A heuristic method to reactive power service procurement

This paper proposes a novel heuristic algorithm that helps alleviate the need for integer variables in a reactive power procurement model for an independent system operator in deregulated electricity markets. The heuristic scheme works on a three-step approach involving the calculation of marginal benefits and the maximization of a social welfare function that is dependent on the appropriate Lagrange multipliers pertaining to the generator's capability curve. The proposed scheme reduces the computational burden significantly and makes it easy to implement in real sized power systems. The model is tested on the CIGRE 32-bus system, and detailed simulation results validate the applicability of the proposed model