Impact of the Competitive Environment on the Generating Units Maintenance

Maintenance of the power generating facilities in due time is essential for economical and reliable operation of the power system. Economical aspects, which bring revenue, and technical aspects, which keep the power system above the desired level of reliability, have to be confronted and the cheapest solution, which complies with the strict technical limitations, has to be obtained. This paper addresses the problem of obtaining the optimal maintenance schedule for generating units. For this purpose, this paper discusses the mathematical programming method - Benders decomposition. After the brief description, an application of the Benders decomposition on the three Croatian hydroelectric power plants in a row on the River Drava is carried out.