Introduction

PowerWorld Cruncher is an application that uses PowerWorld Simulator as an engine for integrating data from various input files to configure power flow cases. It combines seed cases, forecasts, outages, and voltage schedules to generate consistent Snapshots of the system state at specific times or time ranges. These Snapshots can be analyzed, compared, and used to produce detailed reports for planning, operations support, and recurring studies.

Cruncher is designed for repeatable, large-scale workflows. By orchestrating automated processing, flexible scheduling, and parallel/distributed execution, it enables rapid, consistent evaluation of many operating scenarios that would be impractical to perform manually.

Key Concepts

• Seed Cases – The foundation of every study. A Seed Case defines the starting state and can include pre/post configuration files to standardize setup.
• Snapshots – Points or ranges in time relative to a user-defined Target Time. Each Snapshot applies relevant inputs (forecasts, outages, schedules) to a Seed Case to create a case ready for analysis.
• Studies – The central structure that brings Seed Cases, Snapshots, forecasts, outages, voltage schedules, and analysis settings into a repeatable workflow.
• Schedules – Automation that runs a Study on a cadence (e.g., hourly or daily), generating and optionally analyzing snapshots at predefined intervals.
• Results – Each run can produce output cases, reports, plots, and optional archives for review, sharing, and reproducibility.

Why Use Cruncher?

• Automates repetitive simulation tasks and multi-scenario studies.
• Ensures consistent configuration across runs for reliable comparisons.
• Scales via parallel SimAuto processes and distributed computing resources.
• Generates comprehensive snapshot and analysis reports and visualizations.
• Supports flexible scheduling for recurring operational or planning studies.