Optimal operation of thermal unit in smart grid considering transmission constraint

Recently, the deregulation and liberalization in power market increase the competition in retail and power sector. Therefore, power company needs to reduce operational cost and maximizes the profit by operating generator with higher efficiency. On the other hand, energy consumption is increasing rapidly due to the proliferation of all-electric houses. So the controllable load such as electric water heater, heat pump and electric vehicles are introduced to the power system. However conventional system does not operate the thermal unit and controllable load in a coordinated manner. This paper focuses on operating the controllable load, battery and thermal units in a coordinated manner. Furthermore, this paper considers the transmission constraints. The proposed method uses a tabu search for optimization method. Optimizing procedure is divided into two parts. Firstly, actual load is controlled by controllable load and battery. Finally, the schedule of thermal unit commitment problem is decided in the revised load. Simulation results show the validation of proposed method and validate the performance and effectiveness of the algorithm for controllable load and battery.

► The controllable load is employed to adjust load pattern in smart grid system.
► The controllable loads in smart grid is incorporated to unit commitment program.
► To supply stable and reliable electricity, the transmission constraints are considered.
► The operation of thermal unit and controllable loads are optimized using tabu search.
► The cost reduction of thermal units and the load leveling are achieved in this paper.