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Unit Commitment

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Unit Commitment

Uploaded by

Skanda .s v
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unit Commitment

Economic dispatch gives the optimum schedule corresponding to one particular load on the system.
The total load in the power system varies throughout the day and reaches different peak value from
one day to another. Different combination of generators, are to be connected in the system to meet
the varying load. When the load increases, the utility has to decide in advance the sequence in which
the generator units are to be brought in. Similarly, when the load in which the generator units are to
be brought in. Similarly, when the load decreases, the operating engineer need to know in advance
the sequence in which the generating units are to be shut down. The problem of finding the order in
which the units are to be brought in and the order in which the units are to be shut down over a period
of time, say one day, so the total operating cost involved on that day is minimum. This is known as
Unit Commitment (UC) problem.
Constraints in unit commitment problem: - Constraints in unit commitment problem are:
1. Spinning reserve: - In any power system, some amount of active power generation capacity
has to be kept in reserve to re-establish the balance between load and generation at all times,
even under the eventuality of a unit failing.
Spinning reserve = (sum of the capacities of all units synchronized at a time) −
(Load + Losses in the system at that time. )
Spinning reserve is necessary so that the lose of a generating unit does not lead to a drop in
system frequency.
2. Thermal unit constraints: - The thermal unit constraints are:
i. Minimum uptime: -This is the minimum time for which a unit once committed should
not be turned off immediately.
ii. Minimum downtime: - A unit which has been shut down cannot be started up before
a minimum time has elapsed.
iii. Start-up cost: - Start-up cost is the cost incurred in starting a thermal unit.
3. Network constraints: - Transmission network may have an effect on the commitment of the
units

Generation of G3 may be more than G1 and G2. The transfer of power from G1 and G2 to load
is limited by the transmission network. Hence G3 even it is more expensive is committed.
4. Emission constraints: - As per the emission norms there is a limit on green house gas
emission. It sets a limit on plant usage.
5. Capacity of generator: - The limits of the generators may vary over the period of the day.
This has to be considered while committing the unit.
6. Fuel constraints: - Some units may have a limit on the fuse consumption.
7. Hydel plant constraints: - Hydel plant do not have operating cost, but we need to maintain
water level in the dams.
Priority List Method: - This is the simplest unit commitment solution method. It consists of creating
a priority list of units. To determine the optimum shutdown rule for a group of generating units, the
units are according to a primary rule. A simple method is to prepare the priority list based on the full
load average production cost of each unit. The total production cost for a period is the hourly
production costs plus the cost shutting down and starting up units during the period. All units will be
started up and shut down in a strict priority order, depending on the load at that hour.

Algorithm of priority list method: - The algorithm is as follows:


1. Determine the hourly load forecast for next 24 hours or any other period.
2. Prioritize the unit based on their production costs and prepare a table based on unit
combination to meet required load.
3. For the first hour, determine the minimum number of units necessary to carry the maximum
predicted load and the spinning reserve.
4. Compare the number of units running in the present hour with the minimum number required
for the next hour.
5. If the number required in the next hour is greater than the number of units in the present hour,
startup the units according to the priority list.
6. If the minimum number of units required in the next hour is lesser than those running in the
present hour, then determine whether dropping the unit with the highest priority number(least
efficient) in the present group will leave sufficient generation to supply the load plus spinning
reserve. If not, do not shut down the unit.
7. Else, determine the number of hours, H before which the unit would be needed again.
8. If number of hours is less than the minimum downtime of the unit, continue with the present
commitment,
9. Else calculate two costs:
 Sum of hourly production costs for next number of hours with unit up.
 Hourly production costs with unit shut down plus the start-up cost of the unit. If there
is significant saving from shutting down the unit, shut it down.
10. Repeat the procedure hour by hour for the next 24h.
Flow chart of priority list method for unit commitment: -

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