Extended Experience with a Short-Term Hydropower Scheduling Model in New England

Kirshen, Paul H.; ,

Extended Experience with a Short-Term Hydropower Scheduling Model in New England

by Paul H. Kirshen,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water Resources Planning and Management: Saving a Threatened Resource?In Search of Solutions

Abstract:

The New England Power Exchange (NEPEX) is responsible for the central dispatch of power throughout New England. To assure the maximum benefits of power pooling, the electric facilities of all member companies are operated as though they comprised a single electric system. Using state-of-the-art computer facilities, system operators monitor and direct operations of all major generators and transmission lines everyday, 24 hours a day. NEPEX personnel make minute-by-minute decision which are essential to meeting prescribed reliability standards and providing electricity to customers at the lowest possible cost. Hydroelectric power supplies approximately 10% of the electricity in New England. The major source of hydropower is the 11,250 square mile Connecticut River Basin with 16 stations and approximately 600 MW of capacity on the Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers. In fall 1985, the manual methods of hourly hydro scheduling, and the storage of engineering, operating, and hydrologic data were complemented by a user-friendly computer system, HydroMAX (the System).

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