PSI Neplan – from Lake Zurich to the world

How PSI Neplan supports the planning of power and utility networks across international markets

Network planning looks different from one country to another. Power grids, gas networks, heating and cooling systems, and drinking water infrastructure develop under different conditions and at different stages. Yet the need to plan them reliably is universal.

This is where PSI Neplan AG comes in. Based in Küsnacht on Lake Zurich, the company has been developing software for planning electricity and utility networks since 1988. Today, NEPLAN solutions are used by customers in markets around the world.

PSI Neplan’s history began in 1988, when the company was founded as Busarello, Cott & Partner. In 2013, it became NEPLAN AG and, since November 2020, has been part of PSI Software SE as a wholly owned subsidiary.

From its headquarters in Küsnacht on Lake Zurich, PSI Neplan has grown well beyond its Swiss roots. NEPLAN products are sold directly, in cooperation with PSI's Grid & Energy Management business unit, and through international sales partners, including Hitachi Energy worldwide and GERS in North and South America.

At the same time, the NEPLAN brand has retained a strong position in the DACH region, where it has been established and widely recognized for decades. 

Whether planning grid expansion and conversion, supporting the transition to new heating systems, or ensuring a reliable drinking water supply, modern utility networks require flexible and powerful planning tools. This is precisely where the NEPLAN product family comes in.

The software covers a broad range of applications and utility sectors—from power networks at transmission and distribution voltage levels to gas, water, district heating and cooling networks, as well as complex industrial sites.

With tailored solutions such as the classic on-premises NEPLAN V10, the flexible cloud platform NEPLAN 360, the browser-based NEPLAN Anywhere for connection requests, and NEPLAN AM for predictive asset management, PSI Neplan provides tools that help set industry standards.

The result is a versatile platform trusted by grid operators, engineering service providers, and consulting companies worldwide. NEPLAN also serves as a proven foundation for academic research and education, supporting the development of the grids of tomorrow.

The challenges facing network planners vary considerably depending on the maturity and development of the infrastructure around them.

In industrialized countries with extensively developed grid infrastructure, the focus is increasingly shifting toward advanced applications, including workflow automation and integration with surrounding systems.

In emerging and developing markets, infrastructure is often still being built or expanded. Here, fundamental questions around the design, operation, and control of network elements can take center stage.

Regulatory requirements can differ just as significantly. Many calculation methods and interfaces are based on international standards issued by organizations such as ISO, IEC, and IEEE. Where national standards or regulations go beyond these international foundations, PSI Neplan assesses their implementation based on their potential benefits and the associated costs.

This combination of shared international standards and market-specific requirements is a defining characteristic of network planning worldwide.

The importance of network planning continues to grow as power and utility systems undergo fundamental change.

The rapid expansion of renewable energy is making electricity grids increasingly complex. At the same time, heating and cooling networks are expanding, in some cases replacing existing gas infrastructure. Drinking water networks face their own challenges, with increasingly hot and dry summers in Europe highlighting the importance of planning for long-term supply security.

These developments are reflected in PSI Neplan's current areas of focus. The company is working on automatic target grid planning and the automated assessment of connection requests in distribution grids, as well as Dynamic Security Assessment for transmission grids.

Internationalization is also about connecting expertise and solutions across the PSI portfolio.

NEPLAN focuses on network planning, while the PSI Grid & Energy Management business unit provides solutions for grid operations. The two areas complement one another, and customers are increasingly looking for ways to connect planning and operational systems through standardized interfaces.

Such connections have already been implemented with PSIngo, as part of a product package for grid compatibility checks, and PSIpassage, within a Dynamic Security Assessment project. Similar projects involving PSIcontrol and PSIprins are currently in implementation or negotiation.

PSI Neplan is also working toward closer cooperation with the PSI Grid & Energy Management business unit and providers of geographic information systems (GIS) and meter data management systems (MDM), with the aim of integrating NEPLAN into comprehensive solutions.

PSI Neplan's vision is to make NEPLAN both more powerful and more intuitive.

One goal is to enable the software to automatically propose network reinforcement measures based on technical and economic criteria. Another is to simplify the exchange of data with surrounding systems from PSI and third-party providers.

Artificial intelligence is also part of the longer-term vision. An AI-based assistant could enable users to interact with the software and issue instructions using natural language, making complex planning processes more accessible and intuitive.

The software is continuously enhanced through regular software releases. Major developments are published twice a year, while monthly patches provide smaller improvements and updates between major releases.

PSI Neplan also invests in the continuous professional development of its employees and collaborates closely with other PSI teams and selected technology providers, including companies specializing in GIS and energy data management.

PSI Neplan’s international activities extend from customer projects and industry events to knowledge exchange and collaboration.

The company participates - usually together with the PSI Grid & Energy Management business unit - in major industry events, including E-world energy & water in Essen, Powertage in Zurich, the CIGRE Session in Paris, and CIRED, which takes place at rotating European locations.

Customer exchange is another important element of its international activities. PSI Neplan hosts an annual user meeting in Zurich, while its sales partners organize additional events for joint customers, including meetings in Mannheim and Bogotá.

From its long-standing base on Lake Zurich, PSI Neplan has built a business that reaches far beyond Switzerland. The next step is about integrating new technologies into NEPLAN, as well as anchoring and interlocking it more strongly within the PSI portfolio. This will enable customers in a wide range of markets to benefit from increasingly integrated and holistic solutions.