What are Budgets and Operational Modi?
The precise configuration of assets enables the platform to manage them as effectively as possible. This behavior is governed by two functions:
Budgets and Prices – defines a financial thresholds (€/kWh)
Operational Modi – defines which parts of the asset can be curtailed, and in what order, using sliders.
Some assets only offer financial settings (for example, the battery surcharge) in the Budgets and Prices section.
Assets that also support Operational Modi will show this in the asset configuration.
The Operational Modi determines how much of an asset can be curtailed at which price levels.
Budgets and Prices
In the Budgets and Prices section, you define the financial thresholds in euros per kWh (€/kWh).
For EV, DC and Moveable Load you can set three budgets:
Budget Critical
Enter an amount in €/kWh.
This budget defines when the critical part of the asset should be shut down as a last resort.Budget Basic
Enter an amount in €/kWh.
This indicates when basic operations can continue but may need to be curtailed because operating at this cost is still acceptable but less desirable.Budget Comfort
Enter an amount in €/kWh.
This is used to scale back comfort features first, as these are typically less essential than basic or critical functions.
These budgets are essential for determining when and how much of an asset’s capacity can be load balanced as prices rise.
Scenario-based cost settings per asset
In the Budgets and Prices section, you can also make various adjustments for each scenario related to the costs of specific assets. Examples include:
The depreciation cost of a battery per charge cycle
The maximum euro/kWh you want to spend for certain parts of your charging plazas
These adjustments allow the software to simulate scenarios even more accurately, because the total cost of operating an asset is better reflected in the model.
The following assets can be adjusted:
Batteries
EV-plaza’s
Solar panels
For each asset type, an explanation is available describing what kind of financial adjustments you can make and how these adjustments impact the simulation results.
Operational Modi
The Operational Modi section lets you translate the budgets into operational behavior using sliders. Each slider represents a portion of the asset’s capacity and indicates how it may be curtailed.
Color zones and their meaning
Red Slider – Critical
Represents critical power limitations.The percentage you assign to red is only curtailed when there are no other options left.
This is your last line of defense.
Yellow Slider – Basic
Represents basic operations.The percentage you assign to yellow may be curtailed, but only when:
The linked price (Budget Basic) is exceeded, or
There is a risk of a GTV (contracted limit) breach.
Green Slider – Comfort
Represents comfort levels.The percentage you assign to green should be the first to be curtailed when prices rise.
Typical examples include non-essential loads or luxury settings.
Gray (no color)
Any part of the slider left gray corresponds to a percentage that should never be curtailed or shut down.Use this for loads that must always stay available (for example, critical systems).
How you can configure the sliders
The sliders are divided in 10% increments, giving flexible configuration options:
Make everything one color (red, yellow, or green)
Example: all 100% green for fully comfort-based curtailment, or all 100% red for fully critical load.
Use a mix of red, yellow, green, and gray
Example: 30% green (comfort), 40% yellow (basic), 20% red (critical), 10% gray (never curtailed).
Make everything gray
The asset cannot be curtailed at all; it always runs at full configured capacity.
How Budgets and Operational Modi work together
The Budgets and Prices define the price thresholds, and the Operational Modi sliders define which portion of the capacity is affected at those thresholds.
When you set a budget for a particular slider color:
That budget value (€/kWh) determines when the matching percentage of the asset can be curtailed.
If the costs per kWh reach or exceed the budget linked to that color, the system can reduce the energy supply for that corresponding percentage of the asset.
In other words:
Budgets = “At what cost level can I curtail?”
Operational Modi = “Which percentages of the asset do I curtail first (and last)?”
Example: budgets and slider behavior
Suppose you configure the following budgets:
Budget Critical: €1.00
Budget Basic: €0.50
Budget Comfort: €0.20
Here’s how the sliders work with these values:
Green Slider (Comfort)
Curtails when the costs per kWh go above €0.20.
Example: if the price is €0.21, the comfort portion (green) is curtailed first.
Yellow Slider (Basic)
Curtails when the costs per kWh exceed €0.50.
Example: at €0.51, the basic portion (yellow) is curtailed (after comfort has already been reduced).
Red Slider (Critical)
Curtails when the costs per kWh are €1.00 or more, and when other options are exhausted.
Example: if costs reach €1.01, the critical portion (red) can be curtailed as a last resort.
By stacking these budgets and slider settings correctly, you gradually scale back:
Comfort loads first (green)
Then basic operations (yellow)
Only then critical loads (red), and only if absolutely needed
Role of Alice (AI control)
Our AI, Alice, will always prioritize staying within the contracted limits of your energy contract (such as maximum power or GTV constraints).
By strategically setting your budgets and fine-tuning the Operational Modi sliders, you give Alice clear rules on:
Which parts of the asset to curtail first
At what cost levels curtailment becomes acceptable
This allows you to achieve much more precise and cost-effective control over your energy usage and asset behavior.