Evaluation of benefit of inter-area energy exchange of the Indian power system based on multi-area unit commitment approach

This paper deals with quantification of the benefit of interconnection between two large areas having different Load-Generation characteristics. A multi-area unit commitement model based on Capacity Utilization Factor(CUF) and sequential techniques including dc(direct current) power flow module is developed to estimate the constrained(both system and transmission) inter-area energy exchange and its associated production cost. The model is applied to a vast and complex Indian Power System with two different areas having different operating characteristics.The validity of the model is tested by comparing the solutions with those obtained by a multi-area combined Truncated Dynamic Programming (DP-TC) based method. The results indicate that inter-area energy exchange leads to a better optimal power system operation and substantial cost savings may be achieved by utilizing the low cost energy resources and reserved energy in one area to another area which has higher cost of energy production.