Control Costs, Confidently Manage Risks, and Optimize Power Portfolios
Power supply planning, generation procurement, and market participation have never been more complex. Ascend’s unified suite of powerful software and market intelligence ensures confident decisions from planning to procurement to operations.
25+ GW
Power Procured on Behalf of Ascend Customers
Up to 5X
Faster IRP to RFP
100%
US Market Coverage
Trusted by Utilities, CCAs and Retail Energy Providers
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"Another advantage with Ascend is the ability to generate a range of expected outcomes instead of a single data point.”
Capture Opportunity and Manage Risk in Today’s Power Markets
Ascend helps investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, co-ops, CCAs, and retail energy providers plan, procure, and optimize energy portfolios with confidence.
Manage Risk in Dynamic Energy Markets
- Measure and manage risk in portfolios with both renewables and gas
- Reduce overall portfolio risk while pursuing clean energy goals
- Create confident IRP scenarios for long-term planning and capacity expansion
Manage Risk in Dynamic Energy Markets
- Measure and manage risk in portfolios with both renewables and gas
- Reduce overall portfolio risk while pursuing clean energy goals
- Create confident IRP scenarios for long-term planning and capacity expansion
Navigate Load Growth Demands
- Create clear pathways to bring new energy resources online faster
- Plan and prepare for rapid load growth from data centers
- Identify and evaluate energy project investments given multiple constraints
Navigate Load Growth Demands
- Create clear pathways to bring new energy resources online faster
- Plan and prepare for rapid load growth from data centers
- Identify and evaluate energy project investments given multiple constraints
Steward Capital Investments
- Quantify the risk reduction of different resources added to your supply mix
- Compare the value of storage to gas or other capacity resources
- Understand the long-term financial value of a potential resource addition
Steward Capital Investments
- Quantify the risk reduction of different resources added to your supply mix
- Compare the value of storage to gas or other capacity resources
- Understand the long-term financial value of a potential resource addition
Meet Clean Energy Goals
- Understand how to keep customer rates affordable while adding clean energy
- Determine optimal approaches to full or partial decarbonization
- Identify opportunities for leveraging clean energy tax credits
Meet Clean Energy Goals
- Understand how to keep customer rates affordable while adding clean energy
- Determine optimal approaches to full or partial decarbonization
- Identify opportunities for leveraging clean energy tax credits
How Ascend Helps
Ascend’s scalable software solutions and expert consulting services support confident decision making, connect teams, and mitigate risk.
For Investor-Owned Utilities
Confidently optimize capital efficiency, satisfy regulatory oversight, and maximize risk-adjusted returns while delivering affordability and reliability for customers.
Ascend Analytics Helps IOUs:
- Evaluate long-term returns and risks of large-scale grid upgrades
- Minimize power supply costs, stabilize ratepayer costs, mitigate risk, and achieve clean energy objectives
- Expand capacity quickly while maintaining reliability and minimizing rate impacts
- Transition from fossil fuels while maintaining reliability, at minimum cost and complexity
- Automate processes to eliminate manual data transfers and connect internal teams with a common source of truth
For Investor-Owned Utilities
Confidently optimize capital efficiency, satisfy regulatory oversight, and maximize risk-adjusted returns while delivering affordability and reliability for customers.
Ascend Analytics Helps IOUs:
- Evaluate long-term returns and risks of large-scale grid upgrades
- Minimize power supply costs, stabilize ratepayer costs, mitigate risk, and achieve clean energy objectives
- Expand capacity quickly while maintaining reliability and minimizing rate impacts
- Transition from fossil fuels while maintaining reliability, at minimum cost and complexity
- Automate processes to eliminate manual data transfers and connect internal teams with a common source of truth
For Co-Ops and Municipalities
Maximize capital resources and reduce exposure to price volatility while keeping public stakeholders engaged and informed.
Ascend Analytics Helps Co-Ops and Municipalities:
- Maximize limited access to capital and ensure good stewardship of member contributions and loans
- Evaluate how best to balance aging infrastructure with modernization and new investment
- Equip staff with technology to automate processes, protect against knowledge loss, and connect internal teams with a common data source
- Optimize bidding and offering for energy storage resources owned or managed through tolling agreements
- Confidently present complex and technical solutions to Boards and members
For Co-Ops and Municipalities
Maximize capital resources and reduce exposure to price volatility while keeping public stakeholders engaged and informed.
Ascend Analytics Helps Co-Ops and Municipalities:
- Maximize limited access to capital and ensure good stewardship of member contributions and loans
- Evaluate how best to balance aging infrastructure with modernization and new investment
- Equip staff with technology to automate processes, protect against knowledge loss, and connect internal teams with a common data source
- Optimize bidding and offering for energy storage resources owned or managed through tolling agreements
- Confidently present complex and technical solutions to Boards and members
For Community Choice Aggregators
Accelerate clean energy commitments and optimize procurement portfolios under policy and market uncertainty.
Ascend Analytics Helps CCAs:
- Hedge against market volatility in wholesale energy prices when procuring power
- Minimize rising rates and retain customers in energy markets with load growth and increasing renewables
- Model multiple scenarios that account for incumbent utility infrastructure
- Model policy uncertainty in long-term planning
- Hedge exposure to procurement costs with bid optimization of energy storage resources managed through tolling agreements
For Community Choice Aggregators
Accelerate clean energy commitments and optimize procurement portfolios under policy and market uncertainty.
Ascend Analytics Helps CCAs:
- Hedge against market volatility in wholesale energy prices when procuring power
- Minimize rising rates and retain customers in energy markets with load growth and increasing renewables
- Model multiple scenarios that account for incumbent utility infrastructure
- Model policy uncertainty in long-term planning
- Hedge exposure to procurement costs with bid optimization of energy storage resources managed through tolling agreements
For Retail Energy Providers
Reduce costs and risks to serving load while responding dynamically to volatile power market prices and production variability from renewables.
Ascend Analytics Helps Retail Energy Providers:
- Maximize operational profitability in volatile markets
- Effectively hedge against cost spikes in wholesale markets
- Account for complex regulatory compliance in long-range plans
- Control costs in markets where weather plays a primary role in energy price formation
- Hedge exposure to procurement costs with bid optimization of energy storage resources managed through tolling agreements
For Retail Energy Providers
Reduce costs and risks to serving load while responding dynamically to volatile power market prices and production variability from renewables.
Ascend Analytics Helps Retail Energy Providers:
- Maximize operational profitability in volatile markets
- Effectively hedge against cost spikes in wholesale markets
- Account for complex regulatory compliance in long-range plans
- Control costs in markets where weather plays a primary role in energy price formation
- Hedge exposure to procurement costs with bid optimization of energy storage resources managed through tolling agreements
A Unified Product Ecosystem that Powers Planning through Performance
Maximize long-term value and decision-making speed while managing risk with Ascend's unified ecosystem of software, intelligence, and consulting solutions.
Key Resources
Deploying a Planning to Procurement Pathway for Utilities with PowerSIMM
Public Utility District No. 2 of Grant County, Washington (“Grant PUD”), delivers power to over 54,000 active meters in one of Washington’s leading crop-producing counties. Built on hydropower from the Columbia River System dams dating back to 1938, Grant PUD has relied on this renewable resource to reliably and cost-effectively meet energy demand.
Thermal Generation: The Importance of Maximizing Flexibility and Availability in the Coming Era of High Capacity Prices and Low Energy Prices
This publication is the third in a series from Ascend Analytics that considers the implications of rapid load growth on US capacity markets, high capacity prices as the new normal, the risks that new realities create for business-as-usual strategies, and the opportunities that this paradigm shift enables for well-planned new entry resources.
