Estimation of Power-Pooling Benefits from Production Simulations

This paper presents a procedure for using a number of production simulations to estimate power-pooling benefits. The method can be applied to a power system including any number of interconnected areas. By analyzing the production simulations for the individual areas operated first in isolation and then in a pool dispatch, estimates of economy interchange and operating benefits versus, tie-line capacities can be obtained. Furthermore, one can also estimate the economy interchange versus the difference between an area's incremental cost and the pool's incremental cost. This information is useful to discount the operating benefits due to transmission losses. The method has been implemented in a computer program called POLCA and its application to a realistic sample system is described in the paper.