Research on improving the inventory management of coal in thermal power plants–Take H Corporation as an example

The inventory management of coal plays a significant role in the whole operation of thermal power plants. This paper analysis the features of coal inventory management of thermal power plants. According to H Corporation´s own situation, especially the changing prices of coal and demand of electricity during a year, a practical inventory model with the target of minimizing the loss of profit and the permission of generating excess electricity was built. On the basis of the solving results of the 18 concrete models of the combination of 3 coal prices, 3 excess generating rates and 2 safety stock levels, the optimal safety stock was found. And the quantity of excess electricity to generate and coal to purchase during a year were also suggested.