CLASSIC ECONOMIC DISPATCH This chapter first introduces the input-output characteristic of a power- generating unit as well as the corresponding practical calculation method, and then presents several well-known optimization methods to solve the classic economic dispatch problem. Finally, the applications of the latest methods such as neural network and genetic algorithms to classic economic dispatch (ED) are analyzed in the chapter. 4.1 INTRODUCTION ‘The aim of real power economic dispatch (ED) is to make the generator’s fuel consumption or the operating cost of the whole system minimal by determin- ing the power output of each generating unit under the constraint condition of the system load demands. This is also called the classic economic dispatch, in which the line security constraints are neglected [1]. The fundamental of the economic dispatch problem is the set of input-output characteristic of a power- generating unit. 4.2. INPUT-OUTPUT CHARACTERISTIC OF GENERATOR UNITS 4.2.1 Input-Output Characteristic of Thermal Units For thermal units, we call the input-output characteristic the generating unit fuel consumption function, or operating cost function, The unit of the Optimization of Power System Operation, by Tizhong Zu, Ph.D Copyright © 2009 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 8586 CLASSIC ECONOMIC DISPATCH generator fuel consumption function is Btu per hour heat input to the unit (or MBtu/h). The fuel cost rate times Btu/h is the $ per hour ($/h) input to the unit for fuel. The output of the generating unit will be designed by Po, the megawatt net power output of the unit. In addition to the fuel consumption cost, the operating cost of a unit includes labor cost, maintenance cost, and fuel transportation cost. It is difficult to express these costs directly as a function of the output of the unit, so these costs are included as a fixed portion of the operating cost. The thermal unit system generally consists of the boiler, the steam turbine, and the generator. The input of the boiler is fuel, and the output is the volume of steam. The relationship of the input and output can be expressed as a convex curve. The input of the turbine-generator unit is the volume of steam, and the output is the electrical power. A typical boiler-turbine-generator unit consists of a single boiler that generates steam to drive a single turbine-generator set. ‘The input-output characteristic of the whole generating unit system can be obtained by combining directly the input-output characteristic of the boiler and the input-output characteristic of the turbine-generator unit. It is a convex curve, which is shown in Figure 4.1. It can be observed from the input-output characteristic of the generating unit that the power output is limited by the minimal and maximal capacity of the generating unit, that is, Pomin S Fo S Poms (41) The minimal power output is determined by technical conditions or other factors of the boiler or turbine. Generally, the minimum load at which a unit can operate is influenced more by the steam generator and the regenerative cycle than by the turbine. The only critical parameters for the turbine are shell and rotor metal differential temperatures, exhaust hood temperature, and Input (MBtwh or $/h) Ponsin Poms Po, Output (MW) FIGURE 4.1 Input-output characteristic of the generating unitINPUT-OUTPUT CHARACTERISTIC OF GENERATOR UNITS 87 rotor and shell expansion. Minimum load limitations of the boiler are gener- ally caused by fuel combustion stability, and the values, which will differ with different types of boiler and fuel, are about 25-70% of design capacity. Minimum load limitations of the turbine-generator unit are caused by inherent steam generator design constraints, which are generally about 10-15%. The maximal power output of the generating unit is determined by the design capacity or rate capacity of the boiler, turbine, or generator. Generally, the input-output characteristic of the generating unit is non- linear. The widely used input-output characteristic of the generating unit is a quadratic function, i.c., F=aP3+bPs+e (42) where a, b, and ¢ are the coefficients of the input-output characteristic. The constant c is equivalent to the fuel consumption of the generating unit opera- tion without power output, which is shown in Figure 4.1 4.2.2 Calculation of Input-Output Characteristic Parameters ‘The parameters of the input-output characteristic of the generating unit may be determined by the following approaches [2] (1) Based on the experiments of the generating unit efficiency (2) Based on the historic records of the generating unit operation (3) Based on the design data of the generating unit provided by manufacturer In the practical power systems, we can easily obtain the fuel statistic data and power output statistic data. Through analyzing and computing a data set (Fy, P,), we can determine the shape of the input-output characteristic and the corresponding parameters. For example, if the quadratic curve is the best match according to the statistical data, we can use the least squares method to compute the parameters. The calculation procedures are below. Let (Fj, P,) be obtained from the statistical data, where k = 1,2,... n, and the fuel curve will be a quadratic function. To determine the coefficients a, b, and c, compute the following error for each data pair (Fy, P,): AK, = (aF? +b, +0)—F; (43) According to the principle of least squares, we form the following objective function and make it minimal, ic., J=(AF,) = 3, (aP? + bP, +0-F,) (44) f88 CLASSIC ECONOMIC DISPATCH We will get the necessary conditions for an extreme value of the objective function when we take the first derivative of the above function J with respect to each of the independent variables a, b, and c and set the derivatives equal to Zero: = ¥2Ff (aP} +P, +e-F,)=0 (45) ¥ -y P, (AP? + bP, +e-F)= 0 (46) LS (ar bP +e-F)=0 47) a From equations (4.5)-(4.7), we get (Err ora Jone Sea (48) (Ee joe) (En Je =yan (4.9) (St Jo(See Jor (Ser Je- Sine) 4.10) Coefficients a, b, and c can be obtained by solving equations (4.8)-(4.10). Example 4.1 We collected some statistical data for a generating unit in one power plant. The capacity limits of the generator are 150 < Pg < 200 Four data samples of unit fuel consumption are selected, ie., 0.405, 0.379, 0,368, and 0.399 (Btu/MW-h), which correspond to power output of 150, 170, 185, and 200 (MW), respectively. The corresponding fuel consumption are computed and listed in Table 4.1. From Table 4.1, we get: YF = 15041704 185+ 200 = 705 a M: P2 = 150? +170? + 185° +200" = 1.256 x 10° at P= 150* + 170° + 185? + 200° = 2.2619 x 10" iyINPUT-OUTPUT CHARACTERISTIC OF GENERATOR UNITS 89 100 95 90 85 80 . 75 Fuel 100 150 200 250 Power FIGURE 4.2 Four statistic data points Table 4.1. Four data samples for a generating unit Sample Data K=1 K=2 K=3 K=4 Unit consume fuel (Btu/MW.h) 0.405 0.379 0.368 0.399 Power output (MW) 150.0 170.0 185.0 200.0 Consume fuel (Btu/h) 60.75 64.43 68.08 79.80 Y Pi = 150° +170! + 185% + 200% = 4.112 10° a vA = 60.75 + 64.43 + 68.08 + 79.80 = 273.06 YFP, = 60.75% 150+ 64,43 170-+ 68.08 x 185 +79.80%200 = 4.86 x 104 mt YAP? = 60.75 x 150? + 64.43 x 170? + 68.08 185" +79.80 200° Hi =8.75x10° From equations (4.8)-(4.10), we get 1.256 x 10°a+ 705b + 4c = 273.06 2.2619 x 10a +1.26 x 105 + 705c = 4.86 x 10" 4.112 10a + 2.26 107b + 1.26 x 10%¢ = 8,75 x 10° Solving these equations, we get the coefficients of the fuel consumption function of the generating unit:90 CLASSIC ECONOMIC DISPATCH @=0.0009, b= 0.0457, 1.9 The obtained quadratic fuel consumption function is as below: F =0.0009P§ + 0.0457 Py +31.9 ‘The simulated input-output curve is shown in Figure 4.3. It is noted that the accuracy of calculation will be increased if more data samples are used. 4.2.3. Input-Output Characteristic of Hydroelectric Units ‘The input-output characteristic of the hydroelectric unit is similar to that of the thermal unit, but the input is different, which is expressed in terms of volume of water per unit time. The unit of water volume is m'/h. The output is the same, ie., electric power. Figure 4.4 shows a typical input-output curve of a hydroelectric unit where the net hydraulic head is constant. This charac- teristic shows an almost linear curve of input water volume requirements per 100 95 90 85 80 75 _— Fuel 70 65 60 55 50 100 150 200 250 FIGURE 4.3 Simulated input-output curve w Input (cubic M/h) ‘Output (MW) Po FIGURE 4.4 Hydroelectric unit input-output curve