Generation Dispatch with Reserve Margin Constraints Using Linear Programming

The optimal allocation of system generation to the individual units of a power system is normally done on a marginal cost basis. However, system regulation and reserve requirements' may not allow the operation of the system at this point forcing the operator to nranually move to non-optimal operation.' In this paper the cost-optimal generation allocation problem with reserve margins and other constraints is formulated as a linear programming problem. This formulation is shown to have a structure that can be decomposed into a set of smaller linear programming subproblems using the Dantzig-Wolfe method. Some unique aspects of the computer program developed to solve this problem are described together with some results using a medium-size power system. Although the program was developed to determine the cost of providing a certain level of regulation or reserve margin from off-line studies, it appears that the computer time and storage requirements are such that real-time dispatching with such a program may be feasible in a modern control center