ECONOMIC DISPATCH IN POWER SYSTEMS

AIM:
To understand the fundamentals of economic dispatch and solve the problem by using Lambda-
iteration method without line losses and with generator limits.

SOFTWARE REQUIRED:
MATLAB

THEORY:

The goal of economic dispatch is to determine the generation dispatch that minimizes the
instantaneous operating cost, subject to the constraint that total generation is equal to the total
demand and losses.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN ECONOMIC DISPATCH PROBLEM

The Cost of Generation

Cost is one of the primary characteristics of a generating unit that must be considered when
dispatching units economically. The EDC is concerned with the short-term operating cost, which is
primarily determined by fuel cost and usage. Fuel usage is closely related to generation level. Very
often, the relationship between power level and fuel cost is approximated by a quadratic curve:

F = aP2 + bP +c.

c is a constant term that represents the cost of operating the plant, b is a linear term that
varies directly with the level of generation and a is the term that accounts for efficiency changes
over the range of the plant output.

The Price

The price at which an electric supplier will be compensated is another important factor in
determining an optimal economic dispatch. In many areas of the world, electric power systems have
been, or still are, treated as a natural monopoly. Regulations allow the utilities to charge rates that
guarantee them a nominal profit. In competitive markets, which come in a variety of flavors, price
is determined through the forces of supply and demand.

The Quantity Supplied

The amount of electric energy to be supplied is another fundamental input for the EDC. If a
consumer switches on a motor, the electric supplier must provide the electric energy needed to
operate the motor. In competitive markets, this obligation to serve is limited to those with whom the
GENCO has a contract. Beyond its contractual obligations, the GENCO may be willing (if the
opportunity arises) to supply additional consumer demand.

JJCET/EEE-Power System Simulation 38

Statement of Economic Dispatch Problem:

In a power system, with negligible transmission loss and with N number of spinning thermal
generating units, the total system load PD at a particular interval can be met by different sets of
generation schedules.
(K) (K) (K)
{PG1 , PG2 , … … … . . PGN }; K = 1,2, … … NS

Out of these NS set of generation schedules, the system operator has to choose the set of schedules,
which minimize the system operating cost, which is essentially the sum of the production cost of all
the generating units. This economic dispatch problem is mathematically stated as an optimization
problem.

Given: The number of available generating units N, their production cost functions, their operating
limits and the system load PD.

To determine: The set of generation schedules,

𝑃𝐺𝑖 ; 𝑖 = 1,2, … … 𝑁
Which minimize the total production cost,
𝑁

𝑀𝑖𝑛; 𝐹𝑇 = 𝐹𝑖 (𝑃𝐺𝑖 )
𝑖=1
and satisfies the power balance constraint
𝑁

𝛷= 𝑃𝐺𝑖 − 𝑃𝐷 = 0
𝑖=1
and the operating limits
𝑃𝐺𝑖,𝑚𝑖𝑛 ≤ 𝑃𝐺𝑖 ≤ 𝑃𝐺𝑖,𝑚𝑎𝑥

The units production cost function is usually approximated by quadratic function

𝐹𝑖 𝑃𝐺𝑖 = 𝑎𝑖 𝑃𝐺𝑖2 + 𝑏𝑖 𝑃𝐺𝑖 + 𝑐𝑖 ; 𝑖 = 1,2, … . 𝑁

Where 𝑎𝑖 , 𝑏𝑖 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑖 are constants.

ALGORITHM:

Step 1: Assign initial trial value of λ.

Step 2: Compute PGi using,
𝜆 − 𝑏𝑖
𝑃𝐺𝑖 = , 𝑖 = 1,2, … … . 𝑁
2𝑎𝑖
Step 3: If the computed PGi satisfy the operating limits,
𝑃𝐺𝑖,𝑚𝑖𝑛 ≤ 𝑃𝐺𝑖 ≤ 𝑃𝐺𝑖,𝑚𝑎𝑥 , 𝑖 = 1,2 … . , 𝑁
Then the optimum solution is obtained, otherwise go to the next step.

JJCET/EEE-Power System Simulation 39

Step 4: If PGi violates the operating limits, then fix the generation at the respective limit.
𝑃𝐺𝑖 < 𝑃𝐺𝑖,𝑚𝑖𝑛 , fix 𝑃𝐺𝑖 = 𝑃𝐺𝑖,𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑃𝐺𝑖 > 𝑃𝐺𝑖,𝑚𝑎𝑥 , fix 𝑃𝐺𝑖 = 𝑃𝐺𝑖,𝑚𝑎𝑥
Step 5: Calculate the change in power,

𝛥𝑃 = 𝑃𝐺𝑖 − 𝑃𝐷

Step 6: If 𝛥𝑃 < 0.0001, then stop. Otherwise go to next step.

Step 7: Calculate the change in lambda.
𝛥𝑃
𝛥𝜆 =
𝑁 1
𝑖=1 2𝑎
𝑖

Step 8: If 𝑃𝐺𝑖 < 𝑃𝐷, 𝜆𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 𝜆 + 𝛥𝜆

If 𝑃𝐺𝑖 > 𝑃𝐷, 𝜆𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 𝜆 − 𝛥𝜆
Step 9: Redistribute the remaining system load PD.
𝑃𝐷 𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 𝑃𝐷 𝑜𝑙𝑑 − 𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠.
Compute the remaining generation using,
𝜆𝑛𝑒𝑤 − 𝑏𝑖
𝑃𝐺𝑖 =
2𝑎𝑖
If the condition is satisfied, then stop.
Step 10: Calculate the total fuel cost of the power system by using,
𝐹𝑖 𝑃𝐺𝑖 = 𝑎𝑖 𝑃𝐺𝑖2 + 𝑏𝑖 𝑃𝐺𝑖 + 𝑐𝑖 ; 𝑖 = 1,2, … . 𝑁
PROBLEM:

The fuel cost functions of three thermal units in Rs/hr are given by,

C1=500+5.3P1+0.004P12

C2=400+5.5P2+0.006P22

C3=200+5.8P3+0.009P32

Where, P1, P2, P3 are in MW. The generator limits are

200 ≤ P1 ≤ 450

150 ≤ P2≤ 350

100 ≤ P3 ≤ 225

The power demand is 975 MW. Find the optimal dispatch and the total fuel cost of the power system.

JJCET/EEE-Power System Simulation 40

PROGRAM:
%economic scheduling of generation neglecting transmission loss
clear pgg
cost = [0.004 5.3 500
0.006 5.5 400
0.009 5.8 200];
mwlimits = [200 450
150 350
100 225];
Pd=975;
ng=length(cost(:,1));
a=cost(:,1);
b=cost(:,2);
c=cost(:,3);
Pmin=mwlimits(:,1);
Pmax=mwlimits(:,2);
iter=0; %Iteration counter
DelP=10; %Error in DelP is set to a high value
lamnr=b./(2*a);
lamdr=1./(2*a);
lamda=(Pd+sum(lamnr))/sum(lamdr);
while abs(DelP)>=0.0001
iter=iter+1;
P=(lamda-b)./(2*a);
for k=1:ng
if P(k)>Pmax(k);
P(k)=Pmax(k);
elseif P(k)<Pmin(k)
P(k)=Pmin(k);
else, end
end
DelP=Pd-sum(P);
Dellamda=DelP/sum(lamdr);
lamda=lamda+Dellamda;
end
fprintf('\nIncremental cost of received power (system lamda)=%10.2f $/Mwh \n', lamda)
disp('Optimal Dispatch of Generation in MW')
disp(P)
Pmt=[P.^2 P ones(1,ng)']';
for i=1:ng
costv(i)=cost(i,:)*Pmt(:,i);
end
totalcost=sum(costv);
fprintf('\nTotal generation cost=%10.2f $/h \n', totalcost)

JJCET/EEE-Power System Simulation 41

OUTPUT:

Incremental cost of received power = 9.40 Rs/Mwh

Optimal Dispatch of Generation in MW

450.0000
325.0000
200.0000

Total generation cost= 8236.25 Rs/h

RESULT:
The economic dispatch problem without transmission line losses and with generator limits for a
given load condition using Lambda-iteration method was studied by developing a MATLAB program
and verified by using manual calculation.

JJCET/EEE-Power System Simulation 42