R. Belmans

The development of power quality markets

Power quality (PQ) issues in electricity distribution systems are regarded from an economical perspective, starting from parallels in environmental economics. In order to create incentives to efficiently achieve required levels of PQ, an emission permit/right trading system for the different PQ phenomena, each with a different market, is presented. Its implementation and functioning are explained. This system allows the stimulation of the installation of mitigating devices at the customer site or in the grid and makes it possible to tailor the needs of individual customers, who will become more aware of PQ.

Influences of large penetration of distributed generation on N-1 safety operation

The incentive to operate less polluting energy sources and the electricity liberalization has opened opportunities for the increasing penetration of distributed generation (DG) in the power system. Due to the locally available resources and small scale, DG units are mostly connected at the distribution level. This does not only have impact on the distribution system operation, but on the transmission system as well. In this study, the impact of DG on N-1 safety (contingency) of the transmission system is studied in detail with different DG technologies at given penetration levels.

Comparison of transmission tariff methods in a free market for electricity

One of the outstanding issues in the liberalisation of the electricity market is the way in which transmission costs are translated into tariffs. The transport grid is seen as a natural monopoly, and thus the transmission tariffs should be regulated. Ideally, the tariff structure should lead to economic efficiency, it should enable the grid owner to cover his costs, and it should be nondiscriminatory and transparent. The present study compares three basic alternative methods of transmission pricing-postage stamp, distance related and nodal-in the light of these requirements, and presents a tariff proposal for Belgium. Special attention is paid to cross-border transmission.

Practicality of grid quality charge as part of a postage stamp transmission tariff for Belgium

A reliable and economic operation of the transmission grid in a deregulated electricity market can only be obtained by appropriate incentives for the parties involved. Therefore, a cost reflective transmission pricing system is a prerequisite. At the Budapest PowerTech 99 Conference a transmission tariff system derived from the postage stamp tariff was proposed, taking into account the requirements of the Belgian law and the characteristics of the Belgian grid. The basic postage stamp consists of an individual cost component, a demand component and an energy component. Two characteristic elements that may be added are the way outlyers are charged for reactive power, and the grid quality charge (GQC). Outlyers for reactive power are generators not taking part in reactive power regulation or consumers exceeding the power factor limitations. The grid quality charge is a node and time dependent surplus or reduction of the basic postage stamp rate, based on whether or not extra generation or demand in a node reduces losses, alleviates congestion, and increases reliability and stability. In the paper, the practicality of calculating the GQC based on the superposition principle is checked on a 15-node test network. The superposition principle is extended to include congestion. The need for charging outlyers is also discussed.

Voltage control in power systems with IPP

Voltage control in electric power systems can become a major problem in a restructured electricity market. In a competitive market with dispersed and autonomous generation, system operation will have to be adapted according to the decentralised power production structure. New mathematical analysis procedures must be further developed to study the system behaviour. Continuation load flow with calculation of stability indices is an appropriate tool for static studies. Bifurcation analysis provides insight in the stability behaviour of the power system dynamics. Both tools are explained and an application example is presented.

An approach to teaching electrical energy

SUMMARY The paper discusses the implementation of a new teaching programme for electrical power engineering graduates. The balance between the different parts of the curriculum (non-technical, technical non-electric, electric non-power and real electrical power) is proposed and explained given the specific context. The logical information flow throughout the education process and the links between the course topics are explained.