Three years of on-line experience with computerized operational planning

The authors highlight the computerised operational-planning program implemented at Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company and report some of the utility´s experiences in the area. The two objectives of the program were to make operational planning a routine daily task for dispatchers rather than a special project for schedulers and engineers, and to use the operational-planning software in a classroom environment as a tool to train system dispatchers on the overall system economics. Steps taken to win the support of plant personnel are described. Among the benefits derived from computerized planning were: the discovery that the flexibility of daily units makes them a more economical common choice than weekly units: the optimized use of jointly owned units; and coordination of short-term transactions.<>