Load Curve: Graph between load consumption Vs time - time may be

in day, week, month or year

Load Factor = Average Load / Peak Load

 May be defined as daily, weekly, monthly or yearly

load factor

 Practically always less than unity

Capacity Factor (Plant use factor, plant factor)

= average output of the plant / Plant capacity

 Varies 0.25 – 0.75

= Load factor, if plant capacity = Peak load

Utilization factor = Quantity of water actually utilized for power production

/ water available for power generation in the river

= 0.40 – 0.90

 If head is constant, UF is equal to power utilized to

that available
 If load factor is high and there is full pondage available at the plant,
the utilization factor may go as high as 1.0, whereas the capacity
factor would go only up to value of 0.75.

A low wheel capacity, provides a high capacity factor

Diversity Factor

= Sum of individual max. Demands / Simultaneous max. Demands

>1

 Higher diversity factor improves the overall load factor.

Effect of load factor on utilization and capacity factors

Load factor is directly proportional to the utilization and capacity factors.

1.0

UF CF

UF & CF

0 1.0
Load factor
Effect of Plant capacity on utilization and capacity factors

Large wheel capacity tends toward a higher utilisation factor but a lower capacity
factor.

Effect of Partial Storage Regulation on utilization and capacity factors

• With storage both UF and CF will improve

• With storage for same occurrence of time the plant capacity would decrease

Plant capacity without storage

Plant capacity with storage

Q with storage
without storage

%age of time
However, at low load factor utilization factor for partial storage would be less
than the utilizations factor of without storage. Thus the desirability of high load
factor to utilize best the results of partial storage is obvious.

Effect of Pondage on Power Output

Pondage will not increase the power output but enable a larger load to be
carried in day hour.

Effect of Pondage on Utilization and Capacity Factors

Full pondage does not alter the utilization factor but increase the capacity
factor.
 PREDICTION OF LOAD (Demand Forcast)

Type of Prediction Design period purpose

Short - term 5 yrs For areas of deficit or surplus power

Medium - term 5 – 10 For the expansion programme of power
generation and transmission of power
Long - term 20 For perspective plan for the power
generation capacity of the country

Demand Growth Rate

High 10-12% growth per year

Medium 6 – 8 % growth per year
Low 2 –4 % growth per year
The load prediction is related with

(a) rise in general standard of living

(b) Increase in literacy
(c) Irrigation requirement
(d) Mechanised agriculture
(e) Pace of industrialisation
(f) Population growth rate
(g) Electrification of village and railway
(h) Role of growth of mational economy
(i) weather

Methods
1. Past rate of consumption
2. Correlation between power development and national economy
3. Empirical formulae
Scheer Formula
Log10 G = c– 0.15 log10U

G=10C/U0.15

U = At present per capita generation (kWh/year)

c = Constant
= 0.02 x population growth rate + 1.33
G = Annual growth in generation (%)

Belgium Formula

E = KM0.6(2)0.4561

E = electricity consumption
M = Index of manufacture of production
t = Time for which consumption is to be projected
K = adjustment factor
STORAGE AND PONDAGE Reservoir Capacity

RIPPL MASS CURVE

S2
Cumulative inflow

S1

Min. storage = Max. (S1, S2)

Time
STORAGE AND PONDAGE Pondage Capacity

Balancing reservoir to cater for short-term fluctuations in load or inflow.

Fluctuations may be due to

• sudden increase or decrease in load on the turbine

• load is constant but inflow is not constant
• both load and inflow vary with time

Pondage Factor (Concentration factor)

= Total inflow hours / Running period of power plants

Pondage Capacity

Work on same line to the storage calculation for varying inflow. Calculate
pondage for load fluctuation.

Total Pondage = Sum of independent requirements

STORAGE AND PONDAGE Pondage Capacity

Barrows recommended the following values of pondage in absence of

exact load curve:

Load Factor %ge pondage of average

24 hrs inflow

1.0 0.00
0.8 0.07
0.6 0.13
0.5 0.20
0.4 0.25
0.3 0.33
STORAGE AND PONDAGE

Pondage to Equalize Flow

Day Q(m3/s) Balance (m3/s)

SUN 1510 -810

MON 1780 -540
TUE 2650 +330
WED 2580 +260
THU 2650 +330
FRI 2870 +550
SAT 2200 -120
1470 -1470

Average Q = 2320 m3/s

Pondage = 1470 × 24 × 3600 m3

STORAGE AND PONDAGE
Pondage to meet Irregular Load Demand

P =Peak load for (24-2x) hrs

L = Load factor

2(12-x)P=LP*24 P

x = 12(1-L) LP
x x
PF=24/(24-2x)
0 24
Pondage required = 2x*LP/24
=(1-L)LP
L 2x PF Pondage in terms of average Load

1.0 0.0 1.0 0.0

0.8 4.8 1.25 0.2
0.6 9.6 1.67 0.4
0.5 12 2.0 0.5
0.4 14.4 2.5 0.6
0.3 16.8 3.33 0.7
PENSTOCKS