Is Electrisim a good PSS/E alternative?

For power flow, N-1 contingency, OPF and dynamics on networks you build or import, yes. For system operator base cases, .raw and .dyr submissions and standard dynamic model libraries, keep PSS/E.

Can Electrisim open PSS/E .raw or .dyr files?

Not directly. Electrisim imports pandapower (.py) and OpenDSS (.dss) files, so a PSS/E case has to be converted to one of these first or redrawn in the editor.

Does Electrisim run dynamic simulations like PSS/E?

Yes, with ANDES: transient stability (time-domain simulation after a bus fault or line trip) and eigenvalue analysis. You need at least one generator with dynamic data. See the stability documentation.

Can I screen a plant or data center connection?

Yes. Data Center Site Screening (beta) checks headroom and contingencies, compares short circuit before and after the connection and can run an ANDES ride-through check. Grid Code Compliance (P-Q and V-Q) covers wind, solar and BESS plants. See the contingency documentation.

How much does Electrisim cost compared to PSS/E?

Personal is $10 per month and Company $40 per user per month; dynamics with ANDES are included, not an add-on. The Community Edition is free to run on your own computer. See pricing.

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Looking for an PSS/E alternative?

PSS/E is the planning tool many transmission utilities and system operators use for power flow, contingency and dynamics. Electrisim covers the same study types in your browser for networks you build or import: AC load flow, N-1 contingency, OPF, and transient stability and eigenvalues with ANDES.

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Electrisim vs PSS/E

Planning studies side by side, from a single plant connection to a regional network.

Feature	Electrisim	PSS/E (desktop)
Price	$10 per month Personal $40 per user per month Company	Commercial licences
Runs on	Any modern browser: Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows desktop
AC power flow	pandapower: Newton-Raphson and more
N-1 contingency
Optimal power flow
Transient stability (time domain)	ANDES, included
Short circuit	IEC 60909; ANSI/IEEE C37 in beta
Reads PSS/E .raw and .dyr files
Python scripting	Export the pandapower code of a diagram	psspy API
Open source	Apache 2.0

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

Planning studies you can run instead of PSS/E

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

AC load flow — Newton-Raphson and other pandapower solvers, with a solver fallback for hard cases
N-1 contingency — thermal and voltage violations for each outage, ranked
Optimal power flow — AC or DC, with generator costs, voltage and thermal limits
Transient stability — rotor angles and voltages after a bus fault or line trip (ANDES)
Eigenvalue analysis — damping and frequency of oscillation modes (ANDES)
Grid code compliance — P-Q and V-Q at the point of connection
Data center screening (beta) — headroom, contingencies, short circuit before and after, ride-through
Short circuit — IEC 60909, and ANSI/IEEE C37 in beta
Time series — one load flow per step with load and generation profiles
Python export — the pandapower code behind your 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 PSS/E alternative

Best fit for

Developers and consultants screening a wind, solar, BESS or data center connection before the formal study
Engineers who need dynamics without a PSS/E licence
Teams that script in Python and want the pandapower code behind each diagram
Students learning power flow, contingency and stability on open engines

Still use PSS/E when you need

System operator base cases and submissions in PSS/E format (.raw, .dyr)
Standard dynamic model libraries required by your system operator
Very large interconnected cases and existing psspy automation
Client or operator requirements that name PSS/E

You can screen options in Electrisim and run the final submission case in PSS/E.

PSS/E alternative FAQ

For power flow, N-1 contingency, OPF and dynamics on networks you build or import, yes. For system operator base cases, .raw and .dyr submissions and standard dynamic model libraries, keep PSS/E.
Not directly. Electrisim imports pandapower (.py) and OpenDSS (.dss) files, so a PSS/E case has to be converted to one of these first or redrawn in the editor.
Yes, with ANDES: transient stability (time-domain simulation after a bus fault or line trip) and eigenvalue analysis. You need at least one generator with dynamic data. See the stability documentation.
Yes. Data Center Site Screening (beta) checks headroom and contingencies, compares short circuit before and after the connection and can run an ANDES ride-through check. Grid Code Compliance (P-Q and V-Q) covers wind, solar and BESS plants. See the contingency documentation.
Personal is $10 per month and Company $40 per user per month; dynamics with ANDES are included, not an add-on. The Community Edition is free to run on your own computer. See pricing.

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