Different Models to Calculate Spinning Reserve between Interconnected Grids: Case Study

To improve stability, resilience, and efficiency of their electrical grids, the gulf cooperation council (GCC) launched an interconnectivity link between its member states. Due to the harsh GCC climate, the link provides several benefits, one of which is lowering the total required spinning reserve (SR) for the combined system and the allocated SR share for each member. This study develops several mathematical models to calculate the SR share and compares them to the current model employed by the interconnectivity authority (GCCIA). The terms used in the current model are largest running unit (LUR), largest generation loss (LGL), and maximum generation (MG). The study examines the merit of using each term and then adds two more terms to promote increasing the use of renewable energy sources (RESs) and lowering the energy consumption per capita (eCPC). A comparison between the developed models shows that inserting the generation loss and the maximum generation needs to be reexamined by GCCIA while the proposed model containing the normalized largest unit running (LURn) yields the most reasonable results.