The Optimal Operation of a Non-Commercial Power Plant under Changeable Fuel Prices and Time of Use Pricing

Abstract

Recently, much attention has been paid to load leveling technology. In Japan, time of use pricing (TOUP) and utilization of non-commercial power plants (NCPs) are widely accepted. This paper presents a linear programming method for the determination of the scale and contract demand of a NCP under changeable fuel prices and TOUP. The method is applied to an existing NCP which burns municipal refuse. It is found that the optimal scale of NCP and reduction of mean operation cost are strongly affected by taking uncertainty in consideration between fuel and electricity energy charge.