Business Systems and Knowledge Modelling Lab

Media Release

Computer power for new energy industry

Competitive pricing and accurate forecasting are essential ingredients of the new look power corporations now competing to supply electricity in Victoria. La Trobe computer scientist Dr Rajiv Khosla has been commissioned by Eastern Energy to make use of its electricity consumption data by combining the latest research in data warehouse technology and intelligent systems. `The corporation wants to be able to analyse the consumption patterns of its large customers and offer them the best possible tariffs,' says Dr Khosla. If the organisation is able to forecast future demand it will also be able to buy power more efficiently.

Dr Khosla says object-oriented and data warehouse technologies provide an intuitive means of structuring data, thereby reducing its complexity. `Intelligent technologies like neural networks and and fuzzy logic, are used for doing prediction tasks on large data sets and modelling imprecise data,' he says.

The Eastern Energy project involves integration of these technologies to develop a competitive edge in the electricity supply industry.

- Focus on La Trobe, 1996