Game FAQ

Balance of Power was created to help promote greater understanding of energy markets, energy system transition and the opportunity to solve real problems by making demand match supply rather than the other way around. These are complex and technical subjects yet, at some point, they will impact all people and so there is a need for them to be better understood. The game was designed to facilitate this learning and help players understand the importance of decisions and the potential impact of them.

The game is for anybody with an interest in energy, energy transition and flexibility markets. It is designed specifically for non-technical or less technical people both in and outside of the industry.

There are tools to support interactive discussion to coincide with choices made during the game. These can be downloaded here.

The roles and scenarios in the game are all based on real-life although the characters and their personalities are obviously fictitious. While the game may, in some places, seem dramatic, the scenarios it presents are all possible in the long term. There are already many examples of European blackouts as a result of energy system transition. At present, none of these have been severe. The greatest minds in the industry are all working towards a smart energy future and large strides are being made.  Perhaps the biggest challenge though is in connecting the thinking and the projects so that they can easily become part of the whole. This is, in essence, why USEF was created.

In the real world, there is no choice to go back. We have also had to balance budget with ambition.

Yes. While you may not read about them daily, there are many examples of temporary outage resulting either directly or indirectly from energy system transition.

The game’s characters represent just some of the different roles and functions within the energy market. You can learn more about the individual roles on our website. Their personalities are not based on real people.

USEF worked with Dutch gamification experts, RANJ, and the project was supported by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and Dutch gamification experts, &RANJ

There is a good introduction to flexibility on our own website (corp video). To see USEF related projects in Europe.