EE486

Power System Operation and

control
Lecture 9: Unit commitment problem
– constraints and solution methods

Dr. Ammar Arshad

Assistant Professor
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and
Technology
[Link]@[Link]
Economic Load Dispatch-Summary
• Economic dispatch determines the best way to minimize
the generator operating costs
• Economic dispatch is not concerned with determining
which units to turn on/off (this is the unit commitment
problem)
• The economic dispatch problem assumes that there are
𝑵𝒈𝒆𝒏 units already connected to the system. The purpose
of the economic dispatch problem is to find the optimum
operating policy for these 𝑁𝑔𝑒𝑛 units
• The solution of ELD problem is for the current state of
the network and does not typically consider future time
periods or load forecast.
• Economic dispatch ignores the transmission system
limitations 1
Unit Commitment

To “commit” a generating unit is to “turn it on,” that is, to

bring the unit up to speed, synchronize it to the system,
and connect it so it can deliver power to the network.

Load forecast - In electric power system, the total load on

the system will generally be higher during the daytime
and early evening when industrial loads are high, lights are
on, and so forth and lower during the late evening and
early morning when most of the population is asleep. In
addition, the use of electric power has a weekly cycle, the
load being lower over weekend days than weekdays.
Unit Commitment
cont..

Central question - Why not just simply commit

enough units to cover the maximum system load
and leave them running?
L o a d P [M W ]

1 .5
1 .0
0 .5
0 .0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
T im e o f D a y [h o u r ]
Economic Dispatch versus Unit
Commitment cont..
• The unit commitment problem is more complex than
ELD. We may assume that we have 𝑁𝑔𝑒𝑛 units
available to us and that we have a forecast of the
demand to be served.
• This unit commitment problem may be extended
over some period of time, such as the 24 h of a day
or the 168 h of a week.
• The solution procedures of unit commitment involve
the economic dispatch problem as a subproblem.
• Unit commitment is a complex problem to solve
– Integer variables are involved
Unit Commitment Problem

Question - Given that there are a number of subsets of

the complete set of 𝑁𝑔𝑒𝑛 generating units that would
satisfy the expected demand, which of these subsets
should be used in order to provide the minimum
operating cost?
 Example – Complete Enumeration
Method
Consider a three generator system with
2
𝐶1 𝑃𝐺1 = 561 + 7.92𝑃𝐺1 + 0.001562𝑃𝐺1
2
𝐶2 𝑃𝐺2 = 310 + 7.85𝑃𝐺2 + 0.001940𝑃𝐺2
2
𝐶3 𝑃𝐺3 = 93.6 + 9.564𝑃𝐺3 + 0.005784𝑃𝐺3
and 𝑃𝐷 = 550 𝑀𝑊.
The generator limits are
150 ≤ P𝐺1 ≤ 600 MW
100 ≤ P𝐺2 ≤ 400 MW
50 ≤ P𝐺3 ≤ 200 MW
If I am to supply a load of 550 MW, what unit or
combination of units should be used to supply this load
most economically?
Example – Complete Enumeration Method
cont..

To solve this problem, simply try all combinations of the three units.

Some combinations will be infeasible:

• sum of all maximum MW for the units committed is less than the load

• sum of all minimum MW for the units committed is greater than the load

For each feasible combination, the units will be dispatched using the ELD
solution techniques from previous lectures.
UC – Constraints and Additional Costs
Besides the cost of running the units, we have additional
costs and constraints:
• spinning reserve
• start-up cost
• shut-down cost
• minimum up and down time
• ramp-up limits
It turns out that we cannot just flip the switch of certain
units on and use them!
• We need to think ahead, and based on the forecasted load and
unit constraints, determine which units to turn on (commit)
and which ones to keep down
• Minimize cost, cheap units play first
• Expensive ones run only when demand is high
Spinning Reserve
• Spinning reserve is the total amount of generation
available from all units synchronized (i.e.,
spinning) on the system, minus the present load
and losses being supplied
• Spinning reserve must be carried so that the loss of
one or more units does not cause too far a drop in
system frequency
• Typical rules specify that reserve must be a given
percentage of forecasted peak demand or that
reserve must be capable of making up the loss of
the most heavily loaded unit in a given period of
time
Spinning Reserve Example

Suppose a power system consists of two isolated regions:

a western region and an eastern region. Five units have
been committed to supply 3090 MW. What can we say
about the allocation of spinning reserve in this system?
Spinning Reserve Example
cont..

Unit Unit Regional Regional

Capacity Output Generation Spinning Load Interchange
Region Unit (MW) (MW) (MW) Reserve (MW) (MW)
1 1000 900
Western 2 800 420 1900
3 800 420
4 1200 1040
Eastern 1190
5 600 310
Total 1-5 4400 3090 3090
 Spinning Reserve Example
cont..

Unit Unit Regional Regional

Capacity Output Generation Spinning Load Interchange
Region Unit (MW) (MW) (MW) Reserve (MW) (MW)
1 1000 900 100
Western 2 800 420 1740 380 1900 160 in
3 800 420 380
4 1200 1040 160
Eastern 1350 1190 160 out
5 600 310 290
Total 1-5 4400 3090 3090 1310 3090

• Reserves must be spread around the power system to avoid transmission system
limitations
• Except for unit 4, the loss of any unit on this system can be covered by the spinning
reserve on the remaining units
• The tie capacity of only 550 MW limits the transfer
• The loss of unit 4 cannot be covered even though the entire system has ample reserves
• The only solution to this problem is to commit more units to operate in the eastern
region
Unit Commitment Solution Methods
Complete Enumeration
• Returns optimal solution but extremely cumbersome to handle
• Number of enumerations when 𝑁𝑔𝑒𝑛 units to commit for 𝑀
periods is (2𝑁𝑔𝑒𝑛 − 1)𝑀 . For 10-unit system, 24 hours, this
value is 1.73 × 1072 .
Priority-List Method
• Simplest unit commitment solution method but may not return
optimal solution
Dynamic Programming (DP)
• DP search technique usually creates the priority list same as the
Priority-List method
• Reduction in the dimensionality of the problem in
comparison with the enumeration problem.
Priority-List Method - Example
Consider a three-generator system with
𝑪𝟏 𝑷𝑮𝟏 = 𝟓𝟔𝟏 + 𝟕. 𝟗𝟐𝑷𝑮𝟏 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟏𝟓𝟔𝟐𝑷𝟐𝑮𝟏
𝑪𝟐 𝑷𝑮𝟐 = 𝟑𝟏𝟎 + 𝟕. 𝟖𝟓𝑷𝑮𝟐 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟏𝟗𝟒𝟎𝑷𝟐𝑮𝟐
𝑪𝟑 𝑷𝑮𝟑 = 𝟗𝟑. 𝟔 + 𝟗. 𝟓𝟔𝟒𝑷𝑮𝟑 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟓𝟕𝟖𝟒𝑷𝟐𝑮𝟑
The generator limits are
𝟏𝟓𝟎 ≤ 𝐏𝑮𝟏 ≤ 𝟔𝟎𝟎 MW
100 ≤ 𝐏𝑮𝟐 ≤ 𝟒𝟎𝟎 MW
𝟓𝟎 ≤ 𝐏𝑮𝟑 ≤ 𝟐𝟎𝟎 MW
Calculate the full load production cost
2
561 + 7.92𝑃𝐺1 + 0.001562𝑃𝐺1 ቚ = $5875.32
𝑃𝐺1 =600
2
310 + 7.85𝑃𝐺2 + 0.001940𝑃𝐺2 ቚ = $3760.40
𝑃𝐺2 =400
2
93.6 + 9.564𝑃𝐺3 + 0.005784𝑃𝐺3 ቚ = $2237.76
𝑃𝐺3 =200
Calculate the full load average production cost
G1: 9.7922 $/MWh, G2: 9.401 $/MWh, G3: 11.1888 $/MWh
Priority-List Method – Example
cont..

The generator limits are

150 ≤ 𝑷𝑮𝟏 ≤ 600 MW 100 ≤ 𝑷𝑮𝟐 ≤ 400 MW 50 ≤ 𝑷𝑮𝟑 ≤ 200 MW
The full load average production cost
G1: 9.7922 $/MWh, G2: 9.401 $/MWh, G3: 11.1888 $/MWh

The commitment scheme would simply use the

following combinations:
Combination Load Range (MW)
G2 100 400
G2 + G1 400 1000
G2 + G1 + G3 1000 1200
 Priority-List Method – Example cont..

• Suppose 𝑃𝐷 = 550 𝑀𝑊
• Total cost = $5544.55
(total cost was $5389
using Complete
Enumeration method)
• Priority order is simple
but may be expensive

To calculate the total cost put the respective generation values in the cost
function of the respective generators.
Thermal Unit Constraints
Thermal units usually require a crew to operate them,
especially when turned on and turned off. A thermal unit
can undergo only gradual temperature changes, and this
translates into a time period of some hours required to
bring the unit on-line. Due to such restrictions in the
operation of a thermal plant, various constraints arise.
Minimum uptime – once the unit is running, it should not
be turned off immediately.
Minimum downtime – once the unit is decommitted,
there is a minimum time before it can be recommitted.
Thermal Unit Constraints cont..

Crew constraints – if a plant consists of two or more

units, they cannot both be turned on at the same time
since there are not enough crew members to attend
both units while starting up.
Start-up cost – as the temperature and pressure of the
thermal unit move slowly, a certain amount of energy
must be expended to bring the unit on-line. This
energy does not result in any MW generation from the
unit and is brought into the unit commitment problem
as a start-up cost. The start-up cost can vary from a
maximum “cold-start” value to a much smaller
value if the unit was only turned off recently and is
still relatively close to the operating temperature.
 Thermal Unit Constraints
cont..
There are two approaches to treating
a thermal unit during its down
period:
• The first (called cooling) allows the unit’s boiler to
cool down and then heat back up to operating
temperature in time for a scheduled turn on
• The second (called banking) requires that
sufficient energy be input to the boiler to just
maintain operating temperature

The costs for the two can be

compared so that, if possible, the
best approach (cooling or banking)
can be chosen.
Priority-List Scheme (built around
shutdown rule)

Step-1 At each hour when load is dropping, determine whether

dropping the next unit on the Priority List will leave sufficient
generation to supply load & spinning reserve?
• No: Continue operating as is
• Yes: Go to Step-2
Step-2 Determine number of hours H before the unit will be
needed again. That is assuming that the load is dropping and
will then go back up some hours later.
• If H < minimum shut down time for the unit, keep UC as it is and go to the last step
• Else, GO TO Step-3
Step-3 Calculate:
• Cost C1 = Sum of the hourly production costs for the next H hours with the unit up
• Cost C2 = The same sum with the unit down and add in the start-up cost
• If C2 is less than C1, shut down this unit (OFF), else keep it ON
Repeat the above steps for the next unit on Priority List, until
no further units could be shut down.
Thank you!