Short-term Operation of an Electric-power System

Abstract

For many decades, electric power systems have been faced with one of the major problems of optimizing the short-term operation of their resources. This problem is known in the electricity supply industry as the unit commitment (UC) problem. It consists of determining both the hourly schedule and economic dispatch of each supply-side resource over a period ranging from 1 day to approximately 1 week. The schedule of a resource specifies its hourly status (on-line or off-line), when it starts up and shuts down while the dispatch defines the output level of each operating resource. The upcoming changes in the electricity industry towards the development of competitive electricity markets in many countries has increased the importance for companies to dispose of unit commitment software enabling them to systematically analyze and formulate optimal bidding strategies. The solution has to minimize the sum of all operating costs while satisfying the equipment and operating constraints of the resources. The study period extends from 1 to 7 days.