Analysis of methods of storage use to obtain maximum incremental energy from two hydro storage plants [includes discussion]

The problem of obtaining maximum hydro energy from the various plants of the Columbia River is one phase of a broader problem that the staff at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has designated the economy loading problem, which may be defined in a broad sense as follows: To plan, design, and operate the hydro and electric system so that maximum hydro energy will be delivered economically to the load as required, without undue sacrifice of system reliability during normal or emergency operation. While direct BPA system generation is all hydro, interconnections with other systems having some steam generation will make it necessary to include solutions in which the cost of thermal energy is considered. A number of papers have been presented on economy loading as applied to thermal generation and to system transmission losses. However, up to now relatively little information has been published on obtaining maximum energy from hydro stations. A description of all the phases of the general problem of economy loading will not be attempted in this paper, which will investigate only an individual phase. It should be emphasized, however, that, to obtain correct solutions, all components are interrelated and should be considered simultaneously. Unfortunately, the complexity of such simultaneous solutions may make them impossible to achieve from a practical standpoint.