The art of balancing energy markets

Keeping electricity supply and demand in balance is one of the most important challenges in the energy sector. We speak with Wibecka Oliver about her role as balancing operations engineer, which involves navigating fast-moving trading markets and developing innovative optimisation solutions to maintain a stable grid.

Working at the heart of the physical energy market

Wibecka Oliver joined Axpo in Sweden as a balancing operations engineer in 2024. Her role sits within the physical operations team in trading and sales, where she works with the physical energy market rather than the financial side of trading. Wibecka’s focus is on ensuring that energy bought and sold is balanced efficiently, helping to minimise imbalances and support stable market operations.

Wibecka performs for day-ahead trading on Nord Pool – the main auction where electricity is traded for delivery the following day – as well as trading ancillary services markets that help transmission system operators maintain grid stability.

Alongside this, Wibecka works on multi-market optimisation projects, analysing how different energy markets interact and identifying ways for both Axpo and its customers to maximise value. This part of her job really excites her, as there is always so much to learn. It involves analysing how different asset types – such as wind farms, battery storage systems, and data centres – can participate in markets individually or through hybrid solutions. Essentially, she says it’s about taking new market opportunities from concept to technically workable and commercially viable solutions.

A day in the life of a balancing engineer

The structure of Wibecka’s day depends on whether she is handling day-ahead trading or focusing on project-based work.

Responsibility for day-ahead trading rotates across the physical operations team, so that weekday, weekend, and holiday coverage is distributed fairly across the month. On trading days, Wibecka’s schedule is structured around a set routine, which includes reviewing communications, validating balances, and preparing bids in time for the internal gate closure. The Nord Pool auction closes at 12:00pm, with results typically received an hour later. Wibecka spends the afternoon reconciling awarded volumes against bids and completing post-trade checks. She also handles trading on the ancillary markets within the Nordics, which have multiple different auctions with several market setups including continuous bidding (mFRR energy for example) and daily auctions (capacity markets).

On non-trading days, her schedule is more flexible and varied. Wibecka starts the day by reviewing any urgent operational matters before prioritising her time across several ongoing projects, such as market optimisation, technical implementation, and process improvements. This often involves balancing multiple workstreams simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.

The team also shares responsibility for managing a dedicated trading phone line, ensuring continuous operational support.

An unconventional path

Wibecka has a highly complementary educational background that combines both creative and technical disciplines. She holds a master’s degree in visual culture and a bachelor’s degree in art history, as well as a degree in software development.

These fields provide a strong foundation for Wibeckas current role. Her software development background supports the logical, data-driven thinking required to analyse markets, structure processes, and solve technical problems systematically. At the same time, her arts education strengthened her skills in communication, collaboration, and understanding different perspectives – a valuable asset when working across multiple teams and balancing the needs of trading, operations, customers, and system operators. 

A steep learning curve amid a supportive culture

Wibecka thrives on learning new things, so this role was a great fit from the start.

The onboarding process combined formal training with hands-on experience, including shadowing colleagues during day-ahead trading and completing the company’s internal trading authority programme, which covered areas such as risk management, legal frameworks, and key market regulations.

Starting during the summer allowed Wibecka to ease into the role, giving her time to observe others and develop her understanding of the markets before activity increased. From there, she learnt quickly by tackling real day-to-day challenges, essentially problem-solving on the job. Today, she is the go-to person for questions around ancillary services, something she is very proud of.

The really supportive team culture at the Swedish Axpo office was also instrumental to ensure that Wibecka felt comfortable in her role from the start – there is always someone available to answer questions, offer advice, or help her work through an issue. Wibecka finds the working environment dynamic, collaborative and genuinely passionate, which creates a strong sense of shared purpose across the team. It also makes for a fun and engaging place to work.

Life after work

To relax after work, Wibecka often returns to her long-standing interest in art, with a particular fascination for 15^th century Italian works, and makes a point of visiting museums whenever she can. She is also an avid reader, getting through as many as 100 books a year! Her reading is mostly fiction, from the classics and historical fiction to romance – anything that tells a compelling story. Last but not least, spending time with her cat, Casanova, is another of Wibecka's favourite pastimes.