New mode to schedule and price hydro power in market environment

A new mode to schedule and price hydro power in a hydrothermal system is presented in this paper. By which hydro energy is optimally scheduled in priority, thermal units bid for remainder load demand and clear the market, and then hydro energy is paid for the price cleared by thermal units. Based on the characteristic of hydro energy, market rules are proposed first in the paper, and a schedule method based on the principles of production simulation is presented to optimize hydro energy. The price paid for hydropower is proved to be equivalent to the equilibrium price when hydro and thermal power bid simultaneously. Numerical simulation and analysis are carried out based on an actual power system. Simulation results show that the proposed mode for hydro power can sufficiently utilize its capacity and energy in market environment, and the payment correctly reflects the hydro contribution to the power system. In power market, it is a simple mode to realize hydro efficiency and comprehensive social benefits; also it is an effective way to avoid hydro plant abusing market power