Fast economic power dispatch method for power system planning studies

This study describes a method for solving the optimal economic power dispatch problem. The method proposed here uses linear programming, because linear programming‐based formulations tend to be flexible, reliable and faster than their non‐linear counterparts. The proposed linear programming‐based method is developed based on a linearised network model, in which voltage magnitudes and reactive power flows have both been accounted for, unlike traditional linearised power flow methods. A piecewise linear model is developed to handle the thermal capacities of transmission lines. Piecewise linear models are also developed to deal with the exponential loads, cost functions of generators and total power losses. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated on numerous standard test systems, including the IEEE 300‐bus system. Further, a comparison with some other methods, which are available in the literature, is held to validate the consistency of the proposed method in finding the optimal or near‐optimal global solution. The results show that the proposed method could lead to optimal or near‐optimal global solution, and is appropriate to use for power system planning studies.