Simulation of flow based optimal activation of reserves in regional balancing markets

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to introduce an approach for enabling optimal activation of balancing energy resources within a regional balancing market. In order to take into account the constraints from the transmission network, the paper proposes a modified technique for optimal power flow calculation. This novel approach results in a more effective usage of transmission network capacities during reserve activation on a regional level compared to the conventional Common Merit Order List (CMOL) approach, which only considers the available cross-zonal transmission capacity (CZC) and disregards the physical power flows. The paper provides details on a procedure that includes simulation of electricity markets, as well as simulation on imbalances in the system. The methodology is used for evaluating the proposed approach on an IEEE test system comprising of three zones. The paper shows a significant reduction of balancing costs by implementation of regional balancing market it also investigates and shows the impact of the increased RES penetration to the amount of needed balancing energy in the system.