Is Electrisim a good NEPLAN alternative?

For load flow, IEC 60909 short circuit, OPF, harmonics, grid code compliance and dynamics, yes, and its load flow and short-circuit results were compared with NEPLAN in independent thesis work. For specialist modules such as reliability analysis, keep NEPLAN.

How do Electrisim’s results compare with NEPLAN?

A master’s thesis at the University of Palermo compared both tools on IEEE 4-, 5-, 6- and 14-bus networks and a 1 GW offshore wind farm. On the small networks the differences stayed below 0.1%, and on the 14-bus network the mean error was below 2%. Read the validation study.

Does Electrisim follow IEC 60909?

Yes. Short circuit with pandapower follows IEC 60909, with maximum and minimum cases; ANSI/IEEE C37 is available in beta. See the short circuit documentation.

Can universities use Electrisim?

Yes. The academic licence costs $40 per institution per month for students, teaching and research, and several users can work in the same account at the same time. The Community Edition is free for anyone.

How much does Electrisim cost compared to NEPLAN?

Personal costs $10 per month and Company $40 per user per month, with every study included. NEPLAN is licensed by module. See pricing.

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Looking for an NEPLAN alternative?

NEPLAN is a Swiss suite used by utilities, industry and universities, sold by module. Electrisim’s load flow and short-circuit results have been compared with NEPLAN in master’s thesis work at the University of Palermo, so you can check the numbers before you switch.

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Electrisim vs NEPLAN

The studies European utilities, consultants and universities run most, side by side.

Feature	Electrisim	NEPLAN (modular suite)
Price	$10 per month Personal $40 per user per month Company	Licences priced per module
Compared with NEPLAN in independent work	University of Palermo theses	—
Load flow	pandapower + OpenDSS
Short circuit (IEC 60909)	Maximum and minimum cases
Optimal power flow
Harmonics	OpenDSS
Transient stability & eigenvalues	ANDES, included
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.

Studies you can run instead of NEPLAN

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

Load flow — Newton-Raphson and other pandapower solvers, or multiphase with OpenDSS
Short circuit — IEC 60909 maximum and minimum cases, with a dashboard and PDF report
Optimal power flow — generator costs with voltage and thermal limits
Grid code compliance — P-Q and V-Q at the point of connection, with built-in grid code templates
Plant controllers — Park and Plant Supervisory Controllers that hold Q, voltage or cos φ at the POC
BESS studies — preliminary design, sizing for P/Q targets and dispatch reversal
Harmonics — voltage and current THD with OpenDSS
N-1 contingency & time series — outage screening and profile-driven load flows
Transient stability & eigenvalues — time-domain and small-signal studies with ANDES
Import — pandapower (.py) and OpenDSS (.dss) 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 NEPLAN alternative

Best fit for

European consultants and utilities working to IEC 60909
Wind, solar and BESS projects that must show grid code compliance at the point of connection
Universities teaching power systems, with an academic licence at $40 per institution per month
Teams who want results that were compared with NEPLAN before they switch

Still use NEPLAN when you need

Specialist modules Electrisim does not have, such as reliability analysis
Network data maintained in NEPLAN and exchanged through its interfaces
Existing NEPLAN projects and client deliverables
Client or utility requirements that name NEPLAN

You can run day-to-day studies in Electrisim and keep a NEPLAN seat only where a client requires it.

NEPLAN alternative FAQ

For load flow, IEC 60909 short circuit, OPF, harmonics, grid code compliance and dynamics, yes, and its load flow and short-circuit results were compared with NEPLAN in independent thesis work. For specialist modules such as reliability analysis, keep NEPLAN.
A master’s thesis at the University of Palermo compared both tools on IEEE 4-, 5-, 6- and 14-bus networks and a 1 GW offshore wind farm. On the small networks the differences stayed below 0.1%, and on the 14-bus network the mean error was below 2%. Read the validation study.
Yes. Short circuit with pandapower follows IEC 60909, with maximum and minimum cases; ANSI/IEEE C37 is available in beta. See the short circuit documentation.
Yes. The academic licence costs $40 per institution per month for students, teaching and research, and several users can work in the same account at the same time. The Community Edition is free for anyone.
Personal costs $10 per month and Company $40 per user per month, with every study included. NEPLAN is licensed by module. See pricing.

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