Power system simulation-technical, quality and commercial considerations in a competitive engineering environment

The author discusses technical, commercial and quality issues arising when power system simulation is carried out in a commercial environment. The author states that as the need for system simulation grows so will the need to consider the most cost effective way of carrying out such work. The simulation work should be carried out as early as possible in the design process to allow it to be most cost effective. Contractual flexibility built into the technical and financial arrangements is in most cases imperative. The issue of data, its collection and suitability is of paramount importance. A high level of QA is cost-effective for both parties and should not be comprised as a trade off with price. Interpretation of the results by the analyst is desirable, and when based on sound engineering judgements as well as the results of the simulations themselves, is significantly more valuable than the results alone