Optimal Management of Combined-Cycle Gas Units with Gas Storage under Uncertainty

Abstract

We formulated a problem faced by a power producer who owns a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) and desires to maximize its expected profit in a medium-term planning horizon. We assumed that this producer can participate in the spot and over-the-counter markets to buy and sell natural gas and electricity. We also considered that the power producer has gas storage available that can be used for handling the availability of gas and the uncertainty of gas prices. A stochastic programming model was used to formulate this problem, where the electricity and gas prices were characterized as stochastic processes using a set of scenarios. The proposed model includes the technical constraints resulting from the operation of the combined cycle power plant and the gas storage and a detailed description of the different markets in which the power producer can participate. Finally, the performance of the proposed model is tested in a realistic case study. The numerical results show that the usage of the gas storage unit allows the power producer to increase its expected profit. Additionally, it is observed that bilateral contracting decisions are not influenced by the presence of the gas storage unit.