The role of aggregation in power system simulation

Long-term simulations of electric power systems are an essential tool for power system planning and operation. As power systems are extraordinarily complex, simplifying assumption have to be made to find computational tractable model formulations. In this paper we define aggregation methods 1) for simulation time, 2) for generation units and 3) for load demand units. The performance of the aggregation models is checked against detailed models including binary effects such as minimum down-time, minimum generation or demand side contracts. The aggregation models show very similar behavior, while a significant speed-up in simulation time is observed.