Optimal Generator Start-Up Strategy for Power System Restoration

In an earlier EPRI project, the authors employed a knowledge-based system (KBS) to develop a tool to guide system operators to restart generators after a blackout. In this paper, the authors convert the KBS formulation into a Mixed Integer Quadratically Constrained Program (MIQCP) problem. Taking advantage of the quasiconcave property of the generation ramping curves, an algorithm to solve the generator start-up sequence problem is proposed. The solution method breaks the restoration horizon into intervals and develops the restoration plan by finding the status of each generator at each time interval. Optimality is achieved at each step. The algorithm was tested using the PECO data from the EPRI project.