Determination of AGC capacity requirement and dispatch considering performance penalties

A continuous and near instantaneous balance between generation supply and load demand must be maintained in power system operation. As a kind of regulation reserve, automatic generation control (AGC) is widely employed for maintaining system security and reliability, especially for controlling frequency deviation and supporting commercial transactions. In a competitive electricity market, AGC services are either contracted via negotiations between the market operator and generation companies concerned, or procured via a certain form of auction. A new framework to determine AGC capacity requirement and to deal with regulation dispatch under uncertain demand in a competitive electricity market is presented in this paper. First, the stochastic characteristics of AGC capacity requirement and services are analyzed. A stochastic optimization decisionmaking model for determining optimal AGC capacity requirement is then developed, followed by a pricing analysis which reveals that a trade-off between economic efficiency and system security must be made by the market operator. Finally, an optimal AGC dispatch algorithm is suggested. A numerical study is given to further demonstrate the essential features of the proposed model and method

Automatic Generation Control

Automatic Generation Control(AGC) is a stand-alone subsystem that can be installed on any PRISM SCADA Master. AGC regulates the power output of electric generators within a prescribed area in response to changes in system frequency, tie-line loading, and the relation of these to each other. This maintains the scheduled system frequency and established interchange with other areas within predetermined limits. AGC monitors and controls power generation with these overall objectives:

Minimize area control error Minimize operating costs, in conjunction with economic dispatch calculation software Maintain generation at fixed (baseload) values Ramp generation in a linear fashion, according to a schedule specified by the operator

In normal operation, the AGC subsystem adjusts the power of the generating units automatically. This keeps the area's actual net interchange approximate to the scheduled interchange and the actual frequency near the scheduled frequency. All NERC performance calculations and reports are provided, including alarming and event storage for post analysis. A time error correction mechanism is also included. All tuning parameters are located in the Real-time database and can be adjusted through screen displays without invoking the database editor. For special filtering performance, the Real-time database has a set of linear and non-linear data filtering functions that can be selected and redefined. AGC can communicate with any data source or data link through the Real-time database. It supports primary and secondary data sources for important variables, such as the system frequency, unit generation and tie-line power; and automatically switches the data source if one source fails to provide reliable data.

Source: http://www.acsatlanta.com/pages/ems_agc.html