Vantage Forecasts Tab

Overview

The Vantage Forecast tab connects to the iEnergy Gateway and downloads forecast files that iPool scenarios use as inputs. It is the sixth tab in the iEnergy Suite top bar, sitting between Database Editor and Files Downloader.

Use this page as a short orientation to the tab. For the full control reference see the Interface and Navigation page; for step-by-step tasks see the How To page.

What It Is Used For

Use the Vantage Forecast tab to:

• Download the latest demand forecasts — regional and zonal, day-ahead and week-ahead, published by the iEnergy Gateway.
• Download the latest VRE forecasts (MHCF) — Must-Have Capacity Factor forecasts for VRE stations.
• Download the latest iPool Database (MDB) — the SysWESM database file published by the Gateway.
• Browse and re-download older forecast files — so you can see old forecast files using the per-card Browse History… action.

note

The Vantage Forecast tab is only available with a valid Vantage Forecast license module. If your license does not include the module or the module has expired, the tab is not shown.

File Types

Three actively-supported asset groups are downloaded by this tab:

• Demand Forecasts — regional and zonal demand forecasts at day-ahead and week-ahead horizons.
• VRE Forecasts (MHCF) — Must-Have Capacity Factor forecasts for VRE stations at day-ahead and week-ahead horizons.
• Database (MDB) — the iPool database file published by the Gateway (example filename shape: ipool_2026-04.mdb, parsed as version label v2026.04 — filename shown is a parser example, not a guaranteed name).

A fourth card, Bid Sets (ZIP), is present in the interface but is not covered in this guide.

When to Use It

Use the Vantage Forecast tab when you are preparing a short-term forecast — one day ahead or one week ahead — and need the latest published forecast files for your iPool scenarios.

The tab requires network access to the iEnergy Gateway; the connection state is shown in the header row (see the connection status pill in the Interface and Navigation page).

Basic Steps

First-run setup

1. Open the Vantage Forecast tab. On first use, a Welcome to Vantage card is shown.
2. Click Open Settings. The Settings modal opens in wizard mode with three steps.
3. Step 1 (Connect) — click Connect to Gateway to authenticate with your license. The status line changes to ● Authenticated as <client> on success.
4. Step 2 (Download Folders) — click Use Defaults from Defaults.csv to pre-fill the folder paths from your existing Apollo working-folder configuration, then adjust individual rows as needed. At least one folder must be set before Continue is enabled. Note: this Use Defaults button exists in the first-run wizard only — normal Settings has the same directory rows but not that button.
5. Step 3 (Auto-Refresh) — enable automatic refresh and pick an interval (default 15 minutes).
6. Click Finish. The tab switches to the Cards view.

Download all latest files

1. On the Cards view, review the freshness badges on each card (up-to-date ✓, NEW, or Update available).
2. Click ↓ Download All Latest in the download bar. The Download Activity bar shows per-file progress.
3. When the run completes, badges refresh to ✓ and a summary row appears: ✓ N downloaded · N skipped (up to date) · N failed.

Browse and download older files

1. On any forecast card or the Database (MDB) card, click Browse History…. The browser view opens with the last 7 days pre-loaded.
2. Adjust the filters (Geography, Horizon, From/To dates) and click Search.
3. Tick the rows you want and click Download Selected.

Important Fields, Buttons, and Options

Control	Description
Connection status pill	Header indicator: Connecting… (amber), Connected as <client> (<tier>) (green), or Not connected (red).
⚙ Settings	Opens the Settings modal (wizard on first run; normal mode after that).
↓ Download All Latest	Primary button in the download bar. Fetches every category that has a newer file on the Gateway. Disabled until setup is complete or while another download is running.
Re-download up-to-date files	Checkbox in the download bar. OFF by default — files that are already up to date are skipped. When ON, up-to-date files are re-downloaded.
Last checked: …	Human-relative timestamp for the last manifest refresh (Never, just now, N min ago, N hr ago).
↻ Refresh	Re-scans local folders and re-fetches the manifest. Disabled while a download is running.

Expected Result

Files land in the folders configured for each category. Card freshness badges settle on up-to-date ✓ as each category completes. The Download Activity bar shows the summary line ✓ N downloaded · N skipped (up to date) · N failed when the run finishes.

There is no batch or command-line equivalent on the Suite side — all Vantage Forecast actions go through this tab.