Power System Operator Certification

Abstract

The unbundling of the electricity industry has changed the way the energy supply business is handled from a mainly technical to a more commercially dominated one. This new paradigm shift has facilitated creation of new system and/or market operation entities in electrical utilities throughout the world. The increasing number of different companies with diverse interest participating in the electricity supply business leads to a shift from traditional tasks of power system operation among these companies to new additional job duties or even a complete new job as system or market operator. This case study examines the critical change that have taken place in the commercial environment in which power system operators now work both at the system operation level as well as in the generation operation and how that affects their day-to-day operations. This case study analyses the international scenario along with their performance targets that have already been implemented worldwide and would describe their impacts on the job to be performed by the system operator in India. Finally the training needs of system and market operators’ personnel both at the system operation and generation operation where these entities are separated are pointed out, focusing on the new points that have arisen because of the new commercial environment.