Is Electrisim a good SKM PowerTools alternative?

For everyday studies — load flow, short circuit, arc flash, motor starting and harmonics — yes, in one browser subscription. It does not yet match a dedicated coordination tool’s manufacturer device libraries, so keep that where your projects need full TCC libraries.

Does Electrisim do ANSI/IEEE C37 short circuit like SKM?

Yes, in beta. Electrisim builds the first-cycle, interrupting and 30-cycle networks of the IEEE C37.010 method from the same diagram, next to IEC 60909 with pandapower and fault studies with OpenDSS. Verify beta results against utility or consultant practice before using them for equipment ratings.

Can Electrisim coordinate protection?

It models overcurrent relays (definite-time and inverse-time curves to IEC 60255 or IEEE C37.112) with automatic or manual time grading and TCC plots, in beta. Fuses and large manufacturer libraries are where a dedicated coordination tool is still stronger.

Does Electrisim support IEEE 1584-2018 arc flash?

Yes. It runs IEEE 1584-2018 on top of an IEC 60909 short-circuit study and shows arcing current, incident energy, arc-flash boundary and an NFPA 70E-style PPE category at each bus.

How much does Electrisim cost compared to SKM?

Cloud Personal is $10 per month and Company $40 per user per month, with every study included, and you can cancel anytime. The Community Edition is free. SKM PowerTools is sold as commercial licences, usually per module.

Home / SKM alternative

Looking for an SKM alternative?

Need an SKM PowerTools alternative for everyday studies? Electrisim runs short circuit (IEC 60909, and ANSI/IEEE C37 in beta), IEEE 1584-2018 arc flash, load flow, motor starting and harmonics in one browser diagram, on pandapower and OpenDSS. Cloud from $10 per month.

Cancel anytime 30-day refund Nothing to install Apache 2.0 open source

Try the Editor Free

No signup to explore the editor · Pay only when you run cloud simulations

Electrisim vs SKM PowerTools

SKM PowerTools is a Windows suite widely used in North American industrial and commercial projects, licensed per module. Electrisim covers the everyday studies in one subscription, in the browser.

Feature	Electrisim	Typical desktop suites (e.g. SKM PowerTools)
Monthly cost	$10 per month Personal $40 per user per month Company	Commercial licences, usually priced per module
Runs on	Any modern browser: Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows desktop
Load flow / power flow	pandapower + OpenDSS
Short circuit IEC 60909
Short circuit ANSI/IEEE C37	Beta
Arc flash (IEEE 1584-2018)
Protective device coordination	Overcurrent relays, IEC and IEEE curves (beta)	With large device libraries
Motor starting / voltage dip
Harmonic analysis	OpenDSS
Transient stability	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.

Cancel anytime • 30-day refund • Secure payment via Stripe

Studies you can run instead of SKM

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

Load flow — Newton-Raphson and more (pandapower), snapshot/daily/yearly (OpenDSS)
Contingency analysis — N-1 outages of lines, transformers and generators with thermal and voltage checks
Optimal power flow — AC or DC OPF with generator costs, voltage and thermal limits
Short circuit — IEC 60909 and ANSI/IEEE C37 (beta) with pandapower, fault study on all buses with OpenDSS
Arc flash — IEEE 1584-2018 incident energy, arc-flash boundary and PPE category
Motor starting — voltage dip for DOL, soft-start, star-delta, autotransformer and reactor starting
Protection — overcurrent relays with IEC and IEEE curves, time grading and TCC (beta)
Harmonics & time series — voltage and current THD (OpenDSS), controllers in the loop
Transient stability & eigenvalues — time-domain simulation and oscillatory modes (ANDES)
Import — pandapower (.py) and OpenDSS (.dss) files become a single-line diagram automatically

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 →

Why engineers choose Electrisim instead

Validated engines

Results driven by pandapower, OpenDSS, and ANDES — continuously validated against commercial tools, including independent university studies.

Read validation →

Zero setup cloud

Draw networks in the browser, run simulations, export engineering report PDFs. No IT tickets for license servers or USB dongles.

Open source option

Need air-gapped or offline? Deploy the free Community Edition from GitHub under Apache 2.0.

Get the code →

When Electrisim is the right SKM alternative

Best fit for

Consultants and facility engineers running short-circuit, arc-flash and load-flow checks on project networks
Teams that need IEC 60909 and ANSI/IEEE C37 short circuit in one tool
Engineers who want every study in one subscription instead of separate modules
Students and researchers who want open engines they can inspect

Still use SKM when you need

Detailed protective device coordination with large manufacturer device libraries
Arc-flash label and report workflows already built around SKM
Existing SKM project files and client deliverables
Client or utility mandates that name SKM

Many engineers run Electrisim for day-to-day studies and keep a commercial seat only where contracts require it.

SKM alternative FAQ

For everyday studies — load flow, short circuit, arc flash, motor starting and harmonics — yes, in one browser subscription. It does not yet match a dedicated coordination tool’s manufacturer device libraries, so keep that where your projects need full TCC libraries.
Yes, in beta. Electrisim builds the first-cycle, interrupting and 30-cycle networks of the IEEE C37.010 method from the same diagram, next to IEC 60909 with pandapower and fault studies with OpenDSS. Verify beta results against utility or consultant practice before using them for equipment ratings.
It models overcurrent relays (definite-time and inverse-time curves to IEC 60255 or IEEE C37.112) with automatic or manual time grading and TCC plots, in beta. Fuses and large manufacturer libraries are where a dedicated coordination tool is still stronger.
Yes. It runs IEEE 1584-2018 on top of an IEC 60909 short-circuit study and shows arcing current, incident energy, arc-flash boundary and an NFPA 70E-style PPE category at each bus.
Cloud Personal is $10 per month and Company $40 per user per month, with every study included, and you can cancel anytime. The Community Edition is free. SKM PowerTools is sold as commercial licences, usually per module.

Ready to try an SKM alternative?

Subscribe in under a minute. Explore the editor free first — pay only when you run cloud simulations.

View full pricing · Also comparing EasyPower?