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Power system operations and control

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236: 410:): when there is too much supply, the devices absorb the excess, and frequency goes above the scheduled rate, conversely, too much demand causes the generator to deliver extra electricity through slowing down, with frequency slightly decreasing, not requiring an intervention from the operator. There are obvious limits to this "immediate control", so a 330: 305:
of 30 MW, unit C will be kept in reserve. The area under the dispatch curve to the left of this line represents the cost per hour of operation (ignoring the startup costs, $ 30 * 120 + $ 60 * 30 = $ 5,400 per hour), the incremental cost of the next MWh of electricity ($ 60 in the example, represented
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of electricity, ignoring the startup costs). For cost-based decisions, the units in the merit order are sorted by the increasing marginal cost. The graph on the right describes an extremely simplified system, with three committed generator units (fully dispatchable, with constant per-MWh cost):
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change is controlled in real-time by the central operator issuing directives to market participants that submit in advance bids for the increase/decrease in the power levels. Due to the centralized nature of redispatch, there is no delay to negotiate terms of contracts; the cost incurred are
341:, unit B will operate at variable power, and unit C will need to be turned on and off, providing the "intermediate" or "cycling" capacity. If the demand goes above 200 MW only occasionally, the unit C will be idle most of the time and will be considered a 345:(a "peaker"). Since a peaker might run for just tens of hours per year, the cost of peaker-produced electricity can be very high in order to recover the capital investment and fixed costs (see the right side of a hypothetical full-scale dispatch curve). 374:. At this stage the goal is reliability ("security") of the supply. The practical electric networks are too complex to perform the calculations by hand, so from the 1920s the calculations were automated, at first in the form of specially-built 562:
the action (temporarily setting the frequency to 60.02 Hz or 59.98 Hz) is initiated when the time offset reaches 10 seconds and ceases once the offset reaches 6 seconds. Time control is performed either by a computer
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is engaged automatically within seconds after the frequency disturbance. Primary control stabilizes the situation, but does not return the conditions to the normal and is applied both to the generation side (where the
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take a very long time to start, while hydroelectric plants require planning of water resources usage way in advance, therefore commitment decisions for these are made weeks or even months before prior to the delivery.
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In real systems the cost per MWh usually is not constant, and the lines of the dispatch curve are therefore not horizontal (typically the marginal cost of power increases with the dispatch level, although for the
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for the next day is not certain, its sources are thus non-dispatchable. This variability, coupled with uncertain future power demand and the need to accommodate possible generation and
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or even commit more generation units, primarily to ensure the reliability of the supply while still trying to minimize the costs. At the same time, operator must ensure that enough
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thermal units might have limits on minimum uptime (once switched on, cannot be turned off quickly) and downtime (once stopped, cannot be quickly restarted again);
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is used to restore the system frequency after a disturbance, with adjustments made by the balancing authority control computer (this is typically referred to as
397: 69:"). In an electrical grid the task of real-time balancing is performed by a regional-based control center, run by an electric utility in the traditional ( 1129: 508:
and non-spinning reserves, with balancing services deployed within minutes after disturbance (hydropower plants are capable of an even faster reaction).
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accumulates between the official time and the time measured in the AC cycles. In the US, the average 60 Hz frequency is maintained within each
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there is usually a single crew at the plant that needs to be present during a thermal unit start-up, so only one unit can be started at a time.
74: 1193: 1090: 1034: 1005: 867: 1218: 57:(e.g., changes in demand or equipment failures) in order to provide reliable electric supply of acceptable quality. The corresponding 301:
At the expected demand is 150 MW (a vertical line on the graph), unit A will be engaged at full 120 MW power, unit B will run at the
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Unit commitment is more complex than the shorter-time-frame operations, since unit availability is subject to multiple constraints:
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is built into a typical power grid, spanning reaction intervals from seconds ("primary control") to hours ("time control").
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If the minimum level of demand in the example will stay above 120 MW, the unit A will constantly run at full power, providing
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of producing the unit electricity and the (quite significant for fossil fuel generation) start-up costs. In a "restructured"
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Sometimes the grid constraints change unpredictably and a need arises to change the previously set unit commitments. This
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units can produce electricity on demand and thus can be scheduled with accuracy. The production of the weather-dependent
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with the interval length corresponding to the maximum power of the unit, Y-axis values represent the marginal cost (per-
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Day-ahead operation schedules the generation units that can be called upon to provide the electricity on the next day (
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there are multiple cost curves depending on the mode of operation, so the power-cost relationship is not necessarily
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allocated either to participants responsible for the disruption based on preestablished tariffs or in equal shares.
1223: 547: 539: 319: 276:, where the X-axis constitutes the system power, intervals for the generation units are placed on this axis in the 118: 122: 1109: 92: 559: 402:
Small mismatches between the total demand and total load are typical and initially are taken care of by the
212: 186: 114: 497: 34: 65:. Electricity is hard to store, so at any moment the supply (generation) shall be balanced with demand (" 1064: 718: 407: 133: 216: 436: 208: 141: 87:, transmission system operators. The other form of balancing resources of multiple power plants is a 70: 248: 342: 79: 810: 794: 473: 453: 447: 371: 323: 149: 58: 291:
unit A can deliver up to 120 MW at the cost of $ 30 per MWh (from 0 to 120 MW of system power);
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is sometimes defined not just by the monetary costs, but also by the environmental concerns.
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Some units have unique features that require their commitment much earlier: for example, the
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involves reserve deployment and restoration to handle the current and future contingencies.
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that are not expected to produce electricity, but can be dispatched on a very short notice.
375: 153: 38: 829:"Electric generator dispatch depends on system demand and the relative cost of operation" 770:
Bayón, L.; García Nieto, P. J.; Grau, J. M.; Ruiz, M. M.; Suárez, P. M. (19 March 2013).
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In the hours prior to the delivery, a system operator might need to deploy additional
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unit B can deliver up to 80 MW at $ 60/MWh (from 120 to 200 MW of system power);
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Bhattacharya, Kankar; Bollen, Math H.J.; Daalder, Jaap E. (6 December 2012).
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are engaged (load is reduced as procured via reliability services contracts).
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unit C is capable of 50 MW at $ 120/MWh (from 200 to 250 MW of system power).
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numbered 74 in 2016, the entities responsible for operations are also called
771: 185:"must-run" units have to run due to technical constraints (for example, 538:
is to maintain the long-term frequency at the specified value within a
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induction motors self-adjust (lower frequency reduces the energy use);
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Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on
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demand-supply balance need to be maintained, including the sufficient
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of the generators. This is the parameter that is approximated by the
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In the minutes prior to the delivery, a system operator is using the
1188:. EPRI power system engineering series. McGraw-Hill Education. 542:. Due to the disturbances, the average frequency drifts, and a 554:, that periodically changes the frequency target of the grid ( 283: 229: 1054:"Introduction to System Operation, Optimization, and Control" 601: 599: 597: 144:
the main goal of the unit commitment is to minimize both the
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Reliability Functional Model Technical Document Version 5.1
179:. The balance need to reflect the transmission constraints; 745: 682: 772:"An economic dispatch algorithm of combined cycle units" 711:"Economic Dispatch and Operations of Electric Utilities" 862:. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 150. 460:
Another term commonly used for the primary control is
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Unit commitment problem in electrical power production
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Conejo, Antonio J.; Baringo, Luis (5 December 2017).
889: 887: 717:. EME 801 Energy Markets, Policy, and Regulation: 464:(or "beta"). Frequency response also includes the 156:algorithm is utilized, frequently in a form of an 53:describes actions taken in response to unplanned 1175:North American Electric Reliability Corporation 1157:North American Electric Reliability Corporation 1139:North American Electric Reliability Corporation 662:United States Energy Information Administration 757: 384:, replaced by digital computers in the 1960s. 333:Hypothetical dispatch curve (USA, summer 2011) 1110:"Balancing Authority and Regulation Overview" 1079:Wood, Allen J.; Wollenberg, Bruce F. (1984). 779:International Journal of Computer Mathematics 605: 588: 398:Voltage control and reactive power management 306:by a horizontal line on the graph) is called 8: 1182:Kundur, P.; Balu, N.J.; Lauby, M.G. (1994). 91:. The balancing authorities are overseen by 860:Operation of Market-oriented Power Systems 624:. Pearson Education India. pp. 557–. 73:) electricity market. In the restructured 1029:. Springer Science & Business Media. 189:plants must run if their heat is needed); 1121:Western Electricity Coordinating Council 1082:Power Generation, Operation, and Control 858:. In Yong-Hua Song; Xi-Fan Wang (eds.). 328: 1026:Operation of Restructured Power Systems 746:Bhattacharya, Bollen & Daalder 2012 683:Bhattacharya, Bollen & Daalder 2012 576: 724: 142:vertically integrated electric utility 75:North American power transmission grid 705: 703: 7: 977: 965: 953: 941: 929: 917: 905: 893: 694: 63:Power System Operations and Control 1185:Power System Stability and Control 621:Power System Operation and Control 446:under-frequency relays disconnect 406:of the rotating machinery (mostly 310:(thus another name for the curve, 25: 370:algorithms in order to find the 234: 125:failures requires scheduling of 1167:Balancing and Frequency Control 1149:Balancing and Frequency Control 565:Automatic Time Error Correction 41:on the timescale from one day ( 854:Yong-Hua Song (31 July 2003). 1: 1229:Electric power infrastructure 215:are available to prevent the 791:10.1080/00207160.2013.770482 502:automatic generation control 478:automatic generation control 85:independent system operators 530:Time error correction (TEC) 476:(ACE) calculation used for 320:combined cycle power plants 37:to describe the process of 1250: 758:Wood & Wollenberg 1984 540:wide area synchronous grid 527: 439:) and to the load, where: 391: 200: 102: 77:, these centers belong to 45:) to minutes prior to the 1219:Electric power generation 1146:NERC (January 26, 2011). 1085:. John Wiley & Sons. 606:Conejo & Baringo 2017 589:Conejo & Baringo 2017 435:adjusts the power of the 388:Control after disturbance 119:variable renewable energy 1234:Power station technology 731:: CS1 maint: location ( 618:S. Sivanagaraju (2009). 550:by a designated entity, 93:reliability coordinators 997:Power System Operations 560:Eastern Interconnection 362:Minutes-ahead operation 213:reactive power reserves 187:combined heat and power 115:dispatchable generation 31:Power system operations 18:Power system operations 498:load-frequency control 408:synchronous generators 334: 134:nuclear power stations 35:electricity generation 1164:NERC (May 11, 2021). 1065:Iowa State University 719:Penn State University 484:Minutes-after control 418:Seconds-after control 332: 209:supplemental reserves 197:Hours-ahead operation 80:balancing authorities 71:vertically integrated 27:Power plant operation 272:") are based on the 140:For a "traditional" 51:power system control 1052:McCalley, James D. 856:"System Redispatch" 556:scheduled frequency 472:coefficient of the 448:interruptible loads 343:peaking power plant 312:system lambda curve 99:Day-ahead operation 43:day-ahead operation 1128:NERC (July 2018). 474:area control error 462:frequency response 454:ancillary services 372:optimal power flow 335: 150:electricity market 127:operating reserves 59:engineering branch 33:is a term used in 1224:Power engineering 1195:978-0-07-035958-1 1092:978-0-471-09182-0 1036:978-1-4615-1465-7 1007:978-3-319-69407-8 980:, pp. 13–14. 956:, pp. 12–13. 869:978-1-85233-670-7 748:, pp. 47–52. 492:secondary control 466:inertial response 412:control continuum 394:Frequency control 381:network analyzers 355:system redispatch 270:economic dispatch 259: 256: 255: 173:spinning reserves 16:(Redirected from 1241: 1205: 1203: 1202: 1178: 1172: 1160: 1154: 1142: 1136: 1124: 1114: 1104: 1075: 1073: 1071: 1058: 1048: 1019: 981: 975: 969: 963: 957: 951: 945: 939: 933: 927: 921: 915: 909: 903: 897: 891: 882: 881: 851: 845: 844: 842: 840: 835:. 17 August 2012 825: 819: 818: 776: 767: 761: 755: 749: 743: 737: 736: 730: 722: 707: 698: 692: 686: 680: 674: 673: 671: 669: 650: 644: 643: 615: 609: 603: 592: 586: 534:The goal of the 518:tertiary control 512:Tertiary control 495: 494: 429: 428: 376:analog computers 368:power-flow study 268:The decisions (" 263:Dispatch curve. 258: 238: 237: 230: 217:voltage collapse 21: 1249: 1248: 1244: 1243: 1242: 1240: 1239: 1238: 1209: 1208: 1200: 1198: 1196: 1181: 1170: 1163: 1152: 1145: 1134: 1127: 1112: 1107: 1093: 1078: 1069: 1067: 1056: 1051: 1037: 1022: 1008: 993: 990: 985: 984: 976: 972: 964: 960: 952: 948: 940: 936: 928: 924: 916: 912: 904: 900: 892: 885: 870: 853: 852: 848: 838: 836: 827: 826: 822: 774: 769: 768: 764: 756: 752: 744: 740: 723: 709: 708: 701: 693: 689: 681: 677: 667: 665: 652: 651: 647: 632: 617: 616: 612: 604: 595: 587: 578: 573: 548:interconnection 532: 526: 514: 490: 489: 486: 426:primary control 424: 423: 420: 400: 392:Main articles: 390: 364: 351: 266: 265: 264: 261: 260: 252: 239: 235: 225: 205: 199: 154:market clearing 111:unit commitment 107: 101: 39:decision-making 28: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 1247: 1245: 1237: 1236: 1231: 1226: 1221: 1211: 1210: 1207: 1206: 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The term 1213:Categories 1201:2023-06-12 1101:1085785794 1016:1015677828 878:1112226019 640:1110238687 571:References 544:time error 349:Redispatch 89:power pool 61:is called 1045:852788650 978:NERC 2011 966:NERC 2011 954:NERC 2011 942:NERC 2021 930:NERC 2021 918:NERC 2021 906:NERC 2021 894:NERC 2021 807:0020-7160 799:1029-0265 695:NERC 2018 324:monotonic 1117:wecc.org 727:cite web 506:spinning 433:governor 988:Sources 833:eia.gov 815:5930756 715:psu.edu 658:eia.gov 247:and on 158:auction 113:). 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Index

Power system operations
electricity generation
decision-making
power delivery
engineering branch
grid balancing
vertically integrated
North American power transmission grid
balancing authorities
independent system operators
power pool
reliability coordinators
Unit commitment problem in electrical power production
dispatchable generation
variable renewable energy
transmission
operating reserves
nuclear power stations
vertically integrated electric utility
marginal cost
electricity market
market clearing
auction
merit order
spinning reserves
contingency
combined heat and power
Merit order
supplemental reserves
reactive power reserves

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