ELEC ENG 4087 - Electricity Market and Power System Operation

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2024

In this course, we learn about the wholesale electricity market and power system operation in terms of energy and ancillary services. The course provides a broad knowledge of the evolution of the power system industry and electricity market over time, rules and regulations, various energy and ancillary services markets and transmission system operation with a focus on Australian Electricity Market. Introduction to deregulation and electricity market: History of power industry, vertically-integrated utility, Problems with regulation, What is deregulation and why is it needed, what should be deregulated, Types of markets, Evolution of deregulation, Entities in the deregulated electricity industry, Types of market in terms of trading arrangement, Open electricity energy markets Market principles and electricity market economics: Modelling consumers, Modelling suppliers, Market equilibrium, Pareto efficiency, Global welfare, Theory of firm: short-run and long-run costs, Marginal cost fallacies, Scarcity rent, Economy of scale and scope, Profit and fixed cost recovery, Market power, Optimisation and market equilibrium problem Ancillary services (AS) market: Definition, Different types of AS for balancing issues, network issues, and system restoration, Compulsory provision of AS, AS market, demand-side AS provision, Impact of AS market on the spot prices, co-optimisation of energy and AS markets, Contingency analysis Transmission system operation: Introduction to the transmission system, Decentralised trading over a transmission network, Physical transmission rights, Issues related to physical transmission rights, Centralised trading over a transmission network, Unconstrained/Constrained transmission system with/without losses, Nodal marginal prices, Variable/fixed/non-technical losses

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code ELEC ENG 4087
    Course Electricity Market and Power System Operation
    Coordinating Unit Electrical and Electronic Engineering
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Assumed Knowledge ELEC ENG 3110
    Assessment Ongoing assessment, examination
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Ali Pourmousavi Kani

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

    The course is presented as 8 chapters. There are the following scheduled activities in this course:
    • 42 hours of lectures
    • 4 hours of industry lectures
    • 2 tutorials
    • 4 workshops
    • 2 quizzes
    • 3 Continuous Assessments
  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes

    1. The electricity industry in the past and present, restructuring and deregulation: We will learn about the transition to a de-regulated electricity industry, necessities, evolution roadmap, types of markets appropriate for electricity as a commodity etc.
    2. Microeconomics: in relation to the electricity market, we learn microeconomic concepts, e.g., modelling consumers and suppliers, market equilibrium, Pareto efficiency, global welfare, short-run and long-run costs, marginal price, scarcity rent, market power etc.
    3. Optimisation: We learn about different optimisation formulations and implementation in GAMS and MATLAB using Gurobi solver.
    4. Variations of economic dispatch: Understanding variations of economic dispatch problems, definition, and implementation (simple ED, offer-based ED, ED with losses and transmission constraints) step-by-step.
    5. Ancillary services market: We learn about AS products (particularly the pool market-based ones) in the National Electricity Market (NEM) and the impact of co-optimisation of energy and AS markets.
    6. An electricity market with intermittent renewable resources: We review the changes in the electricity market to cope with the impact of renewable resources' intermittency and its impact on prices and services.


     
    The above course learning outcomes are aligned with the Engineers Australia Entry to Practice Competency Standard for the Professional Engineer. The course develops the following EA Elements of Competency to levels of introductory (A), intermediate (B), advanced (C):  
     
    1.11.21.31.41.51.62.12.22.32.43.13.23.33.43.53.6
    C C C B B C C C B B B B
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)

    Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth

    Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.

    1-6

    Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving

    Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.

    1-6
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    The following resources are available on the course website:
    • Slides: a complete set of lecture slides are available on MyUni.
    • Lectures: 42 hours of lectures will be delivered in this course.
    • Tutorials: There are two tutorials on weeks 2 and 4.
    • Continuous Assessment: Three online tests on weeks 3, 7, and 11.
    • Quizzes: two quizzes on weeks 5 and 9.
    • Computer Workshops: Four computer workshops on weeks 6, 8, 10, and 12 
    • Workshop instructions
    • Sample questions
    Recommended Resources
    1. Practice Problems: these are available on the course website.
    2. Lectures and slides
    3. Past quizzes
    4. Textbooks: The course slides should provide sufficient information for many students. However, you may find the following textbooks helpful if you are having difficulty with the material or are interested in learning more about any of the topics in this course:
      • Daniel Kirschen, Goran Strbac, “Fundamentals of Power System Economics,” 2nd Edition, Wiley, 2018.
      • Steven Stoft, “Power System Economics: Designing Markets for Electricity,” Wiley-IEEE Press, 2002 
      • Siochansi, R. & Conejo, A.J. “Optimization in Engineering: Models and Algorithms,” Springer, 2010.
      • Baldick, Ross. “Applied optimization: formulation and algorithms for engineering systems,” Cambridge University Press, 2006.
    Online Learning
    Extensive use will be made of the MyUni website for this course.

    Course notes, tutorial problems and solutions, computer laboratory exercises and practice problems will all be available for downloading from the website. Where the lecture theatre facilities permit, audio or video recordings of lectures will also be available for download.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This course relies on lectures as the primary delivery mechanism for the material. Tutorials and computer workshops supplement the lectures by providing exercises and example problems to enhance the understanding obtained through lectures. Continuous assessment activities provide formative assessment opportunities for students to gauge their progress and understanding.
    Workload

    No information currently available.

    Learning Activities Summary
    • Chapter 1 - Introduction to the electricity market and deregulation, where we review a brief history of power system operation in the past, the necessity of deregulation, deregulation evolution, types of markets appropriate for electricity as a commodity and so on.
    • Chapter 2 - Market principles and electricity market economics, in which we learn about microeconomics in relation to the electricity market.
    • Chapter 3 - Optimisation formulation and solution, where we learn the basics of formulating an optimisation problem without going deep into the theories. Understanding optimisation formulation and being able to solve optimisation problems are inevitable skills for the rest of the course.
    • Chapter 4 - Economic dispatch (ED), where we define the economic dispatch as an optimisation problem and we develop real-world ED formulation step-by-step.
    • Chapter 5 - Offer-based economic dispatch (OBED), where we take the ED problem to the next level by imitating a real electricity market with bids from suppliers and consumers based on what we learned in Chapter 2.
    • Chapter 6 - Unit Commitment, in which we start with unit commitment definition, formulation and implementation, and security-constrained UC problem. Then, we delve into network-constrained UC problem formulation and implementation.
    • Chapter 7 - Ancillary services markets and products, where we review AS products (particularly the pool market-based ones) in AEMO and we learn about the impact of co-optimisation of energy and AS markets.
    • Chapter 8 - Electricity market with intermittent renewable resources, where we review the changes in the electricity market to cope with the impact of renewable resources intermittency and its impact on the prices and services.
    Specific Course Requirements
    Students are required to have access to GAMS software and the Gurobi optimisation solver. While both are available at various facilities such as the CATS suite or the undergraduate computer labs of the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, you have access to a free student version of GAMS, and an educational Gurobi license to install on your personal machine. The instructions on how to obtain a license and install it on your machine are given on the course MyUni website. 
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Task Type Due (week)* Weighting Hurdle Learning Outcome
    Online MyUni Quiz (unless university allows invigilated exam) Summative TBD 40% min 40%
    Tutorials x 2 Formative & Summative TBD 15%
    Workshops x 4 Formative & Summative TBD 40% min 40%
    Quizzes x 3 Summative TBD 5%
    * The specific due date for each assessment task will be available on MyUni.

    Assessment Related Requirements
    The in-class tests and workshops are hurdle requirements for this course. It is necessary to achieve at least 40% in both. If this is not achieved, the total course mark will be limited to a maximum of 49.

    A hurdle requirement is defined by the University's Assessment for Coursework Programs policy as "...an assessment task mandating a minimum level of performance as a condition of passing the course.If a student fails to meet a hurdle requirement (normally no less than 40%),and is assigned a total mark for the course in the range of 45-49, then the student is entitled to an offer of additional assessment of some type. The type of assessment is to be decided by the School Assessment Review Committee when determining final results. The student’s final total mark will be entered at no more than 49% and the offer of an additional assessment will be specified eg. US01. Once the additional assessment has been completed, this mark will be included in the calculation of the total mark for the course and the better of the two results will apply. Note however that the maximum final result for a course in which a student has sat an additional assessment will be a “50 Pass”.

    If a student is unable to meet a hurdle requirement related to an assessment piece (may be throughout semester or at semester’s end) due to medical or compassionate circumstances beyond their control, then the student is entitled to an offer of replacement assessment of some type. An interim result of RP will be entered for the student, and the student will be notified of the offer of a replacement assessment. Once the replacement assessment has been completed, the result of that assessment will be included in the calculation of the total mark for the course.
    Assessment Detail

    No information currently available.

    Submission

    No information currently available.

    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

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