OATS: Optimisation and Analysis Toolbox for Power Systems

Optimisation and Analysis Toolbox for power Systems analysis (OATS) is an open-source simulation tool for steady-state analyses of power systems problems distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPLv3). It contains implementations of classical steady-state problems, e.g. load flow, optimal power flow (OPF) and unit commitment, as well as enhancements to these classical models relative to the features available in widely used open-source tools. Enhancements implemented in the current release of OATS include: a model of voltage regulating on-load tap-changing transformers; load shedding in OPF; allowing a user to build a contingency list in the security constrained OPF analysis; implementation of a distributed slack bus; and the ability to model zonal transfer limits in unit commitment. The mathematical optimisation models are written in an open-source algebraic modelling language, which offers high-level symbolic syntax for describing optimisation problems. The flexibility offered by OATS makes it an ideal tool for teaching and academic research. This paper presents novel aspects of OATS and discusses, through demonstrative examples, how OATS can be extended to new problem classes in the area of steady-state power systems analysis.