Mixed integer programming of multi-objective security-constrained hydro/thermal unit commitment

This paper proposes a method for short term security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC) for hydro and thermal generation units. The SCUC problem is modeled as a multi-objective problem to concurrently minimize the ISO's cost as well as minimizing the emissions caused by thermal units. The non-linearity of valve loading effects is linearized in the presented problem. In order to model the SCUC problem more realistically, this paper considers the dynamic ramp rate of thermal units instead of the fixed rate. Moreover, multi-performance curves pertaining to hydro units are developed and the proposed SCUC problem includes the prohibited operating zones (POZs). Besides, the model of SCUC is transformed into mixed integer linear programming (MILP) instead of using mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) which has the capability to be solved efficiently using optimization software even for real size power systems. Pareto optimal solutions are generated by employing lexicographic optimization as well as hybrid augmented-weighted epsilon-constraint technique. Furthermore, a Fuzzy decision maker is utilized in this paper to determine the most preferred solution among Pareto optimal solutions derived through solving the proposed multi-objective SCUC problem. Eventually, the proposed model is implemented on modified IEEE 118-bus system comprising 54 thermal units and 8 hydro units. The simulation results reveal that the solutions obtained from the proposed technique in comparison with other methods established recently are superior in terms of total cost and emission output. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.