Analysis of economic criteria in the creation of realistic synthetic power systems

In creating entirely fictitious electric grids, there need to be metrics associated with their design that qualify their use in power systems research. In specifying these measures, the questions “What metrics matter for a given study and why?” should be answered. This paper extends the previously developed synthetic network base models for energy economic studies and aims to outline which economic parameters should be prioritized. Using a synthetic, 200-substation representation of Illinois, the optimal power flow (OPF) is analyzed in two stages to suggest what specifications need to be met to validate the model.