Battery energy storage systems
BESS optimization software for energy, reserve and frequency response.
Powerop co-optimizes battery charging and discharging with reserve and frequency-response commitments, taking account of electricity prices, service revenues and the energy needed to deliver those services.
Developed by Power Optimisation Limited, Powerop combines detailed battery storage modelling with a fast optimization method. It can maximize profit for a storage owner or minimize overall scheduling costs when BESS is modelled within a power system.
Battery storage optimization
Optimize services and stored energy together.
Accepting a reserve or response commitment affects how much power and stored energy remain available for other uses. Powerop models these interactions within the same optimization.
The model accounts for charging and discharging power limits, losses, stored-energy limits, service-delivery requirements and energy recovery. Multiple positive and negative reserve and response categories can be represented, with service stacking subject to the modelled delivery rules and the capabilities of the BESS.
BESS can be modelled alone or alongside thermal generation, pumped storage and other assets. Power system operators can co-optimize storage with generating-unit commitment, economic dispatch and system-wide or zonal reserve requirements.
Decisions the model supports
- When to charge and discharge, and at what power levels.
- How much reserve and frequency response to offer alongside the energy schedule.
- How stored energy should change through the study period to support those commitments.
- How to update the energy schedule as electricity prices change, with contracted services fixed.
British electricity market options
Represent the services your BESS can provide.
Powerop has special options for BESS owners in Britain, covering services procured by the National Energy System Operator (NESO): positive and negative Balancing Reserve and Quick Reserve, and the high- and low-frequency services within Dynamic Containment, Dynamic Moderation and Dynamic Regulation.
Forecast reserve, response and electricity prices can be used to recommend service levels for NESO's day-ahead reserve and response auctions. Once awards are known, contracted service levels can be fixed and the charging and discharging schedule re-optimized as day-ahead and within-day prices evolve.
Energy available for service delivery
The permitted stored-energy range depends on the service commitments. Powerop can represent NESO's state-of-energy management and energy-recovery requirements, alongside the scheduled imports and exports.
The brochure explains these options and includes the example below. The service definitions and requirements represented in a study are reflected in its model settings and input data.
An example from the brochure
A 50 MW / 50 MWh battery over one day.
This example shows Powerop scheduling stored energy alongside reserve and frequency-response commitments. The permitted energy range changes as the commitments change.
The battery can offer positive and negative Balancing Reserve and Quick Reserve, as well as Dynamic Containment, Dynamic Moderation and Dynamic Regulation in both directions. The charts are reproduced from the May 2025 BESS brochure and illustrate the requirements modelled in that study.
View the corresponding export and import service profiles
These profiles show how scheduled energy and reserve or response services share the battery's export and import capability, with headroom for energy recovery.
BR = Balancing Reserve; QR = Quick Reserve; DC = Dynamic Containment; DM = Dynamic Moderation; DR = Dynamic Regulation. P/N indicate positive/negative reserve and H/L indicate high-/low-frequency response.
Operational scheduling and studies
Use Powerop within your workflow.
Powerop runs on Windows. Its optional Excel workbook interface provides a convenient way to configure studies and inspect results. The optimization engine can also exchange simple text files with customer-developed software.
Short-term operation and longer-term planning
Powerop can support day-ahead and within-day scheduling, as well as business planning and asset evaluation using forecast market conditions.
The study interval can be 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120 or 240 minutes. For longer studies, Powerop's Planner option links shorter operational studies and allocates limited resources across the study period.
Download and share
Powerop's BESS brochure.
The brochure provides a fuller explanation of the British BESS options and the illustrated example. Open the PDF to read, download, print or circulate it to colleagues.
Contact Power Optimisation
Discuss your BESS application.
Tell us about your battery storage assets and the operational or planning decisions you need to support.
Use this address in your preferred email service, or copy it below.
To help us assess the application, you can include the power and energy capacity, the services to be modelled, the study horizon and any integration requirements.