Is Electrisim a good CYME alternative?

For feeder-level studies, yes: unbalanced load flow with OpenDSS, regulator, capacitor and inverter controls, faults, harmonics and time series. For utility-wide planning with reliability indices across many feeders, CYME has tools that Electrisim does not.

Can Electrisim model unbalanced distribution feeders?

Yes. Switch the Load Flow dialog to the OpenDSS tab for multiphase load flow in snapshot, daily, yearly or duty-cycle mode, and use the single-phase elements for laterals on a chosen phase. See the load flow documentation.

Can I import my OpenDSS model?

Yes. File → Import reads an OpenDSS (.dss) circuit file and draws the single-line diagram, so you can edit parameters and run studies on it. See importing models.

Does Electrisim model smart inverter functions?

Yes, with OpenDSS. InvControl gives PV systems and storage Fixed Q, Fixed PF, Volt-VAR, Volt-Watt and Watt-PF behaviour during the load flow. See inverter control.

How much does Electrisim cost compared to CYME?

Every study is included: Personal is $10 per month, Company $40 per user per month, and you can cancel at any time. The Community Edition is free and open source. Distribution suites such as CYME are typically licensed by module. See pricing.

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Looking for an CYME alternative?

CYME is used mostly by distribution utilities for feeder analysis, protection and planning. Electrisim runs feeder studies with OpenDSS in your browser: unbalanced multiphase load flow with daily and yearly profiles, regulator, capacitor and inverter controls, faults on every bus and harmonics, next to balanced studies with pandapower.

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Electrisim vs CYME

The distribution studies most feeder projects need, side by side.

Feature	Electrisim	CYME (desktop suite)
Price	$10 per month Personal $40 per user per month Company	Enterprise licences, usually priced per module
Runs on	Any modern browser: Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows desktop
Unbalanced multiphase load flow	OpenDSS: snapshot, daily, yearly, duty cycle
Regulator and capacitor controls	RegControl, CapControl, StorageController
Smart inverter functions	Volt-VAR, Volt-Watt, Watt-PF (InvControl)
Single-phase laterals	Single-phase load, line, transformer, source, generator
Fault study on all buses	OpenDSS, plus IEC 60909 with pandapower
Harmonics	OpenDSS
Reliability indices (SAIDI, SAIFI)
All studies in one plan		Modules licensed separately
Open source	Apache 2.0

Based on publicly available product information. Check the vendor for current editions and licensing.

Feeder studies you can run instead of CYME

Choose the engine per study — pandapower, OpenDSS, or ANDES. Full documentation →

Unbalanced load flow — snapshot, daily, yearly and duty-cycle modes with OpenDSS
Voltage regulation — RegControl, CapControl and StorageController act during the solve
Inverter controls — Fixed Q, Fixed PF, Volt-VAR, Volt-Watt and Watt-PF for PV and storage
Single-phase laterals — single-phase loads, lines, transformers, sources and generators on a chosen phase
Fault study — fault currents on every bus with OpenDSS, or IEC 60909 with pandapower
Harmonics — voltage and current THD from the spectra you assign
Time series — one load flow per step with load and generation profiles
Monte Carlo load flow — voltage and loading statistics over many sampled cases
N-1 contingency — line and transformer outages with thermal and voltage checks
Import — OpenDSS (.dss) and pandapower (.py) files become a single-line diagram

Validated against commercial software

Results are driven by mature open engines and checked against commercial tools and independent academic work.

Commercial-tool validation

pandapower power flow and short-circuit results are validated against DIgSILENT PowerFactory and PSS Sincal with strict tolerances — continuous CI on every change.

pandapower validation →

Independent thesis study

Master’s thesis work at the University of Palermo compared Electrisim with Neplan across load flow and short circuit.

Read the study →

Dual-solver checks

Offshore wind load flow is cross-checked through pandapower and OpenDSS on the same model — consistent results across two major solvers.

Read dual-solver article →

When Electrisim is the right CYME alternative

Best fit for

Distribution engineers and consultants studying feeders with PV, storage and voltage regulators
Engineers who already write OpenDSS scripts and want a diagram on top of them
DER connection checks on a single feeder, before a utility-wide study
Students and researchers who want to inspect the OpenDSS model behind each result

Still use CYME when you need

Reliability indices and planning across many feeders at once
Feeder models fed from utility GIS and customer databases
Protection coordination libraries maintained across your utility
Client or regulator requirements that name CYME

You can run feeder studies in Electrisim and keep a CYME seat only where your utility requires it.

CYME alternative FAQ

For feeder-level studies, yes: unbalanced load flow with OpenDSS, regulator, capacitor and inverter controls, faults, harmonics and time series. For utility-wide planning with reliability indices across many feeders, CYME has tools that Electrisim does not.
Yes. Switch the Load Flow dialog to the OpenDSS tab for multiphase load flow in snapshot, daily, yearly or duty-cycle mode, and use the single-phase elements for laterals on a chosen phase. See the load flow documentation.
Yes. File → Import reads an OpenDSS (.dss) circuit file and draws the single-line diagram, so you can edit parameters and run studies on it. See importing models.
Yes, with OpenDSS. InvControl gives PV systems and storage Fixed Q, Fixed PF, Volt-VAR, Volt-Watt and Watt-PF behaviour during the load flow. See inverter control.
Every study is included: Personal is $10 per month, Company $40 per user per month, and you can cancel at any time. The Community Edition is free and open source. Distribution suites such as CYME are typically licensed by module. See pricing.

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