Integrating PowerWorld and MatLab for Optimal Dispatch and Unit Commitment Study of Competitive Electric Power Markets

The transition to competitive wholesale and retail markets for electric utilities around the world has been a difficult and controversial process. One of the difficulties that hindered the development and growth of the competitive wholesale power market is the absence of efficient computational tools to assist the design, analysis and operation of a competitive power market. PowerWorld simulator is an industry standard software package that has strong analytical and visualization functions suitable for extensive power flow study of a large power system. However, PowerWorld is not designed in such a way that can be used for the analysis and evaluation of a competitive wholesale power market. This paper investigates mathematical models associated with a competitive wholesale power market and how these models can be converted and transformed in such a way that makes it possible to use PowerWorld for optimal power dispatch study of a competitive power market. The paper also develops a co-simulation mechanism to integrate PowerWorld and MatLab for a combined optimal power dispatch and unit commitment study. Finally, the paper demonstrates a case study for a large competitive electric power system.