Decomposition techniques in power system planning: the Benders partitioning method

Abstract

The relevance of decomposition techniques for power system planning is reviewed in this paper. A general framework for the formulation of the generation planning problem is presented which serves to illustrate the underlying structure of the problem. This structure rests on the occurrence of two different types of decisions in generation planning problems in general: decisions relating to investment in additional capacity and decisions relating to the operation of the equipment available to meet the load. It is shown how one particular decomposition technique, the Benders partitioning method, is particularly well suited to take advantage of this structure. The flexibility of the method is illustrated with an example on a thermal system. Results confirm the advantages to be derived from the method, both in terms of memory requirements and solution times.