Decision guidance approach to power network analysis: Developing an optimization technology solution to support management and operations of electric power components

This paper focuses on developing an approach and technology for actionable recommendations on the operation of components of an electric power network. The overall direction of this research is to model the major components of a Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES), including power generation, transmission/distribution, power storage, energy markets, and end customer demand (residential and commercial). First, we propose a conceptual diagram notation for power network topology, to allow the representation of an arbitrary complex power system. Second, we develop a formal mathematical model that describes the HRES optimization framework, consisting of the different network components, their respective costs, and associated constraints. Third, we implement the HRES optimization problem solution through a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model by leveraging IBM Optimization Programming Language (OPL) CPLEX Studio. Lastly, we demonstrate the model through an example of a simulated network, showing also the ability to support sensitivity / what-if analysis, to determine the behavior of the network under different configurations.