Strategic Resource Management for Power Grid Operators

The liberalization of electricity markets has led to an increased cost pressure on power grid operators. As they are also responsible for the reliable supply of electricity, power grid operators aim to optimally balance the opposing objectives of cost and quality of supply. One main aspect of the quality of supply is the continuity of supply, i.e., the availability of electricity to consumers. The continuity of supply strongly depends on the restoration time after incidents in the power grid, which is directly influenced by the availability of (human) resources performing the restoration work. Power grid operators thus try to find an organization of resources that guarantees a high quality of supply at minimum cost. This thesis focuses on strategic resource management for the restoration work after incidents in the power grid. Two models are presented for analyzing the effects of a limited availability of resources on the continuity of supply. The restoration times in both models endogenously depend on the resources currently available. The first model is a grid operation model that simulates in detail the resources’ activities for restoration after incidents in all voltage levels. An assignment problem is repeatedly solved to decide which incidents are restored by the resources currently available. Results of the model include estimates of the non-availability of supply, which is an indirect measure of the continuity of supply, and of probability distributions of, e.g., the restoration time of incidents. By evaluating various key performance indicators, different organizations of resources can be analyzed and compared. New key performance indicators based on incidents without interruption of supply are suggested. Due to its applicability to realworld instances, the model provides a useful tool to support strategic decisions of power grid operators concerning resource management. The second model is a component-based model for redundant power grids with exponential failure and repair rates. The repair, however, is only