Expansion Planning of Hydrothermal Power Systems, Optimizing the Multiple Uses of the Water from Hydroelectric Power Plant Reservoirs, via Conversational Multi-Objective Algorithms

Abstract

Often the development of hydroelectricity has an overwhelming role in the utilization planning of regional water resources. For such situation, it is proposed in this paper to approach the power system expansion problem on a two objective basis. The first one is the cost minimization of the power supply, while the second one is the maximization of the overall net benefit accruing from the multi-purpose regional water usage. The nature of the problem is such that conversational multi-objective methods are particularly attractive for its solution. The joint optimization of the two objectives is carried out with the help of two powerfull alternative conversational techniques: the Surrogate Worth Trade-off Method and the Interactive Sequential Goal Programming Method. Applications to the generation system of a Brazilian power supply utility indicate the former method as the best for this class of problems. The expansion plans are provided by a “global” (it performs the expansion and operation steps simultaneously) generation planning model using linear programming.