Overview of the year

Proprietary trading optimised with new hydrological model

January

The biggest contribution to Repower’s earnings in the 2023 financial year came from energy trading. In addition to a correct assessment of the markets, this good result is also due to a new forecasting tool. Repower’s Market Intelligence department, part of the Trading division, has developed an improved hydrological model, which was used successfully for the first time in the past financial year. “In addition to our own data and precipitation statistics from Meteo Switzerland, we’ve now also integrated data from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) into our forecasting tool,” explains Sergio Pini, Head of the Market Intelligence department.

The SLF Institute, based in Davos, has a comprehensive measurement and information system. Its numerous measuring stations, generally located between 2,000 and 3,000 metres above sea level, measure snow depth and the amount of new snow every 30 minutes around the clock. Thanks to this data, the Market Intelligence department was able to develop an improved hydrological model for the Asset Trading team. The model makes more precise predictions than ever before about the extent and course of snowmelt in the Alps and thus about the inflows into Repower’s reservoirs.

Repower’s Market Intelligence team consists of physicists, mathematicians, data scientists and computer scientists. Based in Poschiavo, the team is already working on the further evolution of the hydrological model. To be able to predict water inflows even more accurately, the next step will be to use artificial intelligence to integrate glacier melt and groundwater levels into the hydrological model. “This will make our water inflow forecasts even more precise and enable us to further optimise production at our hydropower plants,” says Pini.

Sergio Pini

Head of Market Intelligence, Trading