
Project results
- Full automation of the nomination process, which has reduced the need for manual labour and increased trader efficiency,
- Better monitoring of the nomination process and data visualization through advanced dashboards,
- Acceleration and automation of communication with TSOs, minimising the risk of errors and delays in nominations,
- Seamless integration with all required systems, enabling seamless data transfer,
- Highly available cloud-based solution that minimized operational costs and IT infrastructure requirements,
- 24x7 Support.
Added value
Higher system availability and stability
Acceleration of the nomination process - significant reduction of manual work
Full integration with all relevant TSOs - seamless and reliable communication to third party systems
Efficient management of intraday nominations - clear dashboards for process monitoring
Flexibility for specific market requirements - support for intraday scheduling and hydroelectric plant utilization
Scalability and ease of maintenance - cloud-based solution to minimize operational costs
High user satisfaction - seamless go-live and stable 24/7 operation thanks to monitoring and support
Who is our client
IWB (Industrielle Werke Basel)
IWB (Industrielle Werke Basel) is the company for electricity, heat, water, telecommunications and mobility in the canton of Basel-Stadt (Switzerland). As a public institution, it has been independent since 2010 and works closely with the Department of Economics, Social Affairs, and the Environment of the canton of Basel-Stadt.
As an electricity supplier, IWB supplies its customers around 1,200 GWh annually. This is mainly produced in eight hydroelectric power plants in Switzerland and wind power plants in France and Germany, where IWB has a stake. To compensate for fluctuations in production, IWB also trades electricity. In 2023, IWB's electricity mix comprised 91% hydropower, 3% solar energy and 6% subsidized electricity.
Head of of Back Office Energy Trading
