A cost function for the natural gas transmission industry: further considerations

This article studies the cost function for the natural gas transmission industry. In addition to a tribute to H.B. Chenery, it firstly offers some further comments on a recent contribution (Yépez, 2008): a statistical characterization of long-run scale economies, and a simple reformulation of the long-run problem. An extension is then proposed to analyze how the presence of seasonally-varying flows modifies the optimal design of a transmission infrastructure. Lastly, the case of a firm that anticipates a possible random rise in its future output is also studied to discuss the optimal degree of excess capacity to be built into a new transmission infrastructure

Diverse, remote and innovative - Prospects for a globally unique electricity network and market in Western Australia

WA’s electricity industry supply infrastructure comprises the South West Inter-connected System (SWIS), the North West Interconnected System (NWIS) and 29 regional non-interconnected power systems 1. WA exhibits a diversity of generation systems located in some of the most isolated regions of Australia, supplying a wide range of energy demand profiles. These characteristics and the unique networks that comprises WA’s electricity infrastructure makes WA a unique place to research, develop and integrate new technical options within a world-class industrialised electricity system

Market-based valuation of transmission network expansion. A heuristic application in GB

Transmission investments are currently needed to meet an increasing electricity demand, to address security of supply concerns, and to reach carbon emissions targets. A key issue when assessing the benefits from an expanded grid concerns the valuation of the uncertain cash flows that result from the expansion. We develop a valuation model which combines optimization techniques, Monte Carlo simulation over the expansion project lifetime, and market data from futures contracts on commodities. The model allows for random failures in generation and transmission infrastructure. Uncertainty stems also from nodal loads, fuel prices, allowance prices, wind generation, and hydro generation. Thus the model accounts for the stochastic dynamics on both the demand side and the supply side. To demonstrate the model by example, we consider a simplified network with two nodes. It is intended to broadly resemble the power generation sectors in England/Wales and Scotland. We then focus on the proposed Western HVDC subsea link. We simulate the whole distribution of effects on system costs, carbon emissions, and unserved load

Multiyear transmission expansion planning using ordinal optimization

The increasing complexity of the transmission expansion planning problem in the restructured industry makes simulation the only viable means to evaluate and compare the performances of different plans. Ordinal optimization is an approach suitable for solving the simulation-based multiyear transmission expansion planning problem. It uses crude models and rough estimates to derive a small set of plans for which simulations are necessary and worthwhile to find good enough solutions. In the end, reasonable solutions are obtained with drastically reduced computational burden. © 2007 IEEE.published_or_final_versio