Cost-benefit justification of an energy control center

Today there is no accepted methodology for evaluating the economic worth or the cost-effectiveness of Energy Management System functions which are intended to enhance the “security” of a power system. This paper reports on a study which analyzes the improvement in system reliability obtained from a sophisticated security analysis and security dispatch system. The worth of these functions is evaluated in terms of the additional transmission expansion required over a period of years in order to maintain system reliability with and without the security dispatch system. Significant economic results are obtained; also, the relative effectiveness of sophisticated and rigorous techniques versus manual or simple approaches is demonstrated.