CEA launches new software to help power utilities of states

New Delhi, Apr 13: The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has launched an indigenously developed Integrated Generation, Transmission, and Storage Expansion Planning Model with Demand Response which will help state power discoms to carry out a comprehensive resource adequacy plan, according to an official statement issued on Sunday.

After the issuance of Resource Adequacy Guidelines, the CEA has been carrying out the Resource Adequacy (RA) plans for all the discoms. To begin with, the CEA completed the exercise for all discoms up to 2032, and now all of them have been updated to 2034-35.

The CEA has also finished the national level exercise up to 2034-35. Since the plan is dynamic and is mandated to be revised every year, it was thought to develop a common tool for all and share it with them free of cost. It will also help integrate the studies easily and bring out the optimum solutions for the country.

The model explicitly considers chronological operation of the power system and all unit commitment constraints, including technical minimum, minimum up and down times, and ramp-up/ramp-down rates. Besides, endogenous demand response and ancillary services have also been included, the statement said.

The benefits of the tool include ensuring adequate resource adequacy (neither less nor more) in the electricity grid, zero load shedding, no stressed capacity, and least cost solutions.

It will also help in optimisation of the cost of power system generation expansion and system operation while considering the benefit of demand response. Besides, it will help to optimise the size and location of storage.

The software has been developed entirely in India with the active guidance of the CEA, ensuring complete transparency. The CEA will update and upgrade this tool based on further suggestions from the users (discoms/load despatchers) of this software.

The launch event highlighted the collaboration between the CEA, The Lantau Group (TLG) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Technical Assistance programme.