Eee Vii Power System Planning (10ee761) Notes

Power System Planning 10EE761
Dept. of EEE, SJBIT Page 1

POWER SYSTEM PLANNING

Subject Code: 10EE761 IA Marks: 25
No. of Lecture Hrs. / Week: 04 Exam Hours: 03
Total No. of Lecture Hrs. 52 Exam Marks: 100

PART A

UNIT - 1
Introduction of power planning, National and regional planning, structure of power
system, planning tools, electricity regulation, Load forecasting, forecasting techniques,
modeling. 8 Hours

UNIT - 2 & 3
Generation planning, Integrated power generation, co-generation / captive power, power
pooling and power trading, transmission & distribution planning, power system economics,
power sector finance,financial planning, private participation, rural electrification investment,
concept of rational tariffs. 10 Hours

UNIT - 4
Computer aided planning: Wheeling, environmental effects, green house effect,
technological impacts, insulation co-ordination, reactive compensation. 8 Hours

PART B

UNIT - 5 & 6
Power supply reliability, reliability planning, system operation planning, load
management, load prediction, reactive power balance, online power flow studies, state
estimation, computerized management. Power system simulator. 10
Hours

UNIT - 7 & 8
Optimal Power system expansion planning, formulation of least cost optimization
problem incorporating the capital, operating and maintenance cost of candidate plants of
different types (thermal hydro nuclear non conventional etc), Optimization techniques for
solution by programming. 16 Hours

TEXT BOOK:

1. Electrical Power System Planning, A.S.Pabla, Macmillan India Ltd, 1998



Table of Contents

Sl.No Chapters Page no
1 Unit 1:Introduction of power planning,
4-12
National and regional planning
structure of power system, planning tools
planning tools,
electricity regulation
Load forecasting
forecasting techniques, modeling.
2 Unit 2&3:Generation planning
13-23
Integrated power generation
co-generation / captive power
power pooling and power trading
transmission & distribution planning
power system economics
power sector finance,financial planning
private participation
rural electrification investment
concept of rational tariffs
3 Unit 4: Computer aided planning
24-27
Wheeling
environmental effects
green house effect


technological impacts
insulation co-ordination
reactive compensation
4 Unit 5&6: Power supply reliability
28-32
reliability planning
system operation planning
load management
load prediction
reactive power balance
online power flow studies
state estimation
computerized management
Power system simulator.
5 Unit 7&8:Optimal Power system expansion planning.
33-36
formulation of least cost optimization problem
incorporating the capital
operating and maintenance cost of candidate plants of
different types (thermal, hydro, nuclear, non-
conventional etc),
Optimization techniques for solution by programming


UNIT-1

Introduction to Power System Planning:
Recent cost reductions and the increases in production of solar photovoltaics (PV) are driving
dramatic growth in domestic PV system installations.
Programs such as Solar America Initiative are setting out to make solar energy cost-
competitive with central generation by the year 2015.
As the costs decline, distributed PV becomes an increasingly significant source of power
generation and, at some point, its further growth might be limited by the challenges of its
integration into the power grid.
To prevent these integration challenges from limiting the growth of solar PV installations and
to maximize the overall system benefit, it is necessary to consider solar PV in all areas of
power system planning, and to evolve the planning practices to better accommodate
increased energy supply from solar PV.
This report reviews the entire power system planning process, including generation,
transmission, and distribution. It discusses how the planning practices are changing to
accommodate variable renewable generation, with a focus on future changes required to
accommodate high penetration levels of solar PV and how to maximize the positive impact of
other technologies such as load control and energy storage. The report also proposes several
areas for future research that will help evolve planning methodologies and enable easier and
more-effective integration of solar PV.
Electricity produced by solar PV currently is not cost-competitive with electricity generated
by central stations, consequently solar PV has limited penetration in grid-connected
applications. As the technology develops and solar PV becomes more competitive, it is
expected that it will start supplying residential and commercial loads at the customers side of
the meter. This area of the power system has the highest cost of electricity, therefore it is
where cost-competitiveness will be achieved first.
Understandably, a sharp increase in the use of any one source of generation is likely to
present integration challenges, but this especially is the case with the distributed solar PV for
the following reasons.
Solar PV is a variable source of generationits power output depends on insolation and it is
subject to potentially abrupt changes due to cloud coverage.
Solar PV will evolve as a distributed source of generation first used to offset the connected
load. As the penetration levels increase even further, two options are possible. Energy storage could
be used to ensure that no power is returned to the system, and the power could be sent to other loads
in the system to avoid capital investment for dedicated storage. The second option necessitates
shipping power backwards through a part of the electricity delivery networkthe distribution
systemand backwards power flow is not a design feature of present-day distribution systems.


The codes and standards that guide the integration of solar PV are focused on simplifying
installations and prescribe grid interconnection requirements that cause minimal interaction with the
grid. When solar PV becomes a significant overall source of generation in the power system, some of
the present interconnection requirements likely will be counterproductive.

National and Regional Planning:
1. All issues relating to planning and development of Transmission System in the country are
dealt in the Power System Wing of CEA.
2. This includes evolving long term and short term transmission plans. The network expansion
plans are optimized base on network simulation studies and techno economic analysis.
3. This also involves formulation of specific schemes, evolving a phased implementation plan
in consultation with the Central and State transmission utilities and assistance in the process
of investment approval for the Central sector schemes, issues pertaining to development of
National Power Grid in the country and issues relating to trans-country power transfer.
4. Transmission planning studies are being conducted to identify evacuation system from
generation projects and to strengthen the transmission system in various regions.
5. The studies for long-term perspective plans are also being carried out on All India basis for
establishing inter regional connectivity aimed towards formation of the National Power
System.
6. The National Power System is being evolved to facilitate free flow of power across regional
boundaries, to meet the short fall of deficit regions from a surplus region as well as for
evacuation of power from project(s) located in one region to the beneficiaries located in
other region(s).

Structure of Power System:



1. An essential component of power systems is the three-phase ac generator known as
synchronous generator or alternator.
2. The source of the mechanical power, commonly known as the prime mover, may be
hydraulic turbines, steam turbines whose energy comes from the burning of coal, gas
and nuclear fuel, gas turbines, or occasionally internal combustion engines burning oil.
3. The transformer transfers power with very high efficiency from one level of voltage to
another level. The power transferred to the secondary is almost the same as the primary,
except for losses in the transformer.
4. An overhead transmission network transfers electric power from generating units to the
distribution system which ultimately supplies the load.
5. High voltage transmission lines are terminated in substations, which are called high-
voltage substations, receiving substations, or primary substations.
6. The distribution system connects the distribution substations to the consumers service-
entrance equipment. The primary distribution lines from 4 to 34.5 kV and supply the
load in a well-defined geographical area.
7. Industrial loads are composite loads, and induction motors form a high proportion of
these loads. These composite loads are functions of voltage and frequency and form a
major part of the system load.

Planning Tools:
1. Planning engineers primary requirement is to give power supply to consumers in a
reliable manner at a minimum cost with due flexibility for future expansion.
2. The criteria and constraints in planning an energy system are reliability, environmental
economics, electricity pricing, financial constraints, society impacts.
3. reliability, environmental, economic and financial constraints can be quantified. Social
effects are evaluated qualitatively.
4. The system must be optimal over a period of time from day of operation to the lifetime.
5. Various computer programs are available and are used for fast screening of alternative
plans with respect to technical, environmental and economic constraints.

The available tools for power system planning can be split into:
Simulation tools: these simulate the behavior of the system under certain conditions
and calculate relevant indices. Examples are load flow models, short circuit models,
stability models, etc.
Optimization tools: these minimize or maximize an objective function by choosing
adequate values for decision variables. Examples are optimum power, least cost
expansion planning, generation expansion planning, etc.
Scenario tools: this is a method of viewing the future in a quantitative fashion. All
possible outcomes are investigated. The sort of decision or assumptions which might be
made by a utility developing such a scenario might be: should we computerize
automate the management of power system after certain date.


Least Cost Utility Planning:

There are two fundamental problems inherent in traditional planning. The first is that
demand forecasting and investment planning are treated as sequential steps in planning, rather
than as interdependent aspects of the planning process. The second problem is that planning
efforts are inadequately directed at the main constraints facing the sector, namely the serious
shortage of resources.

1. Demand forecasts are little more than extrapolations of past trends of consumption, no
attempt is made to understand neither the extent of unmet demand nor the extent to which
the prices influence the demand growth. Greater attention should be paid to end use
efficiency, plant rehabilitation, loss reduction program, etc.
2. Least cost planning (LCUP) is least cost utility planning strategy to provide reliable
electrical services at lowest overall cost with a mix of supply side and demand side
options.
3. The LCUP uses various options like end use efficiency, load management, transmission
and distribution options, alternative tariff options, etc.
4. This planning process can yield enormous benefits to consumers and society because it
affords acquisition of resources that meet consumer energy service needs that are low in
cost, environmentally friendly.
5. LCUP as a planning and regulatory process can greatly reduce the uncertainty and risks
faced by utilities. The logic for least cist planning is shown in the figure below:

6. For an investment to be least cost, the lifetime costs are considered. These include capital
costs, interest on capital, fuel cost and operation and maintenance costs.



Fig: flowchart for least cost planning

Electricity Regulation:
THE ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSIONS ACT, 1956

Act to provide for the establishment of a Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and
state Electricity Regulatory Commissions, rationalization of electricity tariff, transparent
policies regarding subsidies, promotion of efficient and environmentally benign policies
and matters connected therewith or incidental there to.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-ninth Year of the republic of India as follows:

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

India's power sector is beset by problems that impede its capacity to respond to the
rapidly growing demand for energy brought about by economic liberalisation. Despite the
stated desire for reform and the initial measures that have been implemented, serious
problems persist.
As the problems of the Power Sector deepen, reform becomes increasingly difficult
underscoring the need to act decisively and without delay. It is essential that the
Government exit implement significant reforms by focussing on the fundamental issues


facing the power sector, namely the lack of rational retail tariffs, the high level of cross-
subsidies, poor planningand operation, inadequate capacity, the neglect of the consumer,
the limited involvement of private sector skills and resources and the absence of an
independent regulatory authority.

Considering the paramount importance of restructure power sector, Government of India
organised two Conferences of Chie Ministers to discuss the whole gamut of issues in the
power sector and the outcome of these meetings was the adoption of the Common
Minimum National Action Plan for Power (CMNPP).

The CMNPP recognised that the gap between demand and supply of power is widening
and acknowledged that the financial position of State Electricity Boards is fast
deteriorating and the future development in the power sector cannot be sustained without
viable State Electricity Boards and improvement of their operational performance.

The CMNPP identified creation of regulatory Commission as a step in this direction and
specifically provided for establishment of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission
(CERC) and State Electricity Regulatory commissions (SERCs). After the finalisation of
the, national agenda contained in CMNPP, the Ministry of Power assigned the task of
studying the restructuring needs of the regulatory system to Administrative Staff College
of India (ASCI), Hyderabad. The ASCI report strongly recommended the creation of
independent Electricity Regulatory Commissions both at the Centre and the States.

To give effect to the aforesaid proposals, the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Bill.
1997 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 14th August, 1997, However it could not be
passed due to the dissolution of the Eleventh Lok Sabha.

This has resulted in delay in establishing the Regulatory Commissions leading to
confusion and misgivings in various sections about the commitment of the Government
to the reforms and restructuring of the power sector. Needless to say, this has also slowed
down the flow of public and private investment in power sector.

Since it was considered necessary to ensure the speedy establishment of the Regulatory
Commissions and as Parliament was not in session, the President promulgated the
Electricity Regulatory Commissions Ordinance, 1998 on 25th day of April, 1998.

The salient features of the -said Ordinance are as follows: -
(a) It provides for the establishment of a Central Electricity Regulatory Commission at the
Central level and State Electricity Commissions at the State levels-,

(b) The main functions of CERC are: -


(i) To regulate the tariff of generating companies owned or controlled by the Central
Government;
(ii) To regulate inter-State transmission including tariff of the transmission utilities;
(iii) To regulate inter-State sale of power;
(iv) To aid and advise the Central Government in the formulation of tariff policy.

(c) The main functions of the SERC, to start with, shall be: -
(i) To determine the tariff for electricity, wholesale, bulk, grid and retail;
(ii) To determine the tariff payable for use of the transmission facilities;
(iii) To regulate power purchase the procurement process of the transmission utilities; and
(iv) Subsequently, as and when each State Government notifies, other regulatory functions could
also be assigned to SERCS.

(d) It also aims at improving the financial health of the State Electricity Boards (SEBS) which
are loosing heavily on account of irrational tariffs and lack of budgetary support from the State
Governments as a result of which, the SEBs have become incapable of even proper maintenance,
leave alone purposive investment. Further, the lack of creditworthiness of SEBs has been a
deterrent in attracting investment both from the public and private sectors.
Hence, it is made mandatory for State Commissions to fix tariff in a manner that none of
the consumers or class of consumers shall be charged less than fifty per cent. of the
average cost of supply, it enables the State Governments to exercise the option of
providing subsidies to weaker sections on condition that the state Governments through a
subsidy compensate the SEBS.

As regards the agriculture sector, it provides that if the State Commission considers it
necessary it may allow the consumers in the agricultural sector to be charged less than
fifty per cent, for a maximum period of three years from the date of commencement of
the Ordinance.

It also empowers the State Government to reduce the tariff further but in that case it shall
compensate the SEBs or its successor utility, the different between the tariff fixed by the
State Commission and the tariff proposed by the State Government by providing
budgetary allocations.Therefore, it enables the State Governments to fix any tariff for
agriculture and other sectors provided it gives subsidy to State Electricity Boards to meet
the loss.

Forecasting Techniques:

Load forecasting is vitally important for the electric industry in the deregulated economy.
It has many applications including energy purchasing and generation, load switching, contract
evaluation, and infrastructure development. A large variety of mathematical methods have been
developed for load forecasting. In this chapter we discuss various approaches to load forecasting.



Forecasting Methods
Over the last few decades a number of forecasting methods have been developed. Two of
the thods, so-called end-use and econometric approach are broadly used for medium- and
long-term forecasting. Avariety of methods, which include the so-called similar day
approach,various regression models, time series, neural networks, expert systems,fuzzy
logic, and statistical learning algorithms, are used for short-term forecasting.
The development, improvements, and investigation of the appropriate mathematical tools
will lead to the development of more accurate load forecasting techniques.Statistical
approaches usually require a mathematical model that represents load as function of
different factors such as time, weather, and customer class.
The two important categories of such mathematical models are: additive models and
multiplicative models. They differ in whether the forecast load is the sum (additive) of a
number of components or the product (multiplicative) of a number of factors. For
example, Chen et al. [4] presented an additive model that takes the form of predicting
load as the function of four components:
L = Ln + Lw + Ls + Lr,
where L is the total load, Ln represents the normal part of the load,which is a set of
standardized load shapes for each type of day that has been identified as occurring throughout
the year, Lw represents the weather sensitive part of the load, Ls is a special event component
that create a substantial deviation from the usual load pattern, and Lr is a completely random
term, the noise.
A multiplicative model may be of the form
L = Ln Fw Fs Fr,
where Ln is the normal (base) load and the correction factors Fw, Fs, and Fr are positive
numbers that can increase or decrease the overall load. These corrections are based on current
weather (Fw), special events (Fs), and random fluctuation (Fr). Factors such as electricity
pricing (Fp) and load growth (Fg) can also be included. Rahman [29] presented a rulebased
forecast using a multiplicative model. Weather variables and the base load associated with the
weather measures were included in the model.

Forecasting Modeling
Depends on
1. Degree of Accuracy Required
2. 2 Cost of Producing Forecasts
3. 3 Forecast Horizon
4. 4 Degree of Complexity Required
5. 5 Available Data

Classication of Estimation Methods

1. Time Series Methods
2. Causal Methods
3. Judgemental Methods

Time Series Methods: Use historical data as a basis, Underlying patterns are fairly stable.
1. Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA)


2. Exponential Smoothing
3. Extrapolation
4. Linear Prediction
5. Trend Estimation
6. Growth Curve
7. Box-Jenkins Approach

Causal Methods

Belief that some other time series can be useful. Assumption that it is possible to identify the
underlying factors

1. Regression Analysis
2. Linear Regression
3. Non-Linear Regression
4. Econometrics



UNIT 2&3

Generation Planning
The electric utility planning process begins with the electricity load-demand forecast. The
demand for electricity initiates actions by utilities to add generation, transmission, or distribution
capacity. Because of the long lead time required to construct new facilities, decisions are often to
be made 2 to 10 years in advance.

A load forecast was developed for the Kingdom and the results are presented in the following
sections covering the study period 2008 to 2023. Load forecasts are developed for all SEC
operating areas.

The methodology and the basis of development of demand forecast are highlighted below:

Multiple regression analysis is used to forecast the Energy for the KSA.
Independent variables are chosen to be the population and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The dependent variable is the Energy forecast for KSA.
The data for the historical and the forecasted GDP has been obtained from the Ministry of
Planning.

The forecast for the total sold energy for the Kingdom was obtained using the regression model.
The total sold energy was then divided between the four operating areas using historical value of
percentage energy sales for each operating areas. This gives the total sold energy forecast for
each of the operating areas.

Peak Demand is calculated using the equation
Forecasted Peak Demand in Region= Forecasted Energy in Region/8760*Load Factor.

Co-Generation/ Captive Power

Captive power plants are associated with specific industrial complexes, and their output is almost
entirely consumed by that industrial plant. Another term that may sometimes be synonymous is
'cogeneration' in which the power plant produces multiple forms of energy (e.g., electric power
and steam), and where both are raw-materials for a related industrial process. Probably the most
classic example is that of a paper mill. Boilers produce steam. The steam passes through a
turbine that spins a generator to produce electricity. Exhaust steam from the turbine is then used
as a source of heat to dry freshly-made paper before is is finally condensed into water and
returned to the boiler. The boiler itself burns the bark that itself cannot be used to make paper
and would otherwise be a waste material. In addition, the process of making pulp produces a
chemical waste called "black liquor' that can also be burned as a fuel in a boiler.

Captive power plants don't necessarily have to be islands that are disconnected from 'the grid'. In
fact, it is often the case that the demand of the industrial process exceeds the capacity of the
captive plant, and power must be taken from the grid to make up the difference. Also, there must
be some provision to 'bootstrap' the integrated process into operation - often this means relying


on grid power to start-up the plant following an outage. And it is possible that there are times
when the captive plant will produce more power than can be consumed in the industrial process,
and rather than throttle back the excess is sold to the grid.
TYPES OF COGENERATION SYSTEMS
1. Steam Turbine Cogeneration System
Steam turbines are one of the most versatile and oldest prime mover technologies still in general
production. Power generation using steam turbines has been in use for about 100 years, when
they replaced reciprocating steam engines due to their higher efficiencies and lower costs. The
capacity of steam turbines can range from 50 kW to several hundred MWs for large utility power
plants. Steam turbines are widely used for combined heat and power (CHP) applications.

2. Back Pressure Steam Turbine
A back pressure steam turbine is the simplest configuration. Steam exits the turbine at a pressure
higher or at least equal to the atmospheric pressure, which depends on the needs of the thermal
load. This is why the term back- pressure is used. It is also possible to extract steam from
intermediate stages of the steam turbine, at a pressure and temperature appropriate for the
thermal load. After the exit from the turbine, the steam is fed to the load, where it releases heat
and is condensed.

Fig. Back Pressure Steam Turbine

3. Extraction Condensing Steam Turbine
In such a system, steam for the thermal load is obtained by extraction from one or more
intermediate stages at the appropriate pressure and temperature. The remaining steam is
exhausted to the pressure of the condenser, which can be as low as 0.05 bar with a
corresponding condensing temperature of about 33C. It is rather improbable that such
low temperature heat finds useful applications. Consequently, it is rejected to the
environment. In comparison to the back - pressure system, the condensing type turbine
has a higher capital cost and, in general, a lower total efficiency. However, to a certain
extent, it can control the electrical power independent of the thermal load by proper
regulation of the steam flow rate through the turbine.

4. Gas Turbine Cogeneration System


Gas turbine systems operate on the thermodynamic cycle known as the Brayton cycle. In a
Brayton cycle, atmospheric air is compressed, heated, and then expanded, with the excess of
power produced by the turbine or expander over that consumed by the compressor used for
power generation.
Gas turbine cogeneration systems can produce all or a part of the energy requirement of the site,
and the energy released at high temperature in the exhaust stack can be recovered for various
heating and cooling applications (see Fig 4 below). Though natural gas is most commonly used,
other fuels such as light fuel oil or diesel can also be employed. The typical range of gas turbines
varies from a fraction of a MW to around 100 MW.

5. Closed-cycle gas turbine cogeneration systems
In the closed-cycle system, the working fluid (usually helium or air) circulates in a closed circuit.
It is heated in a heat exchanger before entering the turbine, and it is cooled down after the exit of
the turbine releasing useful heat. Thus, the working fluid remains clean and it does not cause
corrosion or erosion. As shown in Fig.5 below.


6. Reciprocating Engine Cogeneration System
Reciprocating engines are well suited to a variety of distributed generation applications,
industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities for power generation and CHP. Reciprocating
engines start quickly, follow load well, have good part-load efficiencies, and generally have high
reliabilities. In many cases, multiple reciprocating engine units further increase overall plant
capacity and availability. Reciprocating engines have higher electrical efficiencies than gas
turbines of comparable size, and thus lower fuel-related operating costs.

Power Pooling:
Power pooling is used to balance electrical load over a larger network (electrical grid) than a
single utility. It is a mechanism for interchange of power between two and more utilities which


provide or generate electricity
.
For exchange of power between two utilities there is an
interchange agreement which is signed by them, but signing up an interchange agreement
between each pair of utilities within a system can be a difficult task where several large utilities
are interconnected. Thus, it is more advantageous to form a power pool with a single agreement
that all join. That agreement provides established terms and conditions for pool members and is
generally more complex than a bilateral agreement.
In one model, the power pool, formed by the utilities, has a control dispatch office from where
the pool is administered. All the tasks regarding interchange of power and the settlement of
disputes are assigned to the pool administrator.
The formation of power pools provide the following potential advantages:
1. decrease in operating costs
2. saving in reverse capacity requirements
3. help from pool in unit commitment
4. minimization of costs of maintenance scheduling
5. more reliable operation
The formation of a power pool is associated with a number of problems and constraints. These
include:
1. pool agreement may be very complex
2. costs associated with establishing central dispatch office and the needed communication
and computational facilities
3. the opposition of pool members to give up their rights to engage in independent
transactions outside the pool.
4. the complexity towards dealing with regulatory authorities, if pool operates in more than
one state.
5. the effort by each member of the pool to maximize its savings.
Power pooling is very important for extending energy control over a large area served by
multiple utilities

Power Trading
In economic terms, electricity (both power and energy) is a commodity capable of being bought,
sold and traded. An electricity market is a system for effecting purchases, through bids to buy;
sales, through offers to sell; and short-term trades, generally in the form of financial or obligation
swaps. Bids and offers use supply and demand principles to set the price. Long-term trades are
contracts similar to power purchase agreements and generally considered private bi-lateral
transactions between counterparties.
Wholesale transactions (bids and offers) in electricity are typically cleared and settled by the
market operator or a special-purpose independent entity charged exclusively with that function.
Market operators do not clear trades but often require knowledge of the trade in order to maintain


generation and load balance. The commodities within an electric market generally consist of two
types: power and energy. Power is the metered net electrical transfer rate at any given moment
and is measured in megawatts (MW). Energy is electricity that flows through a metered point for
a given period and is measured in megawatt hours (MWh).
Markets for energy-related commodities trade net generation output for a number of intervals
usually in increments of 5, 15 and 60 minutes. Markets for power-related commodities required
and managed by (and paid for by) market operators to ensure reliability, are considered ancillary
services and include such names as spinning reserve, non-spinning reserve, operating reserves,
responsive reserve, regulation up, regulation down, and installed capacity.
In addition, for most major operators, there are markets for transmission congestion and
electricity derivatives such as electricity futures and options, which are actively traded. These
markets developed as a result of the restructuring of electric power systems around the world.
This process has often gone on in parallel with the restructuring of natural gas markets.

Transmission and Distribution Planning:
Electricity distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electricity to end users. A
distribution system's network carries electricity from the transmission system and delivers it to
consumers. Typically, the network would include medium-voltage (2kV to 34.5kV) power lines,
substations and pole-mounted transformers, low-voltage (less than 1 kV) distribution wiring such
as a Service Drop and sometimes meters.
The modern distribution system begins as the primary circuit leaves the sub-station and
ends as the secondary service enters the customer's meter socket by way of a service
drop. Distribution circuits serve many customers.
The voltage used is appropriate for the shorter distance and varies from 2,300 to about
35,000 volts depending on utility standard practice, distance, and load to be served.
Distribution circuits are fed from a transformer located in an electrical substation, where
the voltage is reduced from the high values used for power transmission.
Conductors for distribution may be carried on overhead pole lines, or in densely
populated areas, buried underground
. Urban and suburban distribution is done with three-phase systems to serve both
residential, commercial, and industrial loads. Distribution in rural areas may be only
single-phase if it is not economical to install three-phase power for relatively few and
small customers.


Only large consumers are fed directly from distribution voltages; most utility customers
are connected to a transformer, which reduces the distribution voltage to the relatively
low voltage used by lighting and interior wiring systems.
The transformer may be pole-mounted or set on the ground in a protective enclosure. In
rural areas a pole-mount transformer may serve only one customer, but in more built-up
areas multiple customers may be connected.
In very dense city areas, a secondary network may be formed with many transformers
feeding into a common bus at the utilization voltage. Each customer has a service
drop connection and a meter for billing.
A ground connection to local earth is normally provided for the customer's system as well
as for the equipment owned by the utility. The purpose of connecting the customer's
system to ground is to limit the voltage that may develop if high voltage conductors fall
down onto lower-voltage conductors which are usually mounted lower to the ground, or
if a failure occurs within a distribution transformer.
If all conductive objects are bonded to the same earth grounding system, the risk of
electric shock is minimized. However, multiple connections between the utility ground
and customer ground can lead to stray voltage problems; customer piping, swimming
pools or other equipment may develop objectionable voltages. These problems may be
difficult to resolve since they often originate from places other than the customer's
premises.
Distribution network configurations
Distribution networks are typically of two types, radial or interconnected.
A radial network leaves the station and passes through the network area with no normal
connection to any other supply. This is typical of long rural lines with isolated load areas.
An interconnected network is generally found in more urban areas and will have multiple
connections to other points of supply.
These points of connection are normally open but allow various configurations by the
operating utility by closing and opening switches. Operation of these switches may be by
remote control from a control center or by a lineman. The benefit of the interconnected
model is that in the event of a fault or required maintenance a small area of network can
be isolated and the remainder kept on supply.
Within these networks there may be a mix of overhead line construction utilizing
traditional utility poles and wires and, increasingly, underground construction with cables


and indoor or cabinet substations. However, underground distribution is significantly
more expensive than overhead construction.
In part to reduce this cost, underground power lines are sometimes co-located with other
utility lines in what are called common utility ducts. Distribution feeders emanating from
a substation are generally controlled by a circuit breaker which will open when a fault is
detected. Automatic circuit reclosers may be installed to further segregate the feeder thus
minimizing the impact of faults.
Long feeders experience voltage drop requiring capacitors or voltage regulators to be
installed.
Characteristics of the supply given to customers are generally mandated by contract between the
supplier and customer. Variables of the supply include:
AC or DC - Virtually all public electricity supplies are AC today. Users of large amounts of
DC power such as some electric railways, telephone exchanges and industrial processes such
as aluminium smelting usually either operate their own or have adjacent dedicated generating
equipment, or use rectifiers to derive DC from the public AC supply
Nominal voltage, and tolerance (for example, +/- 5 per cent)
Frequency, commonly 50 or 60 Hz, 16.7 Hz and 25 Hz for some railways and, in a few older
industrial and mining locations, 25 Hz.
Phase configuration (single-phase, polyphase including two-phase and three-phase)
Maximum demand (some energy providers measure as the largest mean power delivered
within a 15 or 30 minute period during a billing period)
Load factor, expressed as a ratio of average load to peak load over a period of time. Load
factor indicates the degree of effective utilization of equipment (and capital investment) of
distribution line or system.
Power factor of connected load
Earthing systems - TT, TN-S, TN-C-S or TN-C
Prospective short circuit current
Maximum level and frequency of occurrence of transients

Power System Economics:
Power is the rate of flow of energy. Similarly, generating capacity, the ability to produce
power is itself a flow. A megawatt (MW) of capacity is worth little if it lasts only a
minute just as a MW of power delivered for only a minute is worth little.


But a MW of power or capacity that flows for a year is quite valuable. The price of both
power and energy can be measured in $/MWh, and since capacity is a flow like power
and measured in MW, like power, it is priced like power, in $/MWh.
Many find this confusing, but an examination of screening curves shows that this is
traditional (as well as necessary).
Since fixed costs are mainly the cost of capacity they are measured in $/MWh and can
be added to variable costs to find total cost in $/MWh. When generation cost data are
presented, capacity cost is usually stated in $/kW.
This is the cost of the flow of capacity produced by a generator over its lifetime, so the
true (but unstated) units are $/kW-lifetime. This cost provides useful information but
only for the purpose of finding fixed costs that can be expressed in $/MWh. No other
useful economic computation can be performed with the overnight cost of capacity
given in $/kW because they cannot be compared with other costs until levelized.
While the U.S.
Department of Energy sometimes computes these economically useful (levelized) fixed
costs, it never publishes them. Instead it combines them with variable costs and reports
total levelized energy costs.This is the result of a widespread lack of understanding of
the nature of capacity costs. Confusion over units causes too many different units to be
used, and this requires unnecessary and sometimes impossible conversions.

Private Paticpation:
Private participation in 1991 to hasten the increase in generating capacity and to improve the
system efficiency as well. However, although several plants are under construction, till early
1999, eneration had commenced at private plants totalling less than 2,000 MW.

In contrast, some state undertakings have completed their projects even earlier than
scheduled.Independent power producers (IPPs) claim that their progress has been hindered by
problems such as litigation, financial arrangements, and obtaining clearances and fuel supply
agreements. On the other hand, the State Electricity Boards have been burdened by power
purchase agreements (PPAs) that favour the IPPs with such clauses as availability payment
irrespective of plant utilization, tariffs reflecting high capital costs and returns on equity, etc.

The process of inviting private participation in the power sector and the problems experienced
seem to have spurred on the restructuring of the power sector, including the formation of Central
and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions.

However, some important problems have not been addressed. Additions to the generation
capacity without corresponding improvement of the transmission and distribution facilities are
likely to further undermine the system efficiency.



What is more, issues like the reduction of "commercial losses" appear to have been ignored.Most
importantly, investment in infrastructure has been a state responsibility because the intrinsically
long gestation coupled with the relatively low returns from serving all categories of consumers
have rendered such projects commercially unprofitable. Whether or not private participation can
take on such tasks is to be seen.

Rural Electrification Investment:
Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is a leading public Infrastructure
Finance Company in Indias power sector.
The company finances and promotes rural electrification projects across India, operating
through a network of 13 Project Offices and 5 Zonal Offices, headquartered in New
Delhi. The company provides loans to Central/ State Sector Power Utilities, State
Electricity Boards, Rural Electric Cooperatives, NGOs and Private Power Developers.
REC is a Navratna Company functioning under the purview of the Ministry of Power
Government of India. The company is listed on both National Stock Exchange of
India and Bombay Stock Exchange.
The company is primarily engaged in providing finance for rural electrification projects
across India and provides loans to Central/ State Sector Power Utilities, State Electricity
Boards, Rural Electric Cooperatives, NGOs and Private Power Developers.
The company sanctions loan as a sole lender or co-lender or in consortium with or
without the status of lead financer. It also provides consultancy, project monitoring and
financial/ technical appraisal support for projects, also in the role of nodal agency for
Government of India schemes or projects. REC finances all types of Power
Generation projects including Thermal, Hydel, Renewable Energy, etc. without limit on
size or location.
The company aims to increase presence in emerging areas like de-centralised distributed
generation (DDG) projects, and new and renewable energy sources to reach remote and
difficult terrains not connected by power grid network.
In Transmission & Distribution (T&D), REC is primarily engaged in ascertaining
financial requirements of power utilities in the country in the T&D sector along with
appraising T&D schemes for financing.
REC has financed T&D schemes for system improvement, intensive electrification,
pump-set energisation and APDRP Programme. The company is also actively involved in
physical as well as financial monitoring of T&D schemes.


REC also offers loan products for financing Renewable Energy projects. The company
has tied up a line of credit for EUR 100 mn(approximately 6000 mn) with KfW under
Indo-German Development Cooperation for financing renewable energy power projects
at concessional rates of interest.
Eligible projects include Solar, Wind, Small Hydro, Biomass Power, and Cogeneration
Power & Hybrid Projects.

Wheeling:
In electric power transmission, wheeling is the transportation of electric power
(megawatts or megavolt-amperes) over transmission lines.
[1]

Electric power networks are divided into transmission and distribution
networks. Transmission lines move electric power between generating
facilities and substations, usually in or near population centers. From substations, power
is sent to users over a distribution network. A transmission line might move power over a
few miles or hundreds of miles.
An entity that generates power does not have to own power transmission lines: only a
connection to the network or grid. The entity then pays the owner of the transmission line
based on how much power is being moved and how congested the line is.
Some power generating entities join a group which has shared ownership of transmission
lines. These groups may include investor-owned utilities, government agencies, or a
combination of these.
Since prices to move power are based on congestion in transmission line networks,
utilities try to charge customers more to use power during peak usage (demand) periods.
This is accomplished by installing time-of-use meters to recover wheeling costs.



UNIT 4:

Computer aided Planning:
With the increasing complexity of electrical power systems, the need for accurate tools
for their design, planning and operation become a necessity. Investigations are made on the
appropriate design tools for analyzing complicated energy system configurations under different
contingencies in order to cope with the challenges. Education and training using these tools
requires familiarization with software and hardware employed in this process. Studies shows that
the new delivery modes using the full advantage of digital computers in a multi-media
environment will improve the efficiency of instruction, and understanding of complex problems.

Environmental impact:
The environmental impact of electricity generation is significant because modern society
uses large amounts of electrical power. This power is normally generated at power
plants that convert some other kind of energy into electrical power. Each system has
advantages and disadvantages, but many of them pose environmental concerns.
The amount of water usage is often of great concern for electricity generating systems as
populations increase and droughts become a concern. Still, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey, thermoelectric power generation accounts for only 3.3 percent of net
freshwater consumption with over 80 percent going to irrigation. Likely future trends in
water consumption are covered here. General numbers for fresh water usage of different
power sources are shown below.
Steam-cycle plants (nuclear, coal, NG, solar thermal) require a great deal of water for
cooling, to remove the heat at the steam condensors. The amount of water needed relative
to plant output will be reduced with increasing boiler temperatures. Coal- and gas-fired
boilers can produce high steam temperatures and so are more efficient, and require less
cooling water relative to output. Nuclear boilers are limited in steam temperature by
material constraints, and solar is limited by concentration of the energy source.
Thermal cycle plants near the ocean have the option of using seawater. Such a site will
not have cooling towers and will be much less limited by environmental concerns of the
discharge temperature since dumping heat will have very little effect on water
temperatures. This will also not deplete the water available for other uses. Nuclear power
in Japan for instance, uses no cooling towers at all because all plants are located on the
coast. If dry cooling systems are used, significant water from the water table will not be


used. Other, more novel, cooling solutions exist, such as sewage cooling at the Palo
Verde Nuclear Generating Station.
Most electricity today is generated by burning fossil fuels and producing steam which is
then used to drive a steam turbine that, in turn, drives an electrical generator.Such
systems allow electricity to be generated where it is needed, since fossil fuels can readily
be transported. They also take advantage of a large infrastructure designed to support
consumer automobiles.
The world's supply of fossil fuels is large, but finite. Exhaustion of low-cost fossil fuels
will have significant consequences for energy sources as well as for the manufacture
of plastics and many other things. Various estimates have been calculated for exactly
when it will be exhausted (see Peak oil). New sources of fossil fuels keep being
discovered, although the rate of discovery is slowing while the difficulty of extraction
simultaneously increases.
Nuclear power plants do not burn fossil fuels and so do not directly emit carbon dioxide;
because of the high energy yield of nuclear fuels, the carbon dioxide emitted during
mining, enrichment, fabrication and transport of fuel is small when compared with the
carbon dioxide emitted by fossil fuels of similar energy yield.
A large nuclear power plant may reject waste heat to a natural body of water; this can
result in undesirable increase of the water temperature with adverse effect on aquatic life.

Green House Effect:
The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is
absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this
re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the
average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases.
Solar radiation at the frequencies of visible light largely passes through the atmosphere to warm
the planetary surface, which then emits this energy at the lower frequencies of infrared thermal
radiation. Infrared radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which in turn re-radiate much of
the energy to the surface and lower atmosphere. The mechanism is named after the effect of solar
radiation passing through glass and warming a greenhouse, but the way it retains heat is
fundamentally different as a greenhouse works by reducing airflow, isolating the warm air inside
the structure so that heat is not lost by convection.



Insulation Co-ordination:
The term Insulation Co-ordination was originally introduced to arrange the insulation
levels of the several components in the transmission system in such a manner that an
insulation failure, if it did occur, would be confined to the place on the system where it
would result in the least damage, be the least expensive to repair, and cause the least
disturbance to the continuity of the supply. The present usage of the term is broader.
Insulation co-ordination now comprises the selection of the electric strength of equipment
in relation to the voltages which can appear on the system for which the equipment is
intended. The overall aim is to reduce to an economically and operationally acceptable
level the cost and disturbance caused by insulation failure and resulting system outages.
To keep interruptions to a minimum, the insulation of the various parts of the system
must be so graded that flashovers only occur at intended points. With increasing system
voltage, the need to reduce the amount of insulation in the system, by proper co-
ordination of the insulating levels become more critical.
Reactive compensation:
Except in a very few special situations, electrical energy is generated, transmitted,
distributed, and utilized as alternating current (AC). However,alternating current has
several distinct disadvantages. One of these is the necessity of reactive power that
needs to be supplied along with active power.
Reactive power can be leading or lagging.While it is the active power that contributes
to the energy consumed, or transmitted, reactive power does not contribute to the
energy. Reactive power is an inherent part of the total power.
Reactive power is either generated or consumed in almost every component of the
system, generation, transmission, and distribution and eventually by the loads. The
impedance of a branch of a circuit in an AC system consists of two components,
resistance and reactance.
Reactance can be either inductive or capacitive, which contribute to reactive power in
the circuit.Most of the loads are inductive, and must be supplied with lagging reactive
power.
It is economical to supply this reactive power closer to the load in the distribution
system.Reactive power compensation in power systems can be either shunt or series.



Shunt Capacitors:
Shunt capacitors are employed at substation level for the following reasons:

Reducing power losses
Compensating the load lagging power factor with the bus connected shunt capacitor bank
improves the power factor and reduces current flow through the transmission lines,
transformers, generators, etc. This will reduce power losses (I2R losses) in this equipment.
Increased utilization of equipment
Shunt compensation with capacitor banks reduces kVA loading of lines, transformers, and
generators, which means with compensation they can be used for delivering more power
without overloading the equipment. Reactive power compensation in a power system is of two
typesshunt and series. Shunt compensation can be installed near the load, in a distribution
substation, along the distribution feeder, or in a transmission substation.
Voltage regulation
The main reason that shunt capacitors are installed at substations is to control the voltage
within required levels. Load varies over the day, with very low load from midnight toearly
morning and peak values occurring in the evening between 4 PM and 7 PM. Shape of the load
curve also varies from weekday to weekend, with weekend load typically low.
Shunt Reactive Power Compensation
Since most loads are inductive and consume lagging reactive power, the compensation
required is usually supplied by leading reactive power. Shunt compensation of reactive power
can be employed either at load level, substation level, or at transmission level.
It can be capacitive (leading) or inductive (lagging) reactive power, although in most
cases compensation is capacitive. The most common form of leading reactive power
compensation is by connecting shunt capacitors to the line.
As the load varies, voltage at the substation bus and at the load bus varies. Since the
load power factor is always lagging, a shunt connected capacitor bank at the substation
can raise voltage when the load is high. The shunt capacitor banks can be permanently
connected to the bus (fixed capacitor bank) or can be switched as needed. Switching
can be based on time, if load variation is predictable, or can be based on voltage, power
factor, or line current.



UNIT 5&6

Power Supply Reliability:

The term reliability is broad in meaning. In general, reliability designates
the ability of a system to perform its assigned function, where past experience helps to
form advance estimates of future performance.

Reliability can be measured through the mathematical concept of
probability by identifying the probability of successful performance with the degree of
reliability. Generally, a device or system is said to perform satisfactorily if it does not fail
during the time of service. On the other hand, a broad range of devices are expected to
undergo failures, be repaired and then returned to service during their entire useful life.

In this case a more appropriate measure of reliability is the availability of
the device, which is defined as follows:

The indices used in reliability evaluation are probabilistic and,
consequently, they do not provide exact predictions. They state averages of past events
and chances of future ones by means of most frequent values and long-run averages. This
information should be complemented with other economic and policy considerations for
decision-making in planning, design and operation. The function of an electric power
system is to provide electricity to its customers efficiently and with a reasonable
assurance of continuity and quality.

The task of achieving economic efficiency is assigned to system operators
or competitive markets, depending on the type of industry structure adopted. On the other
hand, the quality of the service is evaluated by the extent to which the supply of
electricity is available to customers at a usable voltage and frequency. The reliability of
power supply is, therefore, related to the probability of providing customers with
continuous service and with a voltage and frequency within prescribed ranges around the
nominal values.

Load management:
Load management, also known as demand side management (DSM), is the process
of balancing the supply of electricity on the network with the electrical load by adjusting
or controlling the load rather than the power station output.
This can be achieved by direct intervention of the utility in real time, by the use of
frequency sensitive relays triggering circuit breakers (ripple control), by time clocks, or
by using special tariffs to influence consumer behavior.
Load management allows utilities to reduce demand for electricity during peak usage
times, which can, in turn, reduce costs by eliminating the need for peaking power plants.
In addition, peaking power plants also often require hours to bring on-line, presenting
challenges should a plant go off-line unexpectedly.


Load management can also help reduce harmful emissions, since peaking plants or
backup generators are often dirtier and less efficient than base load power plants. New
load-management technologies are constantly under development both by private
industry and public entities.

Load Prediction:
Electric load forecasting is the process used to forecast future electric load, given
historical load and weather information and current and forecasted weather information. In the
past few decades, several models have been developed to forecast electric load more
accurately. Load forecasting can be divided into three major categories:
Long-term electric load forecasting, used to supply electric utility company
management with prediction of future needs for expansion, equipment
purchases, or staff hiring
Medium-term forecasting, used for the purpose of scheduling fuel supplies and
unit maintenance
Short-term forecasting, used to supply necessary information for the system
management of day-to-day operations and unit commitment.

Reactive Power balance:

The balance for the reactive power in a whole- or a part of a system is the next:
QE+QI=QF+QH, where:
QE is the amount of the reactive power from the power plants QI is the balance of the
imported reactive power flows (incoming is the positive) QF is the amount of the substations
reactive power consumptions QH is the amount of the system elements reactive power
consumptions (wires, cables, transformers, reactors, static compensators, etc.). The reactive
power flows from the capacitors and overexcited generators called reactive power production,
the under excited generators and inductances reactive power called reactive power
consumption. The reactive power is positive, if the current is delaying to the voltage, while the
active power is positive compared to the power flows on an arbitrary system element S=P+jQ.
These principles considers to the high/middle voltage level systems, but there is no reason to
not to use in micro/smart grid systems as well.

Online power flow studies:
In power engineering, the power-flow study, also known as load-flow study, is an
important tool involving numerical analysis applied to a power system. A power-flow study
usually uses simplified notation such as a one-line diagram and per-unit system, and focuses on
various forms of AC power (i.e.: voltages, voltage angles, real power and reactive power). It
analyzes the power systems in normal steady-state operation. A number of software
implementations of power-flow studies exist.


Many software implementations perform other types of analysis, such as short-
circuit fault analysis, stability studies (transient & steady-state), unit commitment
and economic dispatch. In particular, some programs use linear programming to find
the optimal power flow, the conditions which give the lowest cost per kilowatt
hour delivered.
Power-flow or load-flow studies are important for planning future expansion of power
systems as well as in determining the best operation of existing systems. The principal
information obtained from the power-flow study is the magnitude and phase angle of the
voltage at each bus, and the real and reactive power flowing in each line.
Commercial power systems are usually too large to allow for hand solution of the power
flow. Special purpose network analyzers were built between 1929 and the early 1960s to
provide laboratory models of power systems; large-scale digital computers replaced the
analog methods.
Newton-Raphson method is the most widely accepted load flow solution algorithm.
However LU factorization remains a computationally challenging task to meet the real-
time needs of the power system.
The application of very fast multifrontal direct linear solvers for solving the linear system
sub-problem of power system real-time load flow analysis by utilizing the state-of-the-art
algorithms for ordering and preprocessing.
Additionally the unsymmetric multifrontal method for LU factorization and highly
optimized Intel Math Kernel Library BLAS has been used. Two state-of-the-art
multifrontal algorithms for unsymmetric matrices namely UMFPACK V5.2.0 and
sequential MUMPS 4.8.3 (Multifrontal Massively Parallel Solver) are customized for
the AC power system Newton-Raphson based load flow analysis.
The multifrontal solvers are compared against the state-of-the-art sparse Gaussian
Elimination based HSL sparse solver MA48. This study evaluates the performance of
above multifrontal solvers in terms of number of factors, computational time, number of
floating-point operations and memory, in the context of load flow solution on nine
systems including very large real power systems.
The results of the performance evaluation are reported. The proposed method achieves
significant reduction in computational time.



State Estimation:
State estimators allow the calculation of these variables of interest with high confidence
despite measurements that are corrupted by noise measurements that may be missing or grossly
Inaccurate.

Objectives:
To provide a view of real-time power system conditions
Real-time data primarily come from SCADA SE supplements SCADA data: filter, fill,
smooth.
To provide a consistent representation for power system security analysis
On-line dispatcher power flow
Contingency Analysis
Load Frequency Control
To provide diagnostics for modeling & maintenance

Computerized management:
Research shows that personal computers (PC) are not being actively used during the vast
majority of the time that they are kept on. It is estimated that an average PC is in use 4 hours
each work day and idle for another 5.5 hours. It's also estimated that some 30-40 percent of the
US's work PCs are left running at night and on weekends.
Office equipment is the fastest growing electricity load in the commercial
sector. Computer systems are believed to account for 10 percent or more of commercial
electricity consumption already. Since computer systems generate waste heat, they also increase
the amount of electricity necessary to cool office spaces.
For the Medical Center, we estimate the savings from PC power management to be
hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, even without factoring in increased office cooling
costs. Considerable savings are also possible from easing wear-and-tear on the computers
themselves.
Power System Simulator:
Power system simulation models are a class of computer simulation programs that focus on the
operation of electrical power systems. These computer programs are used in a wide range of
planning and operational situations including:
1. Long-term generation and transmission expansion planning
2. Short-term operational simulations
3. Market analysis (e.g. price forecasting)


These programs typically make use of mathematical optimization techniques such linear
programming, quadratic programming, and mixed integer programming.
Key elements of power systems that are modeled include:
1. Load flow (power flow study)
2. Short circuit
3. Transient stability
4. Optimal dispatch of generating units (unit commitment)
5. Transmission (optimal power flow)



UNIT 7&8:
Optimal Power System Expansion Planning:
Optimization Techniques:
In everyday life, all of us are confronted with some decision makings. Normally, we try to decide
or the best. If someone is to buy a commodity, he or she tries to buy the best quality, yet with the
east cost. These types of decision makings are categorized as optimization problems in which the
aim is to find the optimum solutions; where the optimum may be either the least or the most.

Most of the operational and planning problems consist of the following three major steps
Definition
Modeling
Solution algorithm

Decision variables are the independent variables; the decision maker has to determine their
optimum values and based on those, other variables (dependent) can be determined. For instance,
in an optimum generation scheduling problem, the active power generations of power plants may
be the decision variables. The dependent variables can be the total fuel consumption, system
losses, etc. which can be calculated upon determining the decision variables. In a capacitor
allocation problem, the locations and the sizing of the capacitor banks are the decision variables,
whereas the dependent variables may be bus voltages, system losses, etc. Mathematical
Algorithms.

A mathematical optimization technique formulates the problem in a mathematical
representation; as given by (2.2) through (2.4). Provided the objective function and/or the
constraints are nonlinear, the resulting problem is designated as Non Linear optimization
Problem (NLP). A special case of NLP is quadratic programming in which the objective function
is a quadratic function of x. If both the objective functions and the constraints are linear
functions of x, the problem is designated as a Linear Programming (LP) problem. Other
categories may also be identified based on the nature of the variables. For instance, if x is of
integer type, the problem is denoted by Integer Programming (IP). Mixed types such as
MILP(Mixed Integer Linear Programming) may also exist in which while the variables may be
both real and integer, the problem is also of LP type. For mathematical based formulations, some
algorithms have, so far, been developed; based on them some commercial software have also
been generated. In the following subsections, we briefly review these algorithms. We should,
however, note that generally speaking, a mathematical algorithm may suffer from numerical
problems and may be quite complex in implementation. However, its convergence may be
guaranteed but finding the global optimum solution may only be guaranteed for some types such
as LP. There is no definite and fixed classification of mathematical algorithms. Here, we are not
going to discuss them in details. Instead, we are going to introduce some topics which are of
more interest in this book and may be applicable to power system planning issues.1 Some topics,
such as game theory, which are of more interest for other power system issues (such as market
analysis of power ystems), are not addressed here.



Calculus Method:
These types of methods are the traditional way of seeking optimum points. These are applicable
to continuous and differentiable functions of both objective and constraints terms. They make
use of differential calculus in locating the optimum points. Based on the basic differential
calculus developed for finding the optimum points of C(x) , the method of Lagrange Multipliers
has been developed in finding the optimum points; where equality constraints may also apply. If
inequality constraints (2.4) are also applicable, still the basic method may be used; however, the
so called Kuhn-Tucker conditions should be observed. The solution is not so straightforward in
that case.

Linear Programming (LP) Method:
As already noted, LP is an optimization method in which both the objective function and the
constraints are linear functions of the decision variables. This type of problem was first
recognized in the 1930s by the economists in developing methods for the optimal allocation of
resources. Noting the fact that
Any LP problem can be stated as a minimization problem; due to the fact that, as already
described, maximizing C(x) is equivalent to minimizing (-C(x)). The problem can be stated in a
form known as canonical. Then, a solution known as the simplex method, first devised in 1940s,
may be used to solve the problem. Using the simplex method normally requires a large amount
of computer storage and time. The so called revised simplex method is a revised method in
which less computational time and storage space are required. Still another topic of interest in LP
problems is the duality theory. In fact, associated with every LP problem, a so called dual
problem may be formulated. In many cases, the solution of an LP problem may be more easily
obtained from the dual problem. If the LP problem has a special structure, a so called
decomposition principle may be employed to solve the problem in which less computer storage
is required.

Non Linear Programming (NLP) Method:
We noted earlier that if the objective function and/or the constraints are nonlinear functions of
the decision variables, the resulting optimization problem is called NLP. Before proceeding
further on NLP problems, we should note that most practical problems are of constrained type in
which some constraint functions should be satisfied. As for constrained problems, however,
some algorithms work on the principle of transforming the problem into a unconstrained case,
we initially review some existing algorithms on solving unconstrained problems. The solution
methods for unconstrained problems may be generally classified as direct search (or non-
gradient) methods and descent (or gradient) methods. The former methods do not use the partial
derivatives of the objective function and are suitable for simple problems involving a relatively
small number of variables. The latter methods require the evaluations of the first and possibly,
the higher order derivatives of the objective function. As a result, these methods are generally
more efficient than the direct methods. All the unconstrained optimization methods are iterative
in nature and start from an initial trial solution; moving stepwise in a sequential manner towards
the optimum solution. The gradient methods have received more attention in power system
literature. For instance, in the so called steepest descent method; widely used in power system
literature, the gradient vector is used to calculate the optimum step length along the search
direction so that the algorithm efficiency is maximized.



Let us come back to the constrained case. Two types of methods, namely, direct and indirect
methods apply. In the former methods, the constraints are handled in an explicit manner, while in
most of the latter methods; the constrained problem is converted into a sequence of
unconstrained problems and solved through available algorithms. As an example of the direct
methods, in the so called constraint approximation method, the objective function and the
constraints are linearized about some point. The resulting approximated LP problem is solved
using LP techniques. The resulting solution is then used to construct a new LP problem. The
process is continued until a convergence criterion is satisfied. As an example of the indirect
methods, the so called penalty function method, works on the principle of converting the
problem into an unconstrained type. It is, in turn, classified as interior and exterior penalty
function methods. In the former, the sequence of unconstrained minima lie in the feasible region
while in the latter, they lie in the infeasible region. In both, they move towards the desired.

Dynamic Programming (DP) Method:
Dynamic Programming is a widely used technique in power system studies. It is, in fact, a
mathematical technique used for multistage decision problems; originally developed in 1950s. A
multistage decision problem is a problem in which optimal decisions have to be made over some
stages. The stages may be different times, different spaces, different levels, etc. The important
point is that the output of each stage is the input to the next serial stage. The overall objective
function is to be optimized over all stages. It is normally a function of the decision variables (xi)
of all stages. The important fact is that one cannot start from optimizing the first stage; moving
forward toward the final stage; as there may be some correlations between the stages, too. To
make the problem clear, let us express a power system example. Suppose we are going to
minimize the generation cost of a power system over a 24-h period. Some information is as
follows
There are four generation units available; each of which may be either off or on (so that various
combinations are possible, such as, 1111, 1101, 1001, 0011,).
The unit efficiencies are different; so that if the system load is low and say, two units can meet
the load, we should use the higher efficient units to supply the load.
The load varies throughout the 24-h period; changing at each hour (stage). The multistage
decision problem is, in fact, deciding on the units to be on at each stage so that the overall
generation cost over the 24-h period is minimized. We note that if no other constraint was
imposed, we should optimize our problem at each stage and sum it over all stages. In other
words, 24 single stage optimization problems2 have to be solved to find the final solution.
Suppose that the final solution looks like Fig. 2.5 in which the unit combinations are shown at
each stage. As shown, unit 1 is on at hours 1 and 2, off at hour 3, and on again at hour 4. Now
what happens if a constraint is imposed expressing the fact that if unit 1 is turned off, it cannot be
turned on unless a 5-h period is elapsed.

Integer Programming Method:
In the algorithms discussed so far, each of the decision variables may take any real value. What
happens if a decision variable is limited to take only an integer value? For instance, if the
decision variable is the number of generation units, taking a real value is meaningless. The
optimization algorithms developed for this class of problems are classified as IP methods. If all
decision variables are of integer type, the problem is addressed as IP problem. If some decision
variables are of integer type while some others are of non-integer type, the problem is known as


mixed integer programming problem. Moreover, based on the nature of the original problem,
both integer linear programming and integer nonlinear programming methods have been
developed. As a result, in power system literature, some terms such as MILP have appeared.
2.3.2 Heuristic Algorithms Most mathematical based algorithms can guarantee reaching an
optimal solution; while do not necessarily guarantee reaching a global optimum. Global
optimality may be only reached, checked or guaranteed for simple cases. On the other hand,
many practical optimization problems do not fall in strict forms and assumptions of
mathematical based algorithms. Moreover, if the problem is highly complex, we may not readily
be able to solve them, at all, through mathematical algorithms. Besides, finding global optimum
is of interest, as finding a local one would be a major drawback. Heuristic algorithms are devised
to tackle the above mentioned points. They, normally, can solve the combinatorial problems,
sometimes very complex, yet in a reasonable time. However, they seek good solutions, without
being able to guarantee the optimality, or even how close the solutions are to the optimal point.

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Power System Planning 10EE761

Dept. of EEE, SJBIT Page 1

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