Search

A substantial quantity of testing has been performed on the degradation of paper insulation over the decades. The aim being to better educate the electrical industry on how to best operate expensive assets, such as transformers. The longevity of paper insulation is frequently tested using accelerated ageing experiments, where the effects of temperature and the chemical environment on paper lifespan can be studied. Such research has resulted in paper life expectancy curves being published by the IEEE and the IEC. The investigations tend to use sealed vessels. However, the disadvantage of using this method is that the water content of the paper changes during the ageing process which then changes the ageing rate. In these ageing experiments the water and oxygen content was controlled using a special test rig to compare the ageing rate to previous work and to determine the ageing effect of paper by combining temperature, water content of paper and oxygen content of the oil. We found that the rate of paper ageing can be more accurately determined by controlling the water and oxygen during the experiment which then produced noticeable changes in predicting life expectancy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This study examined the effects of anti-glare surface treatment, ambient illumination and bending curvature on legibility and visual fatigue in reading electronic papers. Results showed that surface treatment significantly affected legibility and visual fatigue, and surface treatment can improve legibility and reduce visual fatigue under intense ambient illumination. However, there is no significant difference on bending curvature. In addition, due to no significant difference between anti-glare 43% haze and anti-glare 7.5% haze, it is suggested that electronic paper manufacturers may use cheaper options for cost consideration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Comments on writer Paul Joskow's paper about the reasons for restructuring an electricity sector, published in a 1998 issue of `The Energy Journal.' International forefront of the deregulation and privatization process; Increased competition in the electricity industries as the means to provide greater customer choice and reduce prices.

Comments on Paul Joskow's paper on the transition of the electricity sectors worldwide published in a 1998 issue of `The Energy Journal.' Concern expressed by certain states to preserve their energy independence and to develop their national infrastructure; Short-term competitiveness that will lead to declining investments by the power generation and power transmission industry.

Colloquially termed the 'man cave', the shed provides a conceptual lens for thinking about the home's 'edges rather than its centres'. This paper explores the implications for energy demand arising from the extension of existing and emerging technologies into these gendered 'edges' of the home. As well as considering sheds as physical sites, the paper draws on relational geographies of social practice to understand the peripheries of the property as important 'doing-places' for expanding activities. Three themes are discussed, drawn from an ethnographic study of 72 Australian households. First, the paper examines shed-doing-places for handiwork, home maintenance, hobbies and home charging, with opportunities to entrench and disrupt masculine associations with electric-powered technologies. Second, the paper identifies how the shed is becoming a masculine proving ground for smart and automated technologies, both outside and inside the main dwelling. Finally, the paper explores the shed as a secondary home centre for an expanded range of activities, infrastructures and technologies, which potentially challenge the shed's traditional masculinity by making it accessible to others. The paper concludes by discussing the building, policy and research implications of these gendered edges' changing role in relation to the centre of the home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides instructions and guidelines to prospective authors who wish to submit manuscripts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on the article, "Incentives for Accruing Costs and Efficiency in Regulated Monopolies Subject to ROE Constraint," concerning implicit compensation contracts for executives in the electric utility industry. He states that the paper assumes that regulation of the electric utility industry is cost-plus pricing, which differs from traditional views of electric utilities as a natural monopoly. He mentions that if capital costs are sticky then there isn't an incentive to pad capital costs. He states that the paper shows that overcapitalization and padding of operating costs would lead to increased managerial compensation.

The ankle exoskeleton is an auxiliary device designed to restore human independence. This paper proposes the development and initial testing of a passive ankle exoskeleton designed for movements with dorsal and plantar flexion. The device also includes a new mechanism design with four electric linear actuators, and the shank platform and the foot platform are connected to the ball by a swivel joint. Mechanical tests demonstrate the ability of the prototype to function adequately in the natural range of the ankle joint. Preliminary results show that the exoskeleton can reduce the activation of the calf muscles on the limb on which the device is installed. In the investigation of a passive ankle joint exoskeleton designed for movements with dorsal and plantar flexion, numerical test results can be highlighted by focusing on parameters such as speed, acceleration, and translation moment. These measurements provide valuable information about the performance and effectiveness of the exoskeleton. By focusing on these numerical test results, it is possible to obtain an idea of the performance of the exoskeleton, understand its impact on the movements of the ankle joint, and make informed decisions for further improvements or optimization of the design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unprecedented transformation of contemporary power systems, mainly evidenced by the high penetration of renewable energy generation and the shift from passive to active, bi-directional smart grids, has put an extraordinary burden on power system operation and control. The uncertainties created by the two aforementioned factors greatly propel the necessity of more accurate and robust system monitoring. Concurrently, an ever-increasing amount of electronics-based power generation makes frequency stability a major challenge to power system operation and control due to the vastly diminishing system inertia. As a crucial part of system control, frequency monitoring is utilized to identify potential stability issues and eventually prevent cascading power outages and blackouts. This paper proposes a dynamic state estimation (DSE) methodology that employs deep learning (DL) techniques based on feed-forward artificial neural networks (ANN) to accurately predict power system disturbances in terms of frequency disturbance events (FDE) caused by line outages, load/generation tripping events, and various types of faults. The proposed methodology was tested on a test grid model with high penetration of renewable generation, using an open-source data generator. It was concluded that DL-based DSE can be successfully utilized in the FDE detection process to improve frequency monitoring and control, and to maintain optimal performance, stability, and security of power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In project management, risk assessment is crucial for stakeholders to identify the risk factors during the whole life cycle of the project. A risk evaluation index system of a transnational networking project, which provides an effective way for the grid integration of clean electricity and the sustainable development of the power industry, is constructed in this paper. Meanwhile, a combination of granular computing and order relation analysis (G1 method) is applied to determine the weight of each indicator and the matter-element extension evaluation model is also employed to seek the global optimal decision during the risk assessment. Finally, a case study is given to validate the index system and evaluation model established in this paper by assessing two different investment schemes of a transnational high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission project. The result shows that the comprehensive risk level of Scheme 1 is "Low" and the level of Scheme 2 is "General", which means Scheme 1 is better for the stakeholders from the angle of risk control. The main practical significance of this paper lies in that it can provide a reference and decision support for the government's power sectors, investment companies and other stakeholders when carrying out related activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electric industry is developing towards a more efficient, reliable, and resilient electric power network. In this way, utilizing distributed energy resources (DERs), especially renewable DERs (RDERs) are a paradigm change. DERs offer many advantages in power systems, including transmission loss reduction, environmental benefits of RDERs, and enhancement of security, reliability, and resiliency of the network. However, high penetration of DERs increases uncertainty and challenges the efficient and reliable operation of the power system. This paper provides a thorough review of the transactive distribution platform which is essential to address the aforementioned challenges. This distribution platform includes a transactive distribution system operator providing a seamless and coordinated control to dynamically balance supply and demand and follow uncertain generations of RDERs. Indeed, this review paper highlights the capability of transactive energy (TE) by considering its key aspect in providing energy sharing opportunities for the integration of DERs into smart grids (SGs). TE is acombination of economic and control methods that enable optimum, reliable, sustainable, and efficient operation of SGs. Furthermore, a fully transactive framework offers more choices for DERs to control and manage the energy transactions in the retail market, as well as improves the inter operability among various market players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the electricity industry, load forecasting is one of the most important tasks in planning, distribution, operations management, and providing appropriate solutions for power systems. Power consumption plays an important role in the planning and optimal use of power systems. With the existing technology, it is not yet possible to store this energy in large dimensions, so accurate forecasting of consumption can play an important role in the economic use of electricity. The amount of electrical charge consumption is not constant but is complex and nonlinearly a function of several parameters. Due to the variable amount of electrical charge consumption, power companies must anticipate it in different timelines of the information needed to make decisions. In this article, a new method is presented according to the efficiency of short-term load prediction, which can be from the next few hours to a week or a few weeks. Due to the efficiency of evolutionary methods in setting the parameters of forecasting methods, in this paper, the SALP optimization algorithm is used as an algorithm with high convergence accuracy to improve the neural network of the radial base function. Therefore, in this paper, a comparison between the method of improving the neural network of the radial base function with the SALP optimization algorithm for short-term load prediction by considering meteorological factors with other combined methods of optimization algorithms is shown. The results of comparison between predictions in the proposed model (improved neural network with SALP algorithm) compared to other combined methods of load prediction, show that the proposed neural network method improves the radial base function with SALP (RBF-SSA) better. Other combined methods improve the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voiceprint recognition can extract voice features and identity the speaker through the voice information, which has great application prospects in personnel identity verification and voice dispatching in the electric industry. The traditional voiceprint recognition algorithms work well in a quiet environment. However, noise interference inevitably exists in the electric industry, degrading the accuracy of traditional voiceprint recognition algorithms. In this paper, we propose an enhanced deep residual shrinkage network (EDRSN)-based voiceprint recognition by combining the traditional voiceprint recognition algorithms with deep learning (DL) in the context of the noisy electric industry environment, where a dual-path convolution recurrent network (DPCRN) is employed to reduce the noise, and its structure is also improved based on the deep residual shrinkage network (DRSN). Moreover, we further use a convolutional block attention mechanism (CBAM) module and a hybrid dilated convolution (HDC) in the proposed EDRSN. Simulation results show that the proposed network can enhance the speaker's vocal features and further distinguish and eliminate the noise features, thus reducing the noise influence and achieving better recognition performance in a noisy electric environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In general, one can assert that energy security risks are global and significantly affect (negatively, positively) the state and development of the national and world economy. The purpose of the paper is the formation of methodical-practical foundations of energy risk management in the energy sector. METHODS: The matrix method was used in building the energy security risk assessment matrix. Economic-mathematical modeling was used. Depending on the characteristics of the dynamic series and the available information, the methods of analytical alignment, smoothing using the moving average, the average absolute increase, and the average coefficient of change were applied. FINDINGS: The energy security risk assessment matrix was created. The development of a strategy for the behavior of subjects of market relations in the electricity market should be based not only on the results of risk identification and assessment and the developed risk management plan, but also on the risk response plan and the method of their control (monitoring). The coefficient of use of the installed energy capacity was in the range of 32-26% in Poland in 2021. Calculations of average annual growth rates for each of the dynamic series give reason to state that the highest growth rates of dependence on energy imports were characteristic of coal (+4.17%) and the lowest ones -- of oil (+0.35%) during 1990-2021. Considering the forecast values for 2030, a certain decrease in the growth rate of dependence on the import of energy resources (for coal and oil) and an increase-for gas are expected. CONCLUSION: As a conclusion, the method of forecasting the total final energy consumption of the country was improved for forecasting the amount of energy resources in order to use it for building an energy policy that considers such variables as the economic situation and the political situation in the country. The formation of a risk response plan should be based on management plans and documentation of risk manifestations, intellectual and organizational assets of the economic entity (generalized risk management experience, management strategies, templates, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This issue of Decision Analysis begins with an article by Philippe Delquié, "Interpretation of the Risk Tolerance Coefficient in Terms of Maximum Acceptable Loss." The risk tolerance coefficient is an exponential utility function's parameter, which is positive for risk averse decision makers. Next is an article titled "Optimal Betting Strategies for Simultaneous Games," by Andrew Grant, David Johnstone, and Oh Kang Kwon, which examines how to bet on two or more games (such as sports events or political outcomes) at once. Our third paper, "Decision-Analytic Approach to Knockout Auctions," by Yigal Gerchak, examines an approach for bidding on a single jointly owned indivisible item (such as a cherished itemin an estate with multiple heirs). Our fourth paper develops a method for evaluating bids. Carlos A. Bana e Costa, João C. Lourenço, Manuel P. Chagas, and João C. Bana e Costa use a multiple objective value function approach in their article "Development of Reusable Bid Evaluation Models for the Portuguese Electric Transmission Company." We end with an article by Jason R. W. Merrick which presents an approach for "Getting the Right Mix of Experts" when they give possibly correlated probability judgments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article relates the editor's view regarding his partnership with SPi Publishing Services. They are aiming to offer pre-submission professional editing services at full cost to the authors. In this context, the editor mentioned the new categories of papers and their corresponding terms by various electrical societies and organizations.

The paper presents examples of LCA application to reduce environmental impact by replacement of conventional materials in chemical, biochemical, construction and electrical industry. Examples of replacement of talc-reinforced polypropylene composite by lightweight composite, using of natural aggregates versus recycled aggregates coming from reinforce concrete demolition, replacing of carbon black with graphene in tire production, production of asphalt mixtures, change of metal contacts for perovskite/silicon (Si) tandem structure of solar cell, etc. are described showing reduction of environmental load in impact categories or carbon footprint. The full case study of LCA of analysis to replace Indium, a material extensively used as Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) compound for opto-electronic industry is presented. Several alternative materials for indium-tinoxide (ITO) replacement as pure zinc oxide (ZnO) or doped with aluminum (Al) either boron (B) and tin oxide (SnO2), deposited by different techniques: physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) were extensively tested. ReCiPe Endpoint H/A method was applied to end up life cycle analysis with single score. In case of all layers deposited by CVD and ALD techniques the main impact is related to electricity or nitrogen consumption and the impact produced by the material is of minor significance. The results show that replacement of ITO by ZnO in TCO layer deposition process is an optimal strategy to minimize environmental impact keeping required opto-electrical properties for the economic and safe manufacturing of optoelectronic components. Environmental impact of analysed TCOs strongly depends on deposition technologies; for the layers deposited by CVD and ALD techniques the main impact is related to energy or nitrogen consumption whereas for PVD to energy and material of TCO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes numerically the approach reported in the companion paper for identifying generation investment equilibria in an electricity market where the producers behave strategically. To this end, a two-node illustrative example and a large-scale case study based on the IEEE reliability test system (RTS) are examined and the results obtained are reported and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper offers an insight on the liberalization process that took place in the United Kingdom starting with 1990 until now. The electricity market in the United Kingdom made incredible progress in the road to reaching a full level of liberalization where customers are free to choose between suppliers and services. An analysis of the most important indicators for the electricity market evolution such as electricity price, the market share of the largest generator, the energy efficiency indicator shows that the liberalization process brought many advantages starting with 2001. Also, UK has to face new challenges in order to keep the development of the industry on the right path, challenges that are presented in the final part of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the costs of monitoring of a distributed multi-agent economic activity in the presence of constraints on the agents' joint outputs. If the regulator monitors agents individually she calculates each agent's optimal contribution to the constrains by solving a constrained welfare-maximisation problem. This will maximise welfare but may be expensive because monitoring cost rises with the number of agents. Alternatively, the regulator could monitor agents collectively, using a detector, or detectors, to observe if each constraint is jointly satisfied. This will ease implementation cost, but lower welfare. We define the welfare difference between each regime of monitoring for a fairly inclusive electricity generation model and formulate some predictions. The behaviour of two generators in a coupled-constrained, three-node case study reproduces these predictions. We find that the welfare loss from collective monitoring can be small if the constraints are tight. We also learn that, under either regime, the imposition of transmission and environmental restrictions may benefit the less efficient generator and shift surplus share towards the emitters, decreasing consumer surplus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of communications and telecommunications infrastructure, followed by the extension of a new generation of smart distribution grids, has brought realtime control of distribution systems to electrical industry professionals' attention. Also, the increasing use of distributed generation (DG) resources and the need for participation in the system voltage control, which is possible only with central control of the distribution system, has increased the importance of the real-time operation of distribution systems. In real-time operation of a power system, what is important is that since the grid information is limited, the overall grid status such as the voltage phasor in the buses, current in branches, the values of loads, etc. are specified to the grid operators. This can occur with an active distribution system state estimation (ADSSE) method. The conventional method in the state estimation of an active distribution system is the weighted least squares (WLS) method. This paper presents a new method to modify the error modeling in the WLS method and improve the accuracy SVs estimations by including load variations (LVs) during measurement intervals, transmission time of data to the information collection center, and calculation time of the state variables (SVs), as well as by adjusting the variance in the smart meters (SM). The proposed method is tested on an IEEE 34-bus standard distribution system, and the results are compared with the conventional method. The simulation results reveal that the proposed approach is robust and reduces the estimation error, thereby improving ADSSE accuracy compared with the conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a comprehensive framework to detect non-technical losses (NTLs) and recover electrical energy (lost by abnormalities or fraud) by means of a data mining analysis, in the Spanish Power Electric Industry. It is divided into four section: data selection, data preprocessing, descriptive, and predictive data mining. The authors insist on the importance of the knowledge of the particular characteristics of the Power Company customer: the main features available in databases are described. The paper presents two innovative statistical estimators to attach importance to variability and trend analysis of electric consumption and offers a predictive model, based on the Generalized Rule Induction (GRI) model. This predictive analysis discovers association rules in the data and it is supplemented by a binary Quest tree classification method. The quality of this framework is illustrated by a case study considering a real database, supplied by Endesa Company. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Optimal deployment, with respect to locations, capacity sizes, and types of distributed energy resources (DERs), which are the main components in a microgrid system, are chosen for study in this paper. For the selection of optimal locations of DERs, the loss sensitivity index of each bus is taken into account. Whereas optimal size and its separation among microturbines, diesel generators and combustion turbines at each bus location are performed on the basis of the maximum benefit-to-cost ratio of the microgrid owner, obtained by using the particle swarm optimization technique and with respect to their reliable catering and quality of power as well as heat (i.e., combined-heat-and-power (CHP) operation) for customers. This paper conducts four separate case studies--two on 6-bus systems (radial and meshed) and resting on 14-bus systems (the IEEE system and radial system)--to show how much these systems are economically feasible for investment planning when cost and CHP benefits of various types of DERs are taken into account. Load profiles, tariffs, as well as the constructional cost of the microgrid itself are addressed in the six-bus meshed network and its central DER location in a district-heating paradigm is also done separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of a multiyear security constrained hybrid generation-transmission expansion planning. It is assumed that the overall generation requirements of a network are known along the planning horizon, but their allocations are unknown. Moreover the fuel cost throughout the net- work is not uniform. By allocating the overall generation capacity among the grid nodes, and determining the new transmission element additions along the planning horizon, the overall cost of the system is minimized. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming problem, which for a large-scale system is very difficult to solve. In this paper a new constructive heuristic approach is proposed, so that the problem can be readily solved. To assess the capabilities of the proposed approach, two networks are studied: the Garver test grid as a small grid and the Iranian power grid as a large-scale grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the lessons learned from electricity sector liberalization over the last 20 years. The attributes of reform models that have exhibited good performance attributes are identified, drawing on empirical analysis of market structure, behavior and performance in many countries. Wholesale and retail market competition and network regulation performance evidence are discussed. Technical, economic, and political challenges to improving the efficiency of what continue to be partial liberalization programs in many countries are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistance spot welding is used to join two or more metal objects, and the technique is widely used in, for example, the automotive and electrical industries. This paper introduces the use of the κ-nearest-neighbor (κnn) method to identify similar welding processes. The two main benefits achieved from knowing the most similar process are the following: 1) The time needed for the setup of a new process can be substantially reduced by restoring the process parameters leading to high-quality joints, and 2) the quality of new welding spots can be predicted and improved using the stored information of a similar process. In this paper, the basic κnn method was found to be inadequate, and an extension of the κnn method, which is called similarity measure, was developed. The similarity measure provides information of how similar the new process is by using the distance to the κnns. Based on the results, processes can be classified, and the similarity measure proved to be a valuable addition to the existing methodology. Furthermore, process information can provide a major benefit to welding industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fine print note (FPN) No. 1 in 2005 National Electrical Code (NEC) Article 501.8 (B) [ANSI/NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2005 (NEC)] cautions users to "consider the temperature of internal and external surfaces that may be exposed to the flammable atmosphere" when putting a motor into service in a Class I, Division 2 environment. Thus, it is critical that manufacturers and users of industrial electric motors understand that internal peak temperatures exceed the external peak temperatures. This paper presents three common IEEE 1349 [IEEE 1349-2001, IEEE Guide for the Application of Electric Motors in Class I, Division 2 Hazardous (Classified) Locations] test methods used by manufacturers to determine these internal peak temperatures. Potential test method error and the test results from the three test methods are also presented. IEEE 1349 provides only guidance when performing these test methods so this paper intends to provide additional clarification. The test motors presented in this paper are low voltage, ac induction, severe-duty, energy-efficient, totally enclosed fan-cooled motors commonly used in the "Petrochemical Industry." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the self scheduling problem of a price-taker power producer. It focuses on risk modeling, emphasizing the tradeoff existing between maximum profit and minimum risk. The paper analyzes a self-scheduling model that considers simultaneously profit and risk. This model Is formulated as a mixed-Integer quadratic programming problem, which Is solved using commercially available software. Relevant results from a realistic case study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Part II of this paper, we present formulations for three two-settlement market models: Baseline cost-minimization (\textitStoch- \textitOpt); and two sequential market models in which an independent system operator (ISO) runs real-time (RT) balancing markets after making day-ahead (DA) generating unit commitment decisions based upon deterministic wind forecasts, while virtual bidders arbitrage the two markets ( ${{\textit{Seq}}}$ and ${{\textit{Seq}}}$- ${{SS}}$). The latter two models differ in terms of whether some slow-start generators can self-schedule in the DA market while anticipating probabilities of RT prices. Models in ${{\textit{Seq}}}$ and ${{\textit{Seq}}}$- ${{SS}}$ build on components of the two-settlement equilibrium model ( \textitStoch- ${{MP}}$) defined in Part I of this paper [J. Kazempour and B. F. Hobbs, “Value of flexible resources, virtual bidding, and self-scheduling in two-settlement electricity markets with wind generation - Part I: Principles and competitive model,” IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 749–759, Jan. 2018]. We then provide numerical results for all four models. A simple single-node case illustrates the economic impacts of flexibility, virtual bidding, and self-schedules, and is followed by a larger case study based on the 24-node IEEE reliability test system. Their results confirm that flexible resources, including fast-start generators and demand response, can reduce expected costs in a sequential two-settlement market. In addition, virtual bidders can also improve the functioning of sequential markets. In some circumstances, virtual bidders (together with self-scheduling by slow-start generators) enable deterministic ISO DA markets to obtain the least (expected) cost unit commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial transmission rights (FTR) are financial products that entitle their holder to receive a payment based on the degree of congestion in a transmission system. In many liberalized electricity markets, FTR are sold at auction by the local electricity system operator. This paper addresses several questions about the performance of FTR auctions in Ontario's restructured electricity market, including whether auction market clearing prices approximate realized payouts and whether there is any evidence that the competitiveness of auctions, as measured by the number of bidders, affects the forward market unbiasedness or informational efficiency of the auctions. The paper finds that the auction process is inefficient in the sense that market clearing prices are substantially and systematically lower than realized payouts, resulting in substantial transfers away from consumers. However, there is some evidence that the auction market is more efficient when there are three or more bidders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim/purpose - The aim of the article is to present the essence of ex post approach to sectoral regulation, to show the advantages and disadvantages of ex post regulation and to answer the question whether it is worth using in the electricity sector. Design/methodology/approach - For this purpose, a critical analysis of expert literature was made and an empirical analysis of countries that have applied ex post regulation in the electricity sector in the European Union. Two research methods were used: a case study and a comparison of changes in price and quality of services. The research period covered the period 2000-2016. Findings - It was found that ex post regulation reduces regulatory costs, does not adversely affect the quality of service and long-term rates, gives businesses the freedom of decision-making and the ability to react quickly to changes in the economy. The main disadvantages of ex post regulation are the tendency for companies to over-estimate bills for consumers, the difficulty of pursuing claims by consumers and the need to shift regulatory risk to consumers. Research implications/limitations - In the paper there was identified a research gap, i.e. the effects of ex post regulation in the electricity sector in European Union countries where such regulation was applied. Identifying the research gap will help us understand what are the advantages and disadvantages of ex post regulation and will create a model for when it is good moment to implement this in the economy. Besides identifying the research gap, further studies will be required over ex post regulation. Originality/value/contribution - The additional value of the paper is the study of ex post regulation, its essence and types. The article analyzed the effects of ex post regu lation in the electricity sector and provided valuable insights into the potential risks associated with this approach to economic regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the study of the propagation of the effects of uncertainties in a typical measurement system for modern power networks. Nowadays there is a strong demand from the electricity industry of simple and ready-to-use solutions for calculating uncertainty in such “new” measurement systems. To this purpose a simplified approach is presented whose results are shown to be in good agreement with those provided by conventional but more complex methods. Two applications, rather simple but very common, are considered in this paper. In the first one, the measurement of a voltage phasor is considered and the measurement chain is made by an low power instrument transformer (LPIT) and a converter used for adapting the level of signals from the LPIT to the inputs of intelligent electronic device. The second application deals with the measurement of active power of a system made by a low power voltage transformer (LPVT), a low power current transformer and a powermeter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If an extreme contingency strikes the Kinmen Island power system in Taiwan, it is very likely to cause blackouts. Although an underfrequency protection scheme has been applied, some drawbacks of the protection scheme hinder the Kinmen power system from avoiding blackouts. In the past decade, several blackouts have occurred in the Kinmen power system. To avoid further possible blackouts, a special protection system (SPS) is summoned. This paper describes the design guidelines and deployment procedures of an SPS for the Kinmen power system. The design depends on the Kinmen power system characteristics, and the deployment hinges upon the supervisory control and data acquisition system. Exquisite software was also developed to testify the Kinmen system SPS. Operational records have demonstrated that the proposed SPS can indeed prevent blackouts from occurring in the Kinmen power system. The design, implementation, and operation of the SPS dealt with in this paper might foster further deployments of other SPSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a discussion on the theory behind reducing the risk and severity of an arc flash incident. In particular, the variables associated with the calculations of energy from an arcing fault are presented in an effort to show the futility of present methods for determining incident energy levels in the electrical industry. A number of commonly ignored design concepts that significantly reduce the risk of electrical hazards will be discussed, two of which include: 1) system grounding; and 2) solid insulation. This paper will discuss risk and the management of risk as a means of reducing the probability of an incident. It will then show how risk reduction should be used in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of electrical equipment as means for the safeguarding of employees in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new method for modelling and estimation of reliability parameters of power transformer components in distribution and transmission voltage levels for preventive-corrective maintenance schedule of transformers is proposed. In this method, with optimal estimation of Weibull distribution parameters using least squares method and input data uncertainty reduction, failure rate and probable distributions of power transformers’ components as the key parameters of equipment reliability is estimated. Then by using the results of this modelling, a maintenance schedule for evaluation the effect of maintenance on reliability of this equipment is presented. Simulation results using real failure data of 196 power transformers on 33 to 230kV voltage levels show that applying the proposed method in addition to uncertainty reduction of raw input data and better estimation of equipment reliability, improve decision making regarding maintenance schedule of power transformers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes how a new field, independent (or non-utility) power production, was created by a federal mandate that electric utilities purchase power from private generating sources and how the field was populated. Results show that key rules that state regulatory bodies adopted or rejected regulating exchange between independent power producers and utilities were influential predictors of organizational foundings. Results also show that collective action by independent power producers boosted foundings. Finally, lithe preexisting relationship between utilities and regulators was one of accommodation, foundings were suppressed. The paper examines these results in view of economic and sociological perspectives on public policies, spotlighting the vital role of institutions in early population dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless power transfer (WPT) continues to be popular in today’s world because it is used in situations where the use of cables is difficult, dangerous, or restrictive. In WPT, electrical energy is transmitted over the air by magnetic connections instead of cables. In this paper, WPT system designs were made with 10 kHz and 20 kHz operating frequencies, 3.3 kW output power, and 50 cm × 50 cm size. The effects of the frequency on the WPT system were analyzed with the designs made for two separate frequencies. The WPT circuits were established in the MATLAB/Simulink program. The coil design of the WPT systems was made in ANSYS® Maxwell 3D. The critical air gap values of the 10 kHz and 20 kHz designs were determined as 15 cm and 17 cm, respectively. In this study, the efficiency of the WPT system was obtained as 88.79% at 15 cm air gap for 10 kHz and 92.74% at 17 cm air gap for 20 kHz. Wireless power transfer systems in different frequency bands at the same power were compared in terms of efficiency, loss, cost, and electromagnetic field distribution. In addition, the effects of WPT systems on human health were examined according to IEEE and ICNIRP standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than 50 years, research has shown that a correlation exists between the number of incidents, injuries, and fatalities. Investigation into electrical incidents indicates that there is more to understand about the causal effect of the number of incidents occurring. Many electrical incidents are caused by undesirable actions of people. These are called unsafe acts. Why do people perform unsafe acts? Lack of experience, knowledge, or skills often come into play. What people believe about safety is another important component. The intent of this paper is to explore these relationships and to focus on unsafe behaviors and beliefs about safety. By investigating and using the actions outlined in this paper, fewer incidents will occur resulting in a decrease in injuries and fatalities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The concept of adjustable combinatorial products within the scope of the day-ahead electricity market is introduced in this paper. These adjustable products comprise simple and linked profile block offers/bids, with a variable energy quantity profile during the block periods. In the proposed formulation, these blocks can be partially cleared, namely, the indivisibility of the classical profile blocks that are present in European markets is relaxed. This flexibility allows the elimination of paradoxically accepted and rejected blocks and, thus, the elimination of iterative heuristic procedures for their handling. Such modeling is not possible as a mixed-integer linear programming problem, due to the inherent indivisibility denoted by the use of binary variables. Additionally, advanced profile bids are formulated for demand entities, called “joint demand profile block bids” in this paper, which involve not only inter-temporal relations, but also spatial relations with each other. This two-dimensional relation between demand profile blocks is novel and is deemed feasible with the model presented here. These advanced profile orders are incorporated in a day-ahead market problem, formulating a mixed complementarity problem model, which is solved using commercial solvers. The model is validated using the IEEE RTS-96 system; nevertheless, its scalability to large real-world power systems is straightforward. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The experience with deregulated electricity market has shown the increasingly important role of short-term electric load forecasting in the energy producing and scheduling. However, because of nonlinear, stochastic and nonstable characteristics associated with the electric load series, it is extremely difficult to precisely forecast the electric load. This paper aims to establish a novel ensemble model based on variational mode decomposition (VMD) and extreme learning machine (ELM) optimized by differential evolution (DE) algorithm for multi-step ahead electric load forecasting. The proposed model is novel in the sense that VMD is firstly applied to decompose the original electric load series into a set of components with different frequencies in order to effectively eliminate the stochastic fluctuation characteristic so as to improve the overall prediction accuracy. The proposed ensemble model is tested using two electric load series collected from New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (QLD) in the Australian electricity market. The experimental results show that: (1) the data preprocessing by VMD can effectively decrease the stochastic fluctuation characteristics that existed in the electric load series, consequently improving the whole forecasting accuracy, and; (2) the proposed forecasting model performs better than all other benchmark models for both one-step and multi-step ahead electric load forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to apply an integrated model, which combines methods of classical and fuzzy Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) in selected six large equity companies from the Serbian energy sector. The data considered are retrieved from the official financial statements. Four main criteria were analyzed, identified by the previous researchers and pointing to the employees' productivity: Operating income/ Number of employees, Equity/Number of employees, Net income/Number of employees and Total assets/Number of employees. The contribution of this paper lies in the application of a hybrid model that integrates two MCDM methods: Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to analyse the employee productivity in selected D-Electrical power supply companies operating in Serbia. The FAHP is an effective method for mathematical representation of uncertain and imprecise evaluations made by humans, while the TOPSIS method is an efficient way to rank the alternatives. Results show that operating income is of highest importance for estimating employee productivity and decision making, while equity is of the weakest. Furthermore, the most productive operations in large enterprises from selected companies of the sector D-Electrical power supply are found in the company PC EPS Beograd, and the lowest are in the ED Center llc Kragujevac. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia and many other countries, distribution network service providers (DNSPs) have an obligation to their customers to provide electrical power that is reliable and of high quality. Failure to do so may have significant implications ranging from financial penalties theoretically through to the loss of a license to distribute electricity. In order to ensure the reliability and quality of supply are met, DNSPs engage in monitoring and reporting practice. This paper provides an overview of a large long-running power-quality monitoring project that has involved most of Australia's DNSPs at one time or another. This paper describes the challenges associated with conducting the project as well as some of the important outcomes and lessons learned. A number of novel reporting techniques that have been developed as part of the monitoring project are also presented. A discussion about large-volume data management, and issues related to reporting requirements in future distribution networks is included. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article comments on a paper by Matthew W. White on deregulatory reforms in the electricity market in the U.S. in 1996. The most important factor driving change in the U.S. electricity sector is the gap White describes between the prices of generation services embedded in regulated retail electric rates and the prices for equivalent generation services that are available, or are expected to be available in the future, in unregulated wholesale markets. The political economy of regulatory reform in this sector is significantly more complex than the paper suggests. Additional factors influence the nature, diffusion, and sustainability of these structural and regulatory changes. The introduction of competition in the electric power industry is not something that suddenly dropped out of the sky in California in 1994. Competitive wholesale generation markets have been growing for decades. The Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act of 1978 marks a particularly noteworthy turning point because it required vertically integrated utilities to purchase power from independent power producers meeting certain thermal efficiency, fuel, and size criteria. Since the passage of the act, about 60,000 megawatts of nonutility generating capacity have been built to supply electricity to utilities for resale under long-term contracts. The paper focuses on only three interest groups such as consumers, utilities, and regulators.

Converting wind energy into ammonia (WtA) has been recognized as a promising pathway to produce “green” ammonia compared with traditional coal-based technologies. As the key part of WtA, Power-to-Ammonia (PtA) has great potential to facilitate the usage of wind generation. This paper proposes a co-planning approach for regional wind resources-based ammonia industry and the electric network (EN). To this end, PtA is first modeled as a flexible power load of power systems with spatial and temporal constraints on hydrogen supply chains (HSC). Then a novel co-planning model of WtA and EN is established to optimize the WtA configuration and the EN expansion. An alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) based algorithm is introduced to effectively solve this model. Real data of Inner Mongolia Province in China is adopted to verify the effectiveness and significance of the proposed approach. It is shown that the siting and operation flexibility of PtA with HSC can reduce the expansion burden of EN. The co-planning of WtA and EN can significantly enhance wind power utilization and reduce total investment costs. Furthermore, feasibility analysis on WtA in comparison with coal-to-ammonia (CtA) and ultra-high voltage transmission (UHV) provides helpful guidelines for the realization of WtA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first of this two-paper series proposes a methodology to characterize generation investment equilibria in a pool-based network-constrained electricity market, where the producers behave strategically. To this end, the investment problem of each strategic producer is represented using a bilevel model, whose upper-level problem determines the optimal investment and the supply offering curves to maximize its profit, and whose several lower-level problems represent different market clearing scenarios. This model is transformed into a mathematical program with equilibrium constraint (MPEC) through replacing the lower-level problems by their optimality conditions. The joint consideration of all producer MPECs, one per producer, constitutes an equilibrium problem with equilibrium constraints (EPEC). To identify the solutions of this EPEC, each MPEC problem is replaced by its Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions, which are in turn linearized. The resulting mixed-integer linear system of equalities and inequalities allows determining the EPEC equilibria through an auxiliary MILP problem. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In centralized day-ahead electricity markets with marginal pricing, unit commitment costs and capacity constraints give rise to non-convexities which may result in losses to some of the participating generating units. Therefore, a recovery mechanism is required to compensate them. In this paper, we present and analyze several recovery mechanisms that result in recovery payments after the market is cleared. Each of these mechanisms results in a different type and/or amount of payments for each participating unit that exhibits losses. We also propose a methodology for evaluating the bidding strategy behavior of the participating units for each mechanism. This methodology is based on the execution of a numerical procedure aimed at finding joint optimal bidding strategies of the profit-maximizing units. In a companion follow-up paper (Part II), we apply this methodology to evaluate the performance and incentive compatibility of the suggested recovery mechanisms on a simplified test case model of the Greek electricity market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As the typical clean and renewable energy, wind energy has witnessed a continuous annual increase in the last few decades. Due to the random and intermittent characteristics, the wind producers in the electric market meet serious financial losses caused by the deviation between the actual power output and forecasting result. It is difficult to increase the accuracy of forecasting in a short time. How to improve the financial income has become a major task to wind producers and academia. Being the backbone network of the offshore wind farms (OWFs), voltage source converter-based multi-terminal HVdc system (VSC-MTdc) has been regarded as one of the effective solutions to transport wind power. In this paper, an optimal distribution method is proposed for VSC-MTdc system integrating OWFs to reduce the financial loss due to wind power output deviation. The proposed method could be divided into two optimizing functions. The first optimizing function of the proposed method is to analyze the onshore external system according to the historical system operation data and adjust the droop coefficient with the analytic hierarchy process. The second optimizing function of the proposed method is to do further adjusting with the regulating price. With the case study, the proposed optimal distribution method has proved that it can bring more benefit to wind producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the valuation and pricing of physical electricity delivery contracts from the viewpoint of a producer with given capacities for production and fuel-storage. Using stochastic optimization problems in discrete time with general state space, the dual problems of production problems are used to derive no-arbitrage conditions for fuel and electricity prices as well as superhedging values and prices of bilaterally traded electricity delivery contracts. In particular we take the perspective of an electricity producer, who serves contractual deliveries but avoids unacceptable losses. The resulting no-arbitrage conditions, stochastic discount factors and superhedging prices account for typical frictions like limitation of storage and production capacity and for the fact that it is possible to produce electricity from fuel, but not to produce fuel from electricity. Similarities, but also substantial differences to purely financial results can be demonstrated in this way. Furthermore, using acceptability measures, we analyze capital requirements and acceptability prices for delivery contracts, when the producer accepts some risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a day-ahead electricity market that consists of multiple competing renewable firms (e.g., wind generators) and conventional firms (e.g., coal-fired power plants) in a discrete-time setting. The market is run in every period, and all firms submit their price-contingent production schedules in every day-ahead market. Following the clearance of a day-ahead market, in the next period, each (renewable) firm chooses its production quantity (after observing its available supply). If a firm produces less than its cleared day-ahead commitment, the firm pays an undersupply penalty in proportion to its underproduction. We explicitly characterize firms' equilibrium strategies by introducing and analyzing a supply function competition model. The purpose of an undersupply penalty is to improve reliability by motivating each firm to commit to quantities it can produce in the following day. We prove that in equilibrium, imposing or increasing a market-based undersupply penalty rate in a period can result in a strictly larger renewable energy commitment at all prices in the associated day-ahead market, and can lead to lower equilibrium reliability in all periods with probability 1. We also show in an extension that firms with diversified technologies result in lower equilibrium reliability than single-technology firms in all periods with probability 1. The electronic companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2961. This paper was accepted by Serguei Netessine, operations management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a methodology for choosing the best transmission expansion plan considering various types of security (operating reliability) criteria. The proposed method minimizes the total cost that includes the investment cost of transmission as well as the operating cost and standby cost of generators. The purpose of the study is development of new methodology for solving transmission system expansion planning problem subject to (N - α) contingency criteria which are essentially extensions of the (N-1) contingency criterion. The transmission expansion problem uses an integer programming framework, and the optimal strategy is determined using a branch and bound method that utilizes a network flow approach and the maximum flow-minimum cut set theorem. The characteristics of the proposed method are illustrated by applying it to a five-bus system and a 21-bus system. The results of these case studies demonstrate that the proposed method provides a practical way to find an optimal plan for power system expansion planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]