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Economic and dam related articles

Congestion Management Pilot Launched

by Staff
BPA Journal, July 2007

BPA executed agreements to implement a pilot program to test a new redispatch strategy developed to help resolve congestion on its transmission system.

The pilot program started June 26 and will run through Sept. 30, 2007. The test will focus on congestion affecting four transmission paths on the BPA grid - two on the I-5 corridor (Paul-Allston and South-of-Allston) and two in central Washington (North-of-Hanford and North-of-John Day). Ultimately, BPA will study whether to develop an approach using redispatch to relieve congestion that can be extended to the entire region.

During the pilot program, BPA will test an information system designed to determine if and when specific generators need to adjust their output in order to relieve congestion. If no events occur during the summer that allow BPA to implement this approach, BPA will simulate such events. The goal is to give the approach as rigorous a test as possible, yet remain within the budget set aside to run the pilot.

When BPA discovers that the operating transfer capability of a transmission path has been or is about to be exceeded, BPA will refuse new hourly reservations over the next and subsequent hour until the system is sufficiently stable.

After an evaluation of the pilot program is completed in the fall, BPA will hold a public meeting to present the results of the pilot program and help establish how well it worked and where more work needs to be done. Plans for the future already include developing a methodology that would give BPA the ability to forecast network flow levels in advance of the operat- ing hour and, as a result, determine available transfer capability and the impact of hourly sales on that capability. With these tools and information, BPA could refuse the specific hourly nonfirm and firm transmission schedules that would cause the system to exceed its operating transfer capability.


Staff
Congestion Management Pilot Launched
BPA Journal, July 2007

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