Optimal scheduling of power generation units using differential evolution approach: A case study

Power system operators face significant planning challenges. One of those challenges is unit commitment (UC), which is considered as a sophisticated issue which needs to be handled efficiently. In Saudi Arabia, the demand growth factor is comparatively high. Besides its promising industrial and commercial future, which will increase domestic demands. Therefore, a reliable planning approach is highly needed. In this study, a stochastic searching approach has been proposed to solve the unit commitment problem (UCP) of SEC-EOA generation units in order to find its optimal plan. The control parameters of the optimization technique have been adjusted via various simulations. The optimal generation units' schedules for both peaks of summer and winter times have been obtained with the minimum total operation cost. The difference between the peak and off-peak demands throughout the day is relatively significant. Hence, utilizing the energy storage system is recommended to improve units' commitment planning and to reduce the total operation costs.