Improving maximum loadability of multiple transaction-based markets by system losses reconfiguration

Compared to vertically integrated markets, there are a number of practical tools at the disposal of the system operator to correctly manage the power system in deregulated markets. As a consequence, the System Operator is inclined to operate the system with ample security margins on network loadability, which limit active power exchanges, and heavily affect the market. In this paper a technique for minimizing and redistributing system losses in bilateral transaction-based markets is developed. The technique is based on an Optimal Power Flow where the objective is represented by losses to be optimized and re-dispatched among all generators. The procedure can be used as an effective tool to interact with voltage stability problems, especially where heavily loaded systems are concerned. Test results, which have been performed on the 68-bus simplified New-England power system, demonstrate that the procedure can be fruitfully applied to managing voltage stability problems. Starting from a prefixed base case, the system has been progressively conducted to the voltage instability point and then the proposed procedure has been applied to recover power available for loads, thus significantly increasing system loadability