| Description: | Physical contract (import, export, or wheel) |
See also Physical Contract Property Reference for a detailed list of properties for this class of object.
A physical contract represents external generation and/or load that can be optimized according to an offer/bid step function and other constraints. By combining simultaneous generation and load parts these can also represent wheeling arrangements through a network. These objects are commonly used to represent trades with areas outside of the transmission system being studied.
The generation side of a contract is defined by adding a node to the Generation Node collection and defining Max Generation. You may define a offer function for generation using Offer Quantity / Offer Price in multiple bands. The load side of the contract is defined by adding a node to the Load Node collection and defining Max Load. You may define a demand function using the Bid Quantity / Bid Price in multiple bands.
NOTE: You must set both Max Generation and Max Load. For example if using only the generation side you still set Max Load to zero.
Example: A generation contract with zero cost
| Collection | Physical Contract | Node |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Contract.Generation Node | EXT_200 | AAA_220kV |
| Physical Contract | Property | Value | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXT_200 | Max Generation | 200 | MW |
| EXT_200 | Max Load | 0 | MW |
Example: A generation contract with a two-band cost function
| Physical Contract | Property | Value | Units | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXT_200 | Max Generation | 200 | MW | |
| EXT_200 | Max Load | 0 | MW | |
| EXT_200 | Offer Quantity | 100 | MW | 1 |
| EXT_200 | Offer Quantity | 100 | MW | 2 |
| EXT_200 | Offer Price | 0 | $/MWh | 1 |
| EXT_200 | Offer Price | 50 | $/MWh | 2 |
At the Region level physical contract generation and load acts just like generator generation and 'normal' dispatchable load.
The properties Min Load and Min Generation define lower bounds on generation and load from the contract respectively.
You can assign ownership of the contract generation / load to one or more companies. The ownership can be shared using the Share property and the generation/load and financial settlement of the contract will flow through to those companies.
The fixed cost of the contract can be entered using any of Fixed Cost, Fixed Generation Charge, and Fixed Load Charge properties.
Max Generation and Max Load are the 'key' properties for a Physical Contract. Thus you may use a Scenario to tag these properties and switch the contract in/out of your Models.
You can optimize the purchasing of physical contract generation and load capacity as part of an integrated resource plan using LT Plan.