A MILP Approach for the Joint Simulation of Electric Control
Reserve and Wholesale Markets
Timo Breithaupt, Thomas Leveringhaus, Torsten Rendel and Lutz Hofmann
Institute of Electric Power Systems, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Welfengarten 1, 30161 Hanover, Germany
Keywords: Electric Power Market, Electric Control Reserve Market, Power Plant Dispatch, MILP.
Abstract: A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) approach for the joint simulation of electric control reserve
and electricity wholesale markets is described. This generation dispatch model extends an existing
integrated grid and electricity market model covering the Continental European electric power system. By
explicitly modelling the markets for primary and secondary control reserve, the model can reproduce the
decisions of generating unit operators on which markets to get involved. Besides, the introduction of
integrality conditions allows considering start-up costs and the calculus of generating units to pass through
economically unattractive periods with low or even negative prices in order to avoid another start-up.
Finally, the MILP approach allows to consider the fact that primary and secondary control reserves
provision usually requires operation of the respective generating unit and to fully include storages into the
optimization problem. In this paper, the generation dispatch model is described in detail, key assumptions
are presented and the implementation status is explained.
1 INTRODUCTION
The electric power system in Europe currently
experiences a strong transition. Political objectives
promote the, often decentralized, generation of
electrical energy from renewable energy sources
(RES), the liberalization of power markets and
cross-border trading and – in some countries – the
decrease of nuclear power generation. The resulting
system is characterized through high volatility in
generation (esp. by wind and photovoltaics),
increasing cross-border trading, an increasing
number of atypical market situations with very low
or even negative electricity prices (esp. in Germany
(Genoese et.al, 2010)) and in some cases high grid
expansion requirements in all voltage levels.
In order to analyze this transition scientifically,
e.g. in terms of generation dispatch, electricity
prices, load flows, and grid expansion demand, an
integrated grid and electricity market model (IGEM)
has been developed to simulate current and future
electric power supply scenarios. The model focusses
on the interconnected transmission grid of
Continental Europe, but can also be used to analyze
other regions, if respective data is provided and
possibly existing differences in market structures are
taken into account.
More and more, the liberalization finds its way
into the markets for primary control reserve (PCR)
and secondary control reserve (SCR). In the past, the
provision of PCR and SCR by large power plants
was instructed by the responsible transmission
system operator (TSO). Nowadays, local
liberalization leads to a market based allocation of
PCR and SCR in some European countries, while in
other countries the provision of PCR and SCR is still
instructed by the responsible TSO (ENTSO-E,
2015). Driven by the new ENTSO-E (European
Network of Transmission System Operators for
Electricity) Network Codes (ENTSO-E, 2017), the
provision of PCR and SCR will be liberalized
further and cross-border trading of PCR and SCR
shall be made possible (in fact it is already practiced
between some countries, e.g. between Germany and
several neighboring countries within the framework
of the International Grid Control Cooperation
(50Hertz Transmission et.al., 2014)).
In this paper, a method for the joint simulation of
electricity wholesale market and the markets for
PCR and SCR is developed and on this basis an
extension of the generation dispatch module of
IGEM is presented. While the existing module takes
into account only the electricity wholesale market
formulated as a linear programme, the new module