A new pricing scheme for a multi-period pool-based electricity auction

A new pricing scheme is proposed for determining the social welfare distribution in a centralized pool-based auction in the context of solving the unit commitment problems under competition. A significant contribution of this paper over previous publications on this subject is the inclusion of the price-responsive demand side for the multi-period auctions with dynamic commitment characteristics. The model allows every thermal unit and every consumer to obtain individual maximum profits, and at the same time it gives the market coordinator an adequate tool for solving the ensuing technologically constrained unit commitment problem with fair market clearing. The pricing model is in the form of a mixed linear programming model that minimizes the sum of the compensation costs. The accompanying case study illustrates the approach proposed. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.