Scenarios

Scenarios let you explore what-if alternatives for your electrical design without modifying your base single-line diagram. You can model different operating conditions, compare design options, and run calculations across all scenarios at once.

What scenarios are

A scenario represents a specific set of conditions applied to your electrical system. Each scenario stores only the differences (overrides) from your base design. Your original component values stay untouched until you explicitly choose to apply a scenario's changes.

Common uses:

• Comparing peak load vs normal load conditions
• Studying the impact of a generator going offline
• Modeling future load growth over time
• Evaluating different transformer tap positions
• Testing equipment sizing under various operating profiles

How scenarios work

Every project has a baseline scenario that represents your current design. When you create a new scenario, it starts with all the same values as the baseline. You then change specific component values, and only those changes are stored as overrides.

For example, if your base design has a load rated at 100 kW, and you create a "Peak Load" scenario where you change that load to 150 kW, the scenario stores only the single override: the load's active power changed to 150 kW. Every other component value comes from the base design.

This approach means:

• Your base design is never affected by scenario edits
• Scenarios stay lightweight regardless of system size
• You can quickly switch between scenarios to see different configurations

Creating a scenario

1. Click the Scenarios button in the canvas toolbar.
2. Click New Scenario.
3. Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "Generator Offline" or "Peak Load 2030").
4. Optionally select a parent scenario to inherit overrides from (see Scenario inheritance).
5. Optionally add a description explaining the scenario's purpose.
6. Click Create. The new scenario appears in the scenario list.

> Note: Scenario names must be unique within a project. Use descriptive names that identify the operating condition or design alternative.

Switching between scenarios

Use the scenario selector in the canvas header to switch the active scenario. When you select a scenario:

• All override values from that scenario are applied to the displayed component data
• The base design values remain unchanged underneath
• Calculations run against the active scenario's effective values

Switch back to the baseline scenario at any time to see your original design values.

Editing scenario overrides

To add or change overrides in a scenario:

1. Select the scenario you want to edit from the scenario selector.
2. Select a component on the canvas.
3. In the properties panel, change the value you want to override (e.g., change a load's active power from 100 kW to 150 kW).
4. The change is stored as an override in the active scenario. Your base design value remains 100 kW.

You can also view and edit all overrides for a scenario in a table format:

1. Open the Scenarios dialog.
2. Click the Edit Table action on the scenario you want to inspect.
3. Review and modify overrides across all components in the tabular view.

Scenario inheritance

Scenarios support a parent-child hierarchy. A child scenario inherits all overrides from its parent and can add its own on top.

For example:

• Baseline (base design)
• "Generator Offline" (sets generator in_service to false)
• "Generator Offline + Peak Load" (inherits the generator offline override, adds load increase to 200 kW)

The "Generator Offline + Peak Load" scenario combines both sets of overrides. If a child overrides the same field as its parent, the child's value takes precedence.

> Important: Keep your scenario hierarchy shallow, ideally 2-3 levels deep. Deeply nested hierarchies become difficult to track and debug.

Cloning scenarios

To duplicate an existing scenario along with all its overrides:

1. Open the Scenarios dialog.
2. Click the Clone action on the scenario you want to duplicate.
3. Enter a name for the cloned scenario.
4. Optionally change the parent scenario.
5. Click Create. The new scenario contains all the same overrides as the source.

Cloning is useful when you want to create a variation of an existing scenario without starting from scratch.

Setting baseline

When a scenario represents your new "normal" design, you can promote it to baseline. This applies the scenario's overrides to the actual base component values and clears the override records.

To promote a scenario to baseline:

1. Open the Scenarios dialog.
2. Click the Set Baseline action on the scenario.
3. Review the confirmation dialog, which shows how many components and fields will be updated.
4. Click Set Baseline to confirm.

What happens when you set baseline:

• All override values are written into the base component data
• Override records for that scenario are cleared (the values are now part of the base design)
• The scenario becomes the new baseline
• Other scenarios retain their overrides relative to the updated base

> Warning: Setting baseline is a significant action. The override values become the permanent base values for your project. Make sure the scenario accurately represents your intended design before promoting it.

Running calculations per scenario

To run power flow or short circuit analysis for a specific scenario:

1. Select the scenario from the scenario selector in the canvas header.
2. Run the calculation as you normally would.
3. Results reflect the active scenario's effective component values.

Running all scenarios

To calculate results across every scenario at once:

1. Open the Scenarios dialog.
2. Click Run All Scenarios.
3. The system runs power flow analysis for each scenario and returns a comparison of results.

This batch calculation lets you quickly compare how different operating conditions affect your system without manually switching between scenarios and running individual calculations.

Deleting scenarios

To remove a scenario:

1. Open the Scenarios dialog.
2. Click the Delete action on the scenario you want to remove.
3. Confirm the deletion in the dialog.

> Note: You cannot delete the baseline scenario. If you need to replace it, promote a different scenario to baseline first.

Deleting a scenario also removes all of its override records. Child scenarios of the deleted scenario are also removed.

Best practices

Naming conventions

Use names that describe the operating condition or design alternative:

Keep hierarchies shallow

Limit parent-child nesting to 2-3 levels. If you find yourself needing deeper hierarchies, consider whether some scenarios should be independent instead.

Set baseline when design stabilizes

Follow this workflow as your design evolves:

1. Create scenarios as children of the current baseline.
2. Iterate and refine the scenarios.
3. When a scenario represents the accepted design, promote it to baseline.
4. Create new scenarios branching from the updated baseline.

Clean up unused scenarios

Delete scenarios that are no longer relevant. This keeps the scenario list manageable and avoids confusion during batch calculations.

Example workflows

Peak vs normal load comparison

1. Start with your baseline representing normal operating conditions.
2. Create a scenario named "Peak Load".
3. Select the "Peak Load" scenario from the scenario selector.
4. Select each load component and increase the active power to peak values.
5. Run power flow for the "Peak Load" scenario and review results.
6. Switch back to the baseline and run power flow.
7. Compare voltage drops, cable loading, and transformer utilization between the two conditions.
8. Alternatively, use Run All Scenarios to calculate both at once.

Generator offline contingency study

1. Create a scenario named "Generator 1 Offline".
2. Select the scenario from the scenario selector.
3. Select Generator 1 on the canvas and set in_service to false.
4. Run power flow analysis.
5. Check whether the remaining sources can serve all loads.
6. Review bus voltages and branch loading for overload conditions.
7. Repeat for each generator to identify critical contingencies.

Future load growth analysis

1. Create a scenario named "Year 2030 Loads".
2. Optionally create a child scenario "Year 2035 Loads" that inherits the 2030 changes and adds further increases.
3. In "Year 2030 Loads", increase load values by projected growth factors.
4. In "Year 2035 Loads", increase values further.
5. Use Run All Scenarios to compare baseline, 2030, and 2035 conditions.
6. Identify which equipment needs upsizing and at what growth stage.

Related topics

• Running power flow - Running power flow calculations
• Running short-circuit analysis - Running fault studies
• Validation warnings - Understanding system warnings