Gas Natural Fenosa (now Naturgy Energy Group S.A.), the largest integrated gas and electricity company in Spain and Latin America, has an electric generation capacity totaling more than 13,000 megawatts. The company’s portfolio includes coal, combined-cycle gas, nuclear, wind, and renewable assets. To determine how best to sell electricity in the wholesale market, the company must accurately predict the next day’s prices and demand as well as the availability of electric power.
Gas Natural Fenosa uses MathWorks tools to develop optimization and forecasting models that incorporate historical usage patterns, weather forecasts, production costs, and other factors. They use the models to project capacity and demand and optimize their generation asset portfolios.
“Because we cannot store the electricity we produce, we must be prepared to sell it the next day,” says Angel Caballero, Forward Operations, Iberian Power Markets, at Gas Natural Fenosa. “The models that we have developed using MathWorks tools help us optimize our resources for production. They also enable us to predict periods of peak demand and increase our margins when the market is favorable.”