COURSE OVERVIEW

 

This practical and highly-interactive course includes real-life case studies and exercises where participants will be engaged in a series of interactive small groups and class workshops. 

The efficient and optimum economic operation and planning of electric power generation systems have always occupied an important position in the electric power industry.  Prior to 1973 and the oil embargo that signalled the rapid escalation in fuel prices, electric utilities in the United States spent about 20% of their total revenues on fuel for the production of electrical energy. 

 

In the 5 years after 1973, U.S. electric utility fuel costs escalated at a rate that average 25% compounded on an annual basis. The efficient use of the available fuel is growing in importance, both monetarily and because most of the fuel used represents irreplaceable natural resources.  A savings in the operation of a small percent represents a significant reduction in operating cost, as well as in the quantities of fuel consumed.  It is no wonder that this area has warranted a great deal of attention from engineers through the years. 

 

This course represents an important step in an engineering area that has been and is still undergoing rapid change. It concerns established engineering problem areas (i.e., economic dispatch and control of interconnected systems) that have taken on new importance in recent years.  

 

The original problem of economic dispatch for thermal systems was solved by numerous methods years ago.  Recently, there has been a rapid growth in applied mathematical methods and the availability of computational capability for solving problems of this nature so that more involved problems have been successfully solved. With deregulation, market rules and economic principles dictate that commodities be priced at the marginal value of their production. 

 

As a result, it’s necessary to work with ever-more-sophisticated algorithms using optimization techniques-either for the optimal dispatch of the system itself, or for pricing commodities and the settlement of markets. Succeeding in this new environment takes a good understanding of methods that involve linear and nonlinear optimization, including optimal power flow, locational marginal prices for energy, and the auction of hedging instruments. 

 

The use of optimization methods is familiar territory to academicians and researchers.  Yet, it today’s world of deregulated electricity markets, it’s just as important for electric power professionals to have a solid grasp of these increasingly relied upon techniques.  Making those techniques understandable is the hallmark of this course.  In its comprehensive, skill-building overview of optimization techniques, this course puts you on a good position regarding the latest and rapid development in this interesting field.