PowerGEM, LLC Acquires Astrapé Consulting
April 30 2024 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
The combined company, helmed by Joe
DeMatteo, provides software and technical services for North
American power grid operations and expansion planning
PowerGEM, LLC, a leading provider of transmission reliability
modeling, market analysis software and technical services for the
electric power industry, has acquired Astrapé Consulting, a leader
in resource adequacy for reliably managing the transition to clean
energy. PowerGEM also recently welcomed a new CEO, Joe DeMatteo, to
lead the combined organization and work closely with its founders,
Boris Gisin and Manos Obessis, who continue to hold executive
leadership positions.
This acquisition combines two successful businesses with decades
of industry experience. Together, they will serve the numerous
customer segments responsible for meeting the rapidly evolving
operational and planning needs of the North American power grid and
related markets, including the expanded and sustainable use of
renewable energy resources.
Through its software, technical services and expert training,
PowerGEM provides more than 230 system operators, utilities,
consultants and developers with robust modeling and analytical
capabilities to optimize grid reliability and market efficiency.
Its two primary software suites are:
- TARA (Transmission Adequacy & Reliability Assessment) to
model, assess and plan power transmission for reliable grid
operation. Its modeling capabilities and analytical applications
extend beyond traditional tools for power-flow planning.
- PROBE (Portfolio Ownership & Bid Evaluation) for production
cost-modeling to simulate and predict day-ahead and locational
pricing. Using a full transmission model, the end-to-end simulation
software enables wholesale electricity market optimization.
Astrapé also works with some of the largest power system
operators and utilities. Its SERVM (Strategic Energy and Risk
Valuation Model) software is used for resource adequacy studies,
resource capacity accreditation, renewable integration assessments,
and resource planning studies. SERVM is unique because of its
approach to assessing resource adequacy, which entails full
economic modeling, allowing users to select expansion plans that
properly weight reliability and economic attributes. The firm also
offers consulting services and regulatory support, using SERVM as
the basis for resource adequacy requirements, ELCC (effective load
carrying capability) for both conventional and renewable resources,
and other resource planning decisions.
“Operating the electric power grid today and planning for its
expansion to meet future demand is becoming increasingly complex
due to a convergence of factors, including aging infrastructure,
extreme weather, the proliferation of renewables, and increasing
load for computing and transportation,” explained Joe DeMatteo,
PowerGEM’s CEO. “The software and services of PowerGEM and Astrapé
will help customers analyze and plan for all these factors to
deliver reliable, clean and affordable power for future
generations. I’m honored to join this team and am excited to work
with our customers to address industry challenges and meet end-user
needs.”
In the near-term, Astrapé and all its employees will operate as
part of PowerGEM, with Astrapé Founder and CEO Kevin Carden and
Astrapé Principal Nick Wintermantel joining the PowerGEM executive
leadership team. While both companies share some customers, this
acquisition creates an immediate opportunity to bring additional
value to their combined customer base by offering complementary
solutions and services.
“The complexity of power generation and transmission, including
managing the expanded use of renewables, is driving demand for more
advanced software with sophisticated modeling capabilities,” said
Astrapé Founder and CEO Kevin Carden. “With PowerGEM, we can offer
a comprehensive software platform and associated services to ensure
system operators and planners collaborate easily across functions
to meet current and future operational and planning needs.
Together, I’m confident we can help the industry transform its
approach to decision-making to optimize power generation and
transmission.”
PowerGEM was represented by Goodwin Procter LLP as legal counsel
and Kroll, LLC as financial advisor. Astrapé was represented by
Maynard Nexsen as legal counsel and Way Ray Shelton as financial
advisor.
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About PowerGEM
PowerGEM provides transmission reliability modeling and market
analysis software and technical services for the electric power
industry in North America. The company’s robust tools for
power-flow planning and production-cost simulation are used by
system operators, utilities, consultants and energy infrastructure
developers to support electrical grid operations and expansion
planning. It was founded in 2000 and is a remote-based
organization. More information about PowerGEM is available at
www.power-gem.com.
About Astrapé Consulting
Astrapé provides software and related consulting services to
help system planners keep the lights on while transitioning from
traditional power generation to clean energy resources. Used by
some of the largest system operators and utilities, Astrapé’s SERVM
(Strategic Energy and Risk Valuation Model) has become a leading
risk modeling solution for resource adequacy studies, resource
capacity accreditation, renewable integration assessments, and
resource expansion planning studies. The company was founded in
2005 and is based in Hoover, Alabama, near Birmingham. For more
information, please visit www.astrape.com.
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Media: Bunny Tharpe | btharpe@power-gem.com |
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