Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Optimal Stochastic Scheduling Of Power Generation Systems With Scheduling Delays And Large Cost Differentials, G. L. Blankenship, J.-L. Menaldi

Mathematics Faculty Research Publications

The optimal scheduling or unit commitment of power generation systems to meet a random demand involves the solution of a class of dynamic programming inequalities for the optimal cost and control law. We study the behavior of this optimality system in terms of two parameters: (i) a scheduling delay, e.g., the startup time of a generation unit; and (ii) the relative magnitudes of the costs (operating or starting) of different units. In the first case we show that under reasonable assumptions the optimality system has a solution for all values of the delay, and, as the delay approaches zero, that …