Case Study: Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) achieves real-time power-peak management and reduced energy costs with SAP HANA streaming analytics

How Do You React to Power Peaks without Any Passengers Noticing

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) needed to manage rapidly fluctuating power demand—frequent sudden peaks during rush hours and winter heating—that risked higher energy and infrastructure costs. The challenge was to monitor and reduce peak loads in real time without impacting passenger comfort or operations.

Working with SAP Innovative Business Solutions, SBB implemented a real-time power demand management platform using SAP HANA streaming analytics that automatically identifies and sheds noncritical loads (for example, heaters in cars and on switches). A six-week proof of concept validated the approach; the solution lets SBB defer infrastructure investments, reduce peak energy costs, increase supply reliability, and provides a foundation to control other energy-consuming systems in the future.

SBB

Markus Halder

Head of Power Demand Management Program