Format specification

The UCTE-DEF (UCTE Data Exchange Format) format is an exchange format specified by the UCTE, for the exchange of grid model among its members. The data refer to load flow and three-phase short-circuit studies and describe the interconnected extra high-voltage network. The data are contained in an unformatted standard US ASCII file. The file is divided into 7 different blocks:

  • Comments (C)

  • Nodes (N)

  • Lines (L)

  • Two-winding transformers (T)

  • Two-winding transformers regulation (RR)

  • Two-winding transformers special description (TT)

  • Exchange powers (E)

Each block is introduced by a key line consisting of the two characters ## and of the character given above in brackets. The end of a block is given by the next key line or the end of the file. The information of each block is written in lines, and the contents are separated by a blank (empty space).

The grid is described in Bus/Branch topology, and only a few types of equipment are supported (nodal injections, AC line, two-winding transformer). Fictitious nodes are located at the electric middle of each tie line. The defined X-nodes are binding for all users.

File name convention

The UCTE-DEF format use the following file name convention: <yyyymmdd>_<HHMM>_<TY><w>_<cc><v>.uct with:

  • yyyymmdd: year, month and day

  • HHMM: hour and minute

  • TY: the file type

    • FO: Day ahead congestion forecast

    • 2D: 2-days ahead congestion forecast

    • SN: Snapshots

    • RE: Reference

    • LT: Long-term reference

    • 01…23: Intra-day ahead congestion forecast. The value is the number of hours separating the case date and the generation date.

  • w: day of the week, starting with 1 for Monday

  • cc: The ISO country-code for national datasets, UC for UCTE-wide merged datasets without X nodes and UX for UCTE-wide merged datasets with X nodes

  • v: version number starting with 0

The specifications of the UCTE-DEF format are available online.