ECE 476

POWER SYSTEM ANALYSIS

Lecture 15
Economic Dispatch

Professor Tom Overbye

Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering
Announcements

 Homework 7 is 6.46, 6.49, 6.52, 11.19, 11.21,

11.27; due date is October 30
 Potential spring courses: ECE 431 and ECE
398RES (Renewable Electric Energy Systems)
 Be reading Chapter 11, concentrating on sections
11.4 and 11.5

1
Power System Economic Operation

 Power system loads are cyclical. Therefore the

installed generation capacity is usually much greater
than the current load. This allows options on how
to meet the current load
 Generation costs can vary widely, with different
technologies balancing
– the capital costs necessary to build the generator
– the costs to actually produce electric power
– for example, nuclear and some hydro have high capital
costs and low operating costs. Natural gas generators
have low capital costs, and higher operating costs
2
“DC” Power Flow

 The “DC” power flow makes the most severe

approximations:
– completely ignore reactive power, assume all the voltages
are always 1.0 per unit, ignore line conductance
 This makes the power flow a linear set of equations,
which can be solved directly

θ  B 1 P

3
Power System Control

 A major problem with power system operation is

the limited capacity of the transmission system
– lines/transformers have limits (usually thermal)
– no direct way of controlling flow down a transmission
line (e.g., there are no valves to close to limit flow)
– open transmission system access associated with industry
restructuring is stressing the system in new ways
 We need to indirectly control transmission line flow
by changing the generator outputs

4
DC Power Flow Example

5
 DC Power Flow 5 Bus Example

One Five Four Three

A A

360 MW 520 MW
MVA MVA
A

0 Mvar
MVA

slack
0 Mvar

1.000 pu 1.000 pu A A
1.000 pu 80 MW
0.000 Deg -4.125 Deg MVA MVA
-1.997 Deg 0 Mvar
1.000 pu
0.524 Deg

1.000 pu Two
-18.695 Deg

800 MW
0 Mvar

Notice with the dc power flow all of the voltage magnitudes are
1 per unit. 6
Indirect Transmission Line Control

What we would like to determine is how a change in

generation at bus k affects the power flow on a line
from bus i to bus j.
The assumption is
that the change
in generation is
absorbed by the
slack bus

7
Power Flow Simulation - Before

One way to determine the impact of a generator change

is to compare a before/after power flow.
For example below is a three bus case with an overload
131.9 MW

124%

One Two

200.0 MW 200 MW
68.1 MW 68.1 MW
71.0 MVR 100 MVR

Z for all lines = j0.1

Three 1.000 pu

0 MW
64 MVR

8
Power Flow Simulation - After
Increasing the generation at bus 3 by 95 MW (and hence
decreasing it at bus 1 by a corresponding amount), results
in a 31.3 drop in the MW flow on the line from bus 1 to 2.
101.6 MW

100%

One Two

105.0 MW 200 MW
3.4 MW 98.4 MW
64.3 MVR 100 MVR

92%
Z for all lines = j0.1
Limit for all lines = 150 MVA
1.000 pu
Three
95 MW
64 MVR

9
Analytic Calculation of Sensitivities

 Calculating control sensitivities by repeat power

flow solutions is tedious and would require many
power flow solutions. An alternative approach is to
analytically calculate these values
The power flow from bus i to bus j is
Vi V j i   j
Pij  sin( i   j ) 
X ij X ij
 i   j  ij
So Pij  We just need to get
X ij PGk
10
Analytic Sensitivities

From the fast decoupled power flow we know

θ  B 1P (x)
So to get the change in θ due to a change of
generation at bus k, just set P(x) equal to
all zeros except a minus one at position k.
0
 
 
P   1  Bus k
0
 
  11
Three Bus Sensitivity Example
For the previous three bus case with Zline  j 0.1
 20 10 10 
   20 10 
Ybus  j 10 20 10  B   
   10 20 
 10 10 20 
Hence for a change of generation at bus 3
1
  2   20 10   0   0.0333
        
 3  10  20 
   1 0.0667 
0.0667  0
Then P3 to 1   0.667 pu
0.1
P3 to 2  0.333 pu P 2 to 1  0.333 pu
12
Balancing Authority Areas

 An balancing authority area (use to be called

operating areas) has traditionally represented
the portion of the interconnected electric grid
operated by a single utility
 Transmission lines that join two areas are
known as tie-lines.
 The net power out of an area is the sum of the
flow on its tie-lines.
 The flow out of an area is equal to
13
Area Control Error (ACE)

 The area control error (ace) is the difference

between the actual flow out of an area and
the scheduled flow, plus a frequency
component
ace  Pint  Psched  10 f

 Ideally the ACE should always be zero.

 Because the load is constantly changing, each
utility must constantly change its generation
to “chase” the ACE. 14
Automatic Generation Control

 Most utilities use automatic generation

control (AGC) to automatically change their
generation to keep their ACE close to zero.
 Usually the utility control center calculates
ACE based upon tie-line flows; then the
AGC module sends control signals out to the
generators every couple seconds.

15
Power Transactions

 Power transactions are contracts between

generators and loads to do power
transactions.
 Contracts can be for any amount of time at
any price for any amount of power.
 Scheduled power transactions are
implemented by modifying the value of Psched
used in the ACE calculation

16
PTDFs

 Power transfer distribution factors (PTDFs) show

the linear impact of a transfer of power.
 PTDFs calculated using the fast decoupled power
flow B matrix
θ  B 1P (x)
Once we know θ we can derive the change in
the transmission line flows
Except now we modify several elements in P(x),
in portion to how the specified generators would
participate in the power transfer 17
Nine Bus PTDF Example

Figure shows initial flows for a nine bus power system

300.0 MW
400.0 MW 300.0 MW

A B 250.0 MW D

10% 71%
71.1 MW C
60% 57%
92% 0.00 deg 64%
55%
11%

G F E
150.0 MW

74% 250.0 MW 250.0 MW 44% 32%

24%
H I

200.0 MW
150.0 MW

18
Nine Bus PTDF Example, cont'd

Figure now shows percentage PTDF flows from A to I

300.0 MW
400.0 MW 300.0 MW

A B 250.0 MW D

43% 30%
71.1 MW C
57% 10%
13% 0.00 deg 20%
35%
2%

G F E
150.0 MW

34% 250.0 MW 250.0 MW 34% 32%

34%
H I

200.0 MW
150.0 MW

19
Nine Bus PTDF Example, cont'd

Figure now shows percentage PTDF flows from G to F

300.0 MW
400.0 MW 300.0 MW

A B 250.0 MW D

6% 18%
71.1 MW C
6% 6%
12% 0.00 deg 12%
61%
19%

G F E
150.0 MW

21% 250.0 MW 250.0 MW 20%

21%
H I

200.0 MW
150.0 MW

20
WE to TVA PTDFs

21
Line Outage Distribution Factors (LODFS)

 LODFs are used to approximate the change in the

flow on one line caused by the outage of a second
line
– typically they are only used to determine the change in
the MW flow
– LODFs are used extensively in real-time operations
– LODFs are state-independent but do dependent on the
assumed network topology

Pl  LODFl ,k Pk

22
Flowgates

 The real-time loading of the power grid is accessed

via “flowgates”
 A flowgate “flow” is the real power flow on one or
more transmission element for either base case
conditions or a single contingency
– contingent flows are determined using LODFs
 Flowgates are used as proxies for other types of
limits, such as voltage or stability limits
 Flowgates are calculated using a spreadsheet

23
NERC Regional Reliability Councils

NERC
is the
North
American
Electric
Reliability
Council

24
NERC Reliability Coordinators

25
Electric Fuel Prices

Source: EIA Electric Power Annual, 2006 (October 2007) 26

Natural Gas Prices: 1990’s to 2008

27
Coal Prices: 2005 to Present

There are four

main types of coal:
bituminous,
subbituminous,
lignite, and
anthracite. Heat
values range from
a low of 8 Mbtu
per ton to a high
of 31 Mbtu per ton.
For Illinois coal
price per Mbtu
is now about
$3.8/Mbtu.
28
US Generation Mix (Energy) 2006

Gen Type US % Illinois % California%

Coal 49.0 47.6 1.0
Nuclear 19.4 48.9 14.7
Hydro 7.1 0.1 22.2
Gas 20.0 2.9 49.8
Petroleum 2.0 0.1 1.0
Renewable 2.5 0.4 11.8 (14.4 in 1990)
Indiana is 94% coal, while Oregon is 71% hydro,
Washington State is 76% hydro. Canada is about 60% hydro,
France is also 80% nuclear, China is about 80% coal
Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/st_profiles/toc.html
2006 data 29
Thermal versus Hydro Generation

 The two main types of generating units are thermal

and hydro, with wind rapidly growing
 For hydro the fuel (water) is free but there may be
many constraints on operation
– fixed amounts of water available
– reservoir levels must be managed and coordinated
– downstream flow rates for fish and navigation
 Hydro optimization is typically longer term (many
months or years)
 In 476 we will concentrate on thermal units and
some wind, looking at short-term optimization 30
Generator types

 Traditionally utilities have had three broad groups

of generators
– baseload units: large coal/nuclear; always on at max.
– midload units: smaller coal that cycle on/off daily
– peaker units: combustion turbines used only for several
hours during periods of high demand

31
Block Diagram of Thermal Unit

To optimize generation costs we need to develop

cost relationships between net power out and operating
costs. Between 2-6% of power is used within the
generating plant; this is known as the auxiliary power
32
Generator Cost Curves

 Generator costs are typically represented by up to

four different curves
– input/output (I/O) curve
– fuel-cost curve
– heat-rate curve
– incremental cost curve
 For reference
- 1 Btu (British thermal unit) = 1054 J
- 1 MBtu = 1x106 Btu
- 1 MBtu = 0.29 MWh

33
I/O Curve

 The IO curve plots fuel input (in MBtu/hr) versus

net MW output.

34
Fuel-cost Curve

 The fuel-cost curve is the I/O curve scaled by fuel

cost. A typical cost for coal is $ 1.70/Mbtu.

35
Heat-rate Curve

Plots the average number of MBtu/hr of fuel input

needed per MW of output.
Heat-rate curve is the I/O curve scaled by MW
Best for most efficient units are
around 9.0

36
Incremental (Marginal) cost Curve

 Plots the incremental $/MWh as a function of MW.

 Found by differentiating the cost curve

37
Mathematical Formulation of Costs

 Generator cost curves are usually not smooth.

However the curves can usually be adequately
approximated using piece-wise smooth, functions.
 Two representations predominate
– quadratic or cubic functions
– piecewise linear functions
 In 476 we'll assume a quadratic presentation

Ci ( PGi )   i   PGi   PGi2 $/hr (fuel-cost)

dCi ( PGi )
ICi ( PGi )     2 PGi $/MWh
dPGi
38
 Coal Usage Example

A 500 MW (net) generator is 35% efficient. It is being

supplied with Western grade coal, which costs $1.70
per MBtu and has 9000 Btu per pound. What is the
coal usage in lbs/hr? What is the cost?
At 35% efficiency required fuel input per hour is
500 MWh 1428 MWh 1 MBtu 4924 MBtu
  
hr  0.35 hr 0.29 MWh hr
4924 MBtu 1 lb 547,111 lbs
 
hr 0.009MBtu hr
4924 MBtu $1.70
Cost =   8370.8 $/hr or $16.74/MWh
hr MBtu 39
Wasting Coal Example
Assume a 100W lamp is left on by mistake for 8
hours, and that the electricity is supplied by the
previous coal plant and that transmission/distribution
losses are 20%. How much irreplaceable coal has
he/she wasted?

With 20% losses, a 100W load on for 8 hrs requires

1 kWh of energy. With 35% gen. efficiency this requires
1 kWh 1 MWh 1 MBtu 1 lb
    1.09 lb
0.35 1000 kWh 0.29 MWh 0.009MBtu

40
Incremental Cost Example

For a two generator system assume

C1 ( PG1 )  1000 20 PG1  0.01PG21 $ / hr
C2 ( PG 2 )  400 15 PG 2  0.03PG22 $ / hr
Then
dC1 ( PG1 )
IC1 ( PG1 )   20  0.02 PG1 $/MWh
dPG1
dC2 ( PG 2 )
IC2 ( PG 2 )   15  0.06 PG 2 $/MWh
dPG 2

41
Incremental Cost Example, cont'd

If PG1  250 MW and PG2  150 MW Then

C1 (250)  1000 20  250  0.01  2502  $ 6625/hr
C2 (150)  400 15  150  0.03  1502  $6025/hr
Then
IC1 (250)  20  0.02  250  $ 25/MWh
IC2 (150)  15  0.06  150  $ 24/MWh

42
Economic Dispatch: Formulation

 The goal of economic dispatch is to determine the

generation dispatch that minimizes the
instantaneous operating cost, subject to the
constraint that total generation = total load + losses
m
Minimize CT  Ci ( PGi )
i 1
Such that
m
Initially we'll
 PGi  PD  PLosses ignore generator
i=1 limits and the
losses
43
Unconstrained Minimization

 This is a minimization problem with a single

inequality constraint
 For an unconstrained minimization a necessary (but
not sufficient) condition for a minimum is the
gradient of the function must be zero, f (x)  0
 The gradient generalizes the first derivative for
multi-variable problems:

 f (x) f (x) f (x) 

f (x)  x , x , ,
 1 2 xn 
44
Minimization with Equality Constraint

 When the minimization is constrained with an

equality constraint we can solve the problem using
the method of Lagrange Multipliers
 Key idea is to modify a constrained minimization
problem to be an unconstrained problem
That is, for the general problem
minimize f (x) s.t. g(x)  0
We define the Lagrangian L(x,λ )  f (x)  λ T g (x)
Then a necessary condition for a minimum is the
L x (x,λ )  0 and L λ (x,λ )  0
45
Lambda-Iteration Limit Example,cont’d
Again we continue iterating until the convergence
condition is satisfied. With limits the final solution
of  , is 24.43 $/MWh (compared to 23.53 $/MWh
without limits). The presence of limits will always
cause  to either increase or remain the same.
Final solution is
PG1 (24.43)  300 MW
PG2 (24.43)  443 MW
PG3 (24.43)  257 MW
46