“ACRO” – Automatic Control Reserves Observer”

In use for years – replaced in just one year

As the operator of the Austrian power grids, Austrian Power Grid is responsible for the detection of faults and fluctuations in energy in the grid. This is a critical task, especially in times of unstable networks and ever-increasing proportions of renewable, unreliable energy sources. The current monitoring system for detecting deviations in the power grid is already digital – but has been in existence for many years. It no longer meets the modern requirements of the organization and the employees as desired:

• Satisfaction with usability is no longer present
• The performance of data queries leaves a lot to be desired
• The system is reaching its limits in the amount of data that can be processable

In addition, new functionalities are necessary – but at a certain point they can no longer be integrated into an old system. A replacement strategy was needed.

The decision

Since the performance of the legacy system could not be improved with the existing provider, the decision was made to develop a new system. This should better support APG employees in the processing of mass data, as well as simplify monitoring and analysis.

Since several projects have already been successfully implemented with ReqPOOL, the decision was easy to go down this path together.

The solution

Specification: Together with the department, a specification was produced in just eight weekly workshops in just two months. This was designed by ReqPOOL according to all legal requirements of the Federal Procurement Act. Thus, it could be used without delay in a pan-European tendering procedure. Due to the size of the project, a complex, two-stage tendering procedure with prior notice in the upper threshold area was necessary.

Call for proposals: ReqPOOL offers its customers many years of experience and best practices in the field of purchasing and procurement support. For this reason, they were subsequently invited to accompany the tendering process. Legally compliant eligibility criteria and award criteria were determined in this process. In addition, presentations were agreed with the providers, at which they presented their individual solutions.

Negotiation and awarding: A complex, individualised evaluation matrix was ultimately used to identify the most suitable provider by price and quality of performance. The use of many best-practice documents has saved a lot of money for the customer. In the subsequent negotiation procedure, the customer was also spared expenses through sound negotiations.

Implementation and project management: After only one year from the start of the specification, the project is already at the beginning of the implementation phase. Together with both implementers and customers, the specifications to be implemented are specified with the help of ReqPOOL. In the next few months, the first test operation will start, half a year later the new system will go into real operation and replace the old system. With its expertise in project management, requirements management and tools such as the requirements catalogue and the test specification, ReqPOOL ensures that the project adheres to schedule, budget and quality.

Customers» Austrian Power Grid AG