Master Thesis - Measure loss of income in Hydropower

Measuring Income Loss (LOI) in Hydropower Operations

Background
Hydropower is a critical component of sustainable energy systems, offering reliable and renewable electricity generation. However, hydropower operations can experience disruptions related to maintenance activities — such as scheduled outages, unexpected equipment failures, spare parts delays, and resource constraints —that may lead to a loss of income (LOI). Accurately quantifying LOI is essential for financial planning, risk management, and insurance purposes. Despite its importance, there is no standardized method for measuring LOI in the hydropower sector, and existing approaches often lack transparency or fail to account for operational complexities associated with maintenance planning and execution.

Objective

The objective of this thesis is to develop a robust and transparent methodology for measuring Loss of Income (LOI) in hydropower operations.

The project will:

• Identify key factors contributing to LOI in hydropower production. Both realised and for forecasting purposes.
• Review existing models and practices used in energy sectors and internally.
• Propose a framework that integrates operational data, market prices, and outage scenarios.
• Validate the methodology using real or simulated data from a hydropower company.

The outcome should support decision-making in for example, asset management and strategic planning.

Our offer

At Fortum we see a Thesis Project as a good way to get to know you during your study time and for you to learn more about Fortum and how our business is working. A Supervisor will be appointed to support and guide you through the Thesis Project and you will also create a network of people within the Company as well as with other Students doing their thesis with us.

For a well performed and approved work, we will provide a taxable lumpsum award.

This Thesis Project is preferably executed at our office in Stockholm/Solna.

Your qualifications
Master’s level students in one of the following programs:

• Sustainable Energy Engineering

• Environmental Engineering

• Mechanical Engineering

• Technical Physics Engineering

• Environmental Science with a technical focus

Skills and Competencies:

• Understanding of hydrology, river basin management, or environmental systems

• Familiarity with Excel modelling

• Interest in sustainability, climate adaptation, and multi-stakeholder planning

• Strong analytical and communication skills

• Ability to work with both technical data and qualitative inputs

Interested?

To apply, register your CV and a personal letter of maximum one page or a Power Point presentation of maximum two slides, in our Recruitment Tool, latest by 23rd November 2025. Applications will be evaluated continuously and an applicant may be selected before this date.

The personal letter shall include an approach on how you would like to investigate the idea. Mark your application with the reference number HYG-181.

If you have General questions about Theses or Internship at Fortum, please address those to fortumcareers@fortum.com

Please note that we have more Master Thesis Projects open for application at our recruitment site.

To be selected, the applicant may need to go through a background clearance with a health examination which may include a drug test. 

At Fortum, we are committed to building diverse teams where everyone feels included and is treated equally.

We are Fortum

Fortum is a Nordic energy company. We generate and deliver reliable energy to our customers and the Nordic energy system while at the same time helping industries decarbonise their processes and grow. Our core operations comprise efficient and best-in class low-carbon power generation, customer services, and heating and cooling. Fortum’s power generation is already 99% from renewable or nuclear sources with one of the lowest specific CO2-emissions in Europe. We are guided by our ambitious SBTi-validated emission reduction targets on our way towards net-zero by 2040. For our ~4,500 employees, we commit to be a safe and inspiring workplace. Fortum's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. fortum.com

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