An Experimental Method of Determination of Optimal Maintenance Schedules in Power Systems Using the Branch-and-Bound Technique

An experimental method of scheduling the necessary maintenance activities on generator units in a power system is developed. The problem is identified as an integer programming problem, and a method based on the branch-and-bound technique is developed. The maintenance scheduling problem is characterized by a large number of complex constraints. The method presented is capable of taking into account all these constraints and hence, results in a practically implementable solution, if a feasible solution exists. Other features of the method are employment of a number of different objective functions and discovery of a feasible solution if one exists. Furthermore, unlike most present methods, it actually finds the optimal solution. The operation of the method is exemplified by application to a realistic system.