Iterative approach to generator maintenance schedule considering unexpected unit failures in restructured power systems

This paper proposes an iterative generator maintenance scheduling (GMS) scheme in power markets, considering the influence of unexpected unit failures. It is built on the different objectives of power producers and the independent system operator (ISO) as well as the variable availability of generating units. Individual producers solve the GMS problems by optimizing their payoffs within the entire scheduling horizon, whilst the ISO determines the outage periods as the coordinated benchmark by minimizing the system operating costs. Based on the difference of the system costs between the producers' schedules and the benchmark, the ISO synthesizes the corrective signals of generating units, which direct producers to reschedule their outage planning and resubmit them to the ISO. Through iterations among power producers and the ISO, an appropriate schedule can be obtained to balance the producers' benefits and the system operating costs. Note that the system operating costs consist of three terms of the reliability cost, the production cost, and the maintenance cost. The former two are analyzed by the system probabilistic production simulation with the equivalent energy function (EEF) method. Finally, a 21-unit system is utilized to demonstrate the proposed GMS issue. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.