Evaluation of transmission expansion benefits in competitive power market

The transmission expansion investment is substantial, especially in the developing countries like China. In the competitive power market, there is a need to develop a new method for evaluating the transmission expansion projects. This paper studies the economic impact of the transmission expansion on the power generators, consumers, the transmission company and the society, develops the benefits calculation models and analyzes the benefits and its impact factors applying the proposed method. Using a 30-node prototype system, this paper displays how to calculate the benefits of transmission expansion and analyses the impact of long-term bilateral contracts and generators' game behavior on the benefits of the transmission expansion. The proposed method can aid the decision making on transmission expansion investment.