How N-SIDE’s Power Matching Algorithm is clearing the electricity markets

Several years ago, we set a clear goal: to provide any Power Exchange and Transmission System Operator with access to the same advanced optimisation standard and high quality that clears Europe’s single-day-ahead market, without lengthy integration cycles, while being configurable and operated locally.

Here are four non-negotiable KPIs define that standard:

Why Market Operators Choose N-SIDE’s Power Matching Algorithm

Five practical advantages drive rapid adoption:

1. Scalable by design: Proven on data sets well above 50,000 bids with no material increase in solution time.
2. Product-agnostic: A configuration layer maps bid and auction formats (day-ahead, intraday, reserve, capacity) onto one solver core.
3. Audit-ready outputs: Each run is packaged with a snapshot of inputs, parameters, and solver logs. Reruns may execute at a different pace but always satisfy the same optimality criteria, ensuring the results are reproducible within the solver’s tolerance.
4. Fast onboarding: Comprehensive APIs connect to existing gate-closure and settlement systems in weeks, whether the deployment is in the cloud or on-premises.
5. Beyond a tool: Our market design consultants routinely help customers diagnose, understand, and enhance their operations. That expertise ships with the software and builds the best-in-class experience.

Five Years of Impact

Since the first production go-live, the algorithm has become a cornerstone of several distinct market designs.

• Belgium – primary engine of the Capacity Remuneration Mechanism operated by Elia.
• India – four years of continuous day-ahead and intraday operation at the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX)
• Great Britain – more than 1,000 reserve and frequency-response auctions cleared since November 2023 for National Energy System Operator (NESO).
• Japan – twelve months of 15-minute day-ahead clearing for Japan Electric Power Exchange (JEPX).
• Baltic Region– supported the Baltic TSOs (AST, Litgrid, Elering) in connecting to the Continental Europe grid, allowing day-ahead balancing capacity auctions.

Versatility Beyond Day-Ahead

Current production use-cases span the whole timeline of electricity trading:

• Day-ahead energy (hourly and 15-minute)
• Auction-based intraday power
• D-1 capacity & reserve
• Long-term capacity remuneration mechanisms

All share the same solver core, parameterised for each geography and market design.

Continuous Evolution

Our roadmap flows directly from active client projects:

• Deeper customisation: parameters that follow local pricing rules, market designs, and network models allow each customer to adapt the engine to their needs, even during software integration
• New latitudes: rollouts in several geographies validate the solver under different demand patterns, usage requirements, and grid topologies.
• Transversal knowledge: lessons learned and features developed for any customer are integrated into the algorithm’s core, so that every new market benefits immediately from the expertise accumulated in earlier projects.
• Scaling horizon: performance tests confirm processing capability beyond 100,000 bids without significantly increasing computation time.

Talk to Our Experts

If you operate a power exchange, run market design for a TSO/ISO, or advise policymakers, we would be happy to discuss how N-SIDE’s Power Matching Algorithm can support your market. Don’t hesitate to reach out and have a chat with us!