Optimisation of real time operation of a multi-reservoir system in an electricity market contest

this paper presents the new tool OASI (Italian acronym for Optimisation of a multi-reservoir system) which is used by ENEL to optimize the real time operation of a multi reservoir system in the context of electricity market. The objective of the optimisation is to minimise the economic penalties which are charged according to the market rules if the power producer is not able to respect the energy plans scheduled by the market for each 15 minutes of the day of delivery. The optimisation is referred to the interconnected hydraulic system and, besides routine activities, is triggered any time there is the need of a new rescheduling of the production of the day, due for instance to external factors such as sudden outage of generators or actual natural flows quite different from the forecasted ones.Examples are provided about the application of the optimisation of a hydraulic system in a typical real time situation.