An efficient algorithm for optimal reservoir utilization in probabilistic production costing

An efficient and accurate algorithm is presented which determines optimal storage reservoir utilization (pumped hydro) in probabilistic production cost models with multiple storage, thermal, and limited-energy units. The algorithm exploits the special nature of the production cost function, which is piecewise linear with respect to the reservoir utilization levels. It achieves the same accuracy as previously developed, less efficient, approaches which require multiple production cost calculations. The proposed algorithm is also more efficient as well as more accurate than heuristic reservoir utilization algorithms, which are prone to inaccuracies when multiple storage units are considered