PLEXOS 6.202 Release Notes

  1. Upgrade Compatibility
  2. Changes
    1. Generator
    2. Changes
    3. LT Plan
    4. PASA
    5. MT Schedule
    6. Competition
    7. Stochastic
    8. Transmission
  3. Features
    1. Parallel Monte Carlo
    2. Chronological LT Plan and MT Schedule
    3. Help
  4. User Interface
  5. New Inputs
  6. Moved Inputs
  7. Input Changes
  8. New Outputs
  9. Changed Outputs
Released
June 9, 2011
Updated
November 8, 2011
Previous Version
6.201
Next Version
6.205

1. Upgrade Compatibility

You 6.201 (or 5.201) database will be upgraded automatically and should function just as before. There should be no manual upgrading required.

2. Changes

The following are the main changes in this version as compared to 6.201:

  1. The Design class is gone and its settings moved to other classes-most settings to Region. This means you can now have different market rules in each Region e.g. uplift in one Region and not in others.
  2. LT Plan uses "Simplest" heat rate by default. Previously LT Plan would use the highest detail of heat rate function defined, which was somewhat contrary to MT Schedule which would simplify if ST Schedule was enabled. LT Plan, MT Schedule and ST Schedule now offer a setting Heat Rate Detail to control what level of simplification if any is done by each phase. If you have complex heat rates then in this version LT Plan will run faster but the results might not match. To match previous results set Heat Rate Detail = "Detailed".
  3. Line Max Flow now defaults to infinity. Simply defining the Line is enough to have it flow, avoiding to need to specify a flow limit for many lines in large networks.

The following describes some of these changes in more detail:

2.1. Generator

The following changes have been implemented:

  1. Fuel transition modelling
  2. Upgraded CHP specification
  3. Finer control over heat rate detail with Generator Max Heat Rate Tranches and phase property Heat Rate Detail. In particular this means that if you define a heat rate function with multi-band Load Point, the number of tranches used by the simulator is no longer restricted to the number of bands of Load Point.

2.2. Region

Region Units property allows you to turn entire transmission areas on/off by Scenario.

2.3. LT Plan

The following changes have been implemented:

  1. When the "Effective Load Approach" is enabled the ELDC is now computed before slicing the curve. This improves the accuracy of the approximation. In addition the ELDC is computed system-wide not on a Region-by-Region basis.
  2. Maintenance factors for Generators are automatically sculpted rather than uniform. This improves the accuracy of the production cost simulation LT Plan.
  3. Chronological mode for LT Plan captures the effect of start-up and shutdown as well as other dynamic effects such as ramping and reserves and non-coincidence of peaks and short-term variability in wind, load, etc.
  4. Interface build costs annualised.
  5. See MT Schedule below for details of LDC improvements.

2.4. PASA

The following changes have been implemented:

  1. PASA can now run multi-sample (see Stochastic Method), which means that maintenance patterns, and reliability statistics can be computed per-sample in a multi-sample run.
  2. Support for time-variable outages rates.

2.5. MT Schedule

The following changes have been implemented:

  1. Chronological mode for MT Schedule. This feature allows for decomposition of Generator Max Starts constraints and other elements that involve generator starts.
  2. The capacity expansion algorithm in MT Schedule is revised. This function has new relevance now that the chronological option is available as it becomes a good way to model entrepreneurial investment.
  3. New LDC Slicing Method option "weighted least-squares" produces superior fit to the ordered load curve.
  4. New feature on Generator allows capacity of renewables to be subtracted from the LDC prior to slicing (see Generator Load Subtracter).

2.6. Competition

  1. The Bertrand (Shadow Pricing) function is enhanced so that it can be used without having to define Company objects.
  2. The Nash-Cournot Competition algorithm is refreshed. See the Competition topic for details.

2.7. Stochastic

Simulation phases support Stochastic Method = "Independent Sample (Parallel)" ", which causes Monte Carlo simulations to execute in parallel i.e. multiple samples are solved at a time on separate threads but within the same Model execution.

2.8. Transmission

Transportation models e.g. networks with DC lines that include loops are now subject to automatic correction for non-physical flows in loops.

3. Features

3.1. Parallel Monte Carlo

You can now choose to run Monte Carlo simulations with the samples executed in parallel rather than in sequence. This allows you to leverage multi-core computers with large amounts of RAM and greatly speed up your Monte Carlo simulations. No additional licensing is required for this feature.

3.2. Chronological LT Plan and MT Schedule

Both simulation phases now offer chronological mode. This works the same as ST Schedule except that some time period aggregation is still available so you don't need to simulate every dispatch interval but still capture the effect of start-ups, etc. This means that you can now impose, previously very difficult constraints, like limits on number of unit starts in a year, or model more accurately limits on fuel or emissions including those from start-ups.

3.3. Help

The help has been greatly improved. More places in the application now respond to the F1 key and take you straight to the relevant topic, and help for properties has been improved.

4. Use Interface

The following are highlights of the user interface changes for this version:

  1. Updated visual style, ribbon and backstage. The new style is similar to Office 2010 with backstage view replacing the program button functions.
  2. Ability to turn on/off collections in Configuration. The Configuration now controls which collections are available as well as which properties are available. For example the Generator collection Heat Input is now hidden by default.
  3. Node class no longer enabled by default. You don't need to include the Node class if your dataset has no transmission elements, only Region is now required i.e. from a new database the only enabled classes are Generator and Region and all created generators are implicitly assumed to reside in a fictitious node in the that region.
  4. Scenario , Data File and Timeslice classes are no longer enabled in a new database. Use the Configuration menu to enable them.
  5. New charting tool. The charting tool has been changed to ComponentOne from ChartDirector giving a native WPF chart that fits closely the visual style of the application.
  6. Database Settings now allow you to lock editing of various aspects of the data from unintentional changes and even control by Scenario which data are allowed to be edited.
  7. The object properties dialogs are enhanced. Use the new controls to show/hide unused membership types and properties. This is particularly useful for Constraint because you can now see just the data defined on your Constraint without the 'placeholders' for unused properties. Also use the navigation buttons to move quickly through your collection of objects without having to exit the dialog.

5. New Inputs

The following table lists all the new input properties available in the release. Please refer to the help topics for detailed information.

Collection Property Note
Generator Fixed Load Penalty See below new outputs
- Load Subtracter See note blow about LDC formation
- Mark-up Point Relates to Mark-up, Bid Cost Mark-up
- Max Energy Day/Week/Month/Year -
- Max Energy Penalty See below new outputs
- Max Heat Rate Tranches -
- Max Ramp Up Penalty See below new outputs
- Max Starts -
- Max Starts Day/Week/Month/Year -
- Max Starts Penalty -
- Max Units Pumping -
- Min Energy Day/Week/Month/Year -
- Min Energy Penalty See below new outputs
- Min Load Penalty See below new outputs
- Pump UoS Charge -
- Ramp Up Charge See below new outputs
- Ramp Down Charge See below new outputs
- Rounding Up Threshold Relates to Rounded Relaxation
- Shutdown Penalty See below new outputs
- Start Penalty See below new outputs
Generator Fuels Transition Down Cost -
- Transition Up Cost -
- Decoupling Time -
- Coupling Time -
- Mutually Exclusive -
Emission Generators Shadow Price Scalar -
Head Storage Flow at Start -
Storage Non-Physical Inflow Penalty -
- Non-physical spill penalty -
- Enforce Bounds -
- Decomposition Penalty a -
- Decomposition Penalty b -
- Decomposition Penalty c -
- Decomposition Penalty x -
- Decomposition Bound Penalty -
- Energy Value -
- Max Generator Release -
- Max Ramp -
- Max Ramp Day -
- Max Ramp Week -
- Max Ramp Month -
- Max Ramp year -
- Max Ramp Penalty See below related outputs
- Target Penalty See below related outputs
- Spill Penalty -
- Water Volume -
- Water Value Now multi-band
Waterway Initial Flow -
Purchaser Load Obligation -
- Max Energy Day/Week/Month/Year -
- Max Energy Penalty See below related outputs
- Min Energy Day/Week/Month/Year -
- Min Energy Penalty See below related outputs
- Max Load Factor Day/Week/Month/Year -
- Min Load Factor Day/Week/Month/Year -
PhysicalContract Firm Capacity -
- Load Obligation -
Fuel Contract Price Incr -
- Price Scalar -
Region Elasticity -
- Is Strategic -
- MLF Adjusts Bid Price -
- MLF Adjusts Offer Price -
- MLF Adjusts No Load Cost -
- MLF Adjusts Start Cost -
- Min Native Capacity Reserves -
- Min Native Capacity Reserve Margin -
- Units -
Zone Min Native Capacity Reserves -
- Min Native Capacity Reserve Margin -
Node Fixed Generation -
Line Flow Non-anticipativity -
- Flow Non-anticipativity Time -
- Formulate NPL Upfront -
- Max Capacity Reserves -
- Min Capacity Reserves -
Interface Flow Non-anticipativity -
- Flow Non-anticipativity Time -
Financial Contract Is Physical -
Constraint Feasibility Repair Weight -
Constraint Generators Capacity Factor Coefficient -
- Units Pumping Coefficient -
- Generation Sent Out Coefficient -
- Ramp Coefficient -
- Ramp Up Coefficient -
- Ramp Down Coefficient -
- Ramp Up Violation Coefficient -
- Units Shutdown Coefficient -
- Build Cost Coefficient -
Constraint Storages Inflow Coefficient -
- Release Coefficient -
- Spill Coefficient -
- Generator Release Coefficient -
Constraint Purchasers Load Obligation Coefficient -
Constraint Physical Contracts Units Generating Coefficient -
- Units Load Coefficient -
- Build Cost Coefficient -
Constraint Reserves Shortage Coefficient -
Constraint Regions Generator Build Cost Coefficient -
Constraint Zones Load Squared Coefficient -
- Load Squared Coefficient -
- Generation Coefficient -
- Committed Capacity Coefficient -
- Generation Capacity Coefficient -
- Peak Load Coefficient -
- Capacity Reserves Coefficient -
- Generation Capacity Built Coefficient -
- Generator Build Cost Coefficient -
- Import Capacity Coefficient -
- Export Capacity Coefficient -
- Import Capacity Built Coefficient -
- Export Capacity Built Coefficient -
Constraint Lines Build Cost Coefficient -
Constraint Interfaces Expansion Cost Coefficient -
Condition Reserves Provision Coefficient -
- Risk Coefficient -
- Shortage Coefficient -
Interfaces Flow Coefficient -
Data File Shape Distortion -
Variable Sampling Frequency -
Production Rounded Relaxation Tuning -
- Rounded Relaxation Start Threshold -
- Rounded Relaxation End Threshold -
- Rounded Relaxation Threshold Increment -
Report XML Content -
PASA Include Market Purchases -
- Stochastic Method -
- Transmission Detail -
LT Plan Heat Rate Detail -
- Chronological -
- Block Concentration -
- LDC Slicing Method -
- LDC Weight a -
- LDC Weight b -
- LDC Weight c -
- LDC Weight d -
- LDC Pin Top -
- LDC pin Bottom -
MT Schedule Heat Rate Detail -
- Chronological -
- LDC Slicing Method -
- LDC Weight a -
- LDC Weight b -
- LDC Weight c -
- LDC Weight d -
- LDC Pin Top -
- LDC Pin Bottom -
ST Schedule Heat Rate Detail -
Diagnostic Solution Status -
- Region Marginal Unit Increment -
- Region Marginal Expansion Unit -
- Region Marginal Expansion Increment -
Scenario Locked -
Model Write Input -
Diagnostic Random Number Seed -

6. Moved Inputs

Many attributes have been made properties so that Scenario can be applied. In addition the entire Design class is replaced by properties on other classes such as Region, which allows for example different settlement rules by Region.

Class Attribute New Class New Property Change by Scenario Change in Time
Generator Random Number Seed Generator Random Number Seed Yes No
Generator Repair Time Distribution Generator Repair Time Distribution Yes No
Generator Price Setting Generator Price Setting Yes No
Generator Expansion Optimality Generator Expansion Optimality Yes No
Generator Declining Depreciation Balance Generator Declining Depreciation Balance Yes No
Generator Energy Limit Decomposition Method Generator Energy Limit Decomposition Method Yes No
Storage Model Storage Model Yes No
Storage Internal Volume Scalar Storage Internal Volume Scalar Yes No
Storage End Effects Method Storage End Effects Method Yes No
Storage Decomposition Method Storage Decomposition Method Yes No
Waterway Traversal Time Waterway Traversal Time Yes No
Waterway Flow Control Waterway Flow Control Yes No
Reserve Type Reserve Type Yes No
Reserve Mutually Exclusive Reserve Mutually Exclusive Yes No
Region Include in Region Supply Region Include in Region Supply Yes No
Node Must Report Node Must Report Yes No
Node Is Slack Bus Node Is Slack Bus Yes No
Line Must Report Line Must Report Yes No
Line Random Number Seed Line Random Number Seed Yes No
Line Price Setting Line Price Setting Yes No
Line Expansion Optimality Line Expansion Optimality Yes No
Transformer Must Report Transformer Must Report Yes No
Phase Shifter Price Setting Phase Shifter Price Setting Yes No
Market Is Forward Market Is Forward Yes No
Market Is Marginal Market Is Marginal Yes No
Market Demand Curve Market Demand Curve Yes No
RSI Allow Negative Markups RSI Allow Negative Mark-ups Yes No
Constraint Sense Constraint Sense Yes No
Constraint Include in LT Plan Constraint Include in LT Plan Yes No
Constraint Include in PASA Constraint Include in PASA Yes No
Constraint Include in MT Schedule Constraint Include in MT Schedule Yes No
Constraint Include in ST Schedule Constraint Include in ST Schedule Yes No
Constraint Decomposition Method Constraint Decomposition Method Yes No
Constraint Include in Uniform Pricing Constraint Include in Uniform Pricing Yes No
Constraint Condition Logic Constraint Condition Logic Yes No
Condition Sense Condition Sense Yes No
Condition Condition Logic Condition Condition Logic Yes No
Reserve Mutually Exclusive Reserve Mutually Exclusive Yes No
Variable Random Number Seed Variable Random Number Seed Yes No
Variable Sampling Method Variable Sampling Method Yes No
Variable Distribution Type Variable Distribution Type Yes No
Design Pool Type Region Pool Type Yes No
Design Generator Settlement Model Region Generator Settlement Model Yes No
Design Load Settlement Model Region Load Settlement Model Yes No
Design Offer Quantity Format Generator Offer Quantity Format Yes No
Design Offer Quantity Format Line Offer Quantity Format Yes No
Design Offer Quantity Format Physical Contract Offer Quantity Format Yes No
Design Offers Must Clear in Order Generator Offers Must Clear in Order Yes No
Design Benefit Function Shape Purchaser Benefit Function Shape Yes No
Design Max Benefit Function Tranches Purchaser Max Benefit Function Tranches Yes No
Design Uniform Pricing Pump Storage Price Setting Region Uniform Pricing Pump Storage Price Setting Yes No
Design Uniform Pricing Relax Transmission Limits Region Uniform Pricing Relax Transmission Limits Yes No
Design Uniform Pricing Relax Generic Constraints Region Uniform Pricing Relax Generic Constraints Yes No
Design Uniform Pricing Relax Generator Constraints Region Uniform Pricing Relax Generator Constraints Yes No
Design Uniform Pricing Relax Ancillary Services Region Uniform Pricing Relax Ancillary Services Yes No
Design Uplift Enabled Region Uplift Enabled Yes No
Design Uplift Cost Basis Region Uplift Cost Basis Yes No
Design Uplift Compatibility Region Uplift Compatibility Yes No
Design Uplift Alpha Region Uplift Alpha Yes Yes
Design Uplift Beta Region Uplift Beta Yes Yes
Design Uplift Include Start Cost Region Uplift Include Start Cost Yes No
Design Uplift Include No-Load Cost Region Uplift Include No-Load Cost Yes No
Design Uplift Detect Active Min Stable Level Constraints Region Uplift Detect Active Min Stable Level Constraint Yes No
Design Uplift Detect Active Ramp Constraints Region Uplift Detect Active Ramp Constraints Yes No
Design Constraint Payments Enabled Region Constraint Payments Enabled Yes No
Design Constraint Payments Compatibility Region Constraint Payments Compatibility Yes No
Design Ancillary Services Dynamic Risk Reserve Dynamic Risk Yes No
Design Ancillary Services Interruptible Load Logic Purchaser Interruptible Load Logic Yes No
Design Ancillary Services Dynamic Risk Reserve Dynamic Risk Yes No
Design Ancillary Services Cost Allocation Model Reserve Cost Allocation Model Yes No
Production Ramp Down Penalty Generator Max Ramp Down Penalty Yes Yes
Production Ramp Up Penalty Generator Max Ramp Up Penalty Yes Yes
Production Hydro Flow Delta Penalty Waterway Max Ramp Penalty Yes Yes
Production Hydro Min Flow Penalty Waterway Min Flow Penalty Yes Yes

7. Input Changes

Some properties are renamed and for a few properties the default value has changed. Most attributes are now properties and labelled in the Configuration as "Settings" for the class. Because they are now properties they can have Scenario applied.

Collection Property Notes
Generator Commit Now defaults to -1
- Mark-up Renamed from "Markup"
- Bid-Cost Mark-up Renamed from "Bid Cost Markup"
Storage Max Ramp Default is now Infinity
Reserve Shortage Renamed from "Shortfall"
Node Fixed Load Renamed from "Fixed Losses"
Line Max Flow Default is now infinity
MLF Regions Load Coefficient Renamed from "Demand Coefficient"
Company Mark-up Bias Renamed from "Markup Bias"
Constraint Purchasers Load Coefficient Renamed from "Demand Coefficient"
Constraint Penalty Price Now allows for -1 to indicate hard constraint
Condition Regions Load Coefficient Renamed from "Demand Coefficient"
LT Plan LDC Type Renamed from "Step Type"
Competition Mark-up Min Stable Level Renamed from "Markup MSL"
- RSI Bid-Cost Mark-up Method Renamed from "RSI Bid Cost Markup Method"
Performance MIP Relative Gap Allowed to be zero
- Small MIP Relative Gap Allowed to be zero
- Maximum Threads Defaults to -1 (automatic)
- MIP Maximum Threads Defaults to -1 (automatic)
Diagnostic Solver Summary Now also outputs XML showing full solution diagnostic

8. New Outputs

The following new output properties are added:

Collection Property Note
Generator Capacity Curtailed -
- Curtailment Factor -
- Dark Spread -
- Dispatchable Capacity/Energy -
- Efficient -
- Fixed Load Generation -
- Fixed Load Violation Relates to Fixed Load Penalty
- Fixed Load Violation Cost Relates to Fixed Load Penalty
- Fuel Transition Cost -
- Hours Curtailed -
- Hours of Fixed Load Violation Relates to Fixed Load Penalty
- Hours of Min Load Violation Relates to Min Load Penalty
- Hours of Ramp Down Violation Relates to Max Ramp Down Penalty
- Hours of Ramp Up Violation Relates to Max Ramp Up Penalty
- Max Energy Violation Relates to Max Energy Penalty
- Max Energy Violation Cost Relates to Max Energy Penalty
- Max Starts Violation -
- Max Starts Violation Cost -
- Min Energy Violation Relates to Min Energy Penalty
- Min Energy Violation Cost Relates to Min Energy Penalty
- Min Load Violation Relates to Min Load Penalty
- Min Load Violation Cost Relates to Min Load Penalty
- Net Generation Relates to Pumped Storage
- No Cost Capacity/Energy -
- Ramp Up Cost Relates to Ramp Up Charge
- Ramp Down Cost Relates to Ramp Down Charge
- Ramp Up Violation Cost Relates to Max Ramp Up Penalty
- Ramp Down Violation Relates to Max Ramp Down Penalty
- Ramp Down Violation Cost Relates to Ramp Down Penalty
- Shadow Generation Relates to Uplift
- Shadow Pool Revenue Relates to Uplift
- Shadow Price Received Relates to Uplift
- Spark Spread -
- Start & Shutdown Penalty Cost Relates to Start Penalty and Shutdown Penalty
- Strategic Shadow Price Relates to Company Strategic
- Undispatched Capacity/Energy -
- Units Pumping -
Generator Fuels Transition Cost -
Fuel Generation -
- Average Heat Rate -
- Time-weighted Price -
- Max Offtake -
Emission Generation -
- Intensity -
Emission Generators Generation -
- Intensity -
Emission Generators Generation -
- Intensity -
Emission Fuels Generation -
- Intensity -
Emissions Generation -
- Intensity -
Company Emissions Generation -
- Intensity -
Storage Efficiency -
- Generation -
- Hours of Ramp Violation Relates to Max Ramp Penalty
- Non-physical Inflow Relates to Non-physical Inflow Penalty
- Non-physical Spill Relates to Non-physical Spill Penalty
- Pump Load -
- Ramp -
- Ramp Price -
- Ramp Violation Relates to Max Ramp Penalty
- Ramp Violation Cost Relates to Max Ramp Penalty
Waterway Hours of Max Flow Violation Relates to Max Flow Penalty
- Max Flow Violation -
- Max Flow Violation Cost -
- Hours of Ramp Violation -
- Ramp Violation -
- Ramp Violation Cost -
Purchaser Max Energy Violation Relates to Max Energy Penalty
- Max Energy Violation Cost Relates to Max Energy Penalty
- Min Energy Violation Relates to Min Energy Penalty
- Min Energy Violation Cost Relates to Min Energy penalty
- Load Factor -
Reserve Hours of Shortage -
- Shortage Cost -
Reserve Generator Contingencies Risk -
- Shadow Price -
Reserve Line Contingencies Risk -
- Shadow Price -
Reserve Regions Load Risk -
Region / Zone Capacity Excess Cost -
- Capacity Shortage Cost -
- Capacity Shortage Cost -
- Cost of Dump Energy -
- Cost of Unserved Energy -
- Emissions Cost -
- Generator Auxiliary Use -
- Generation Sent Out -
- Generation Sent Out -
- Hours of Dump Energy -
- Hours of Unserved Energy -
- LRMC Relates to LT Plan
- Shadow Cost to Load -
- Shadow Generation -
- Shadow Load -
- Total Generation Revenue -
Region Regions Available Transfer Capability -
Node Peak Load -
- Generator Auxiliary Use -
- Generation Sent Out -
Line Available Transfer Capability -
- Export Capacity Built -
- Export Capacity Retired -
- Export Cost -
- Export Limit -
- Export Revenue -
- Import Capacity Built -
- Import Capacity Retired -
- Import Cost -
- Import Limit -
- Import Revenue -
Transformer Available Transfer Capability -
- Export Cost -
- Export Limit -
- Export Revenue -
- Flow Back -
- Import Cost -
- Import Limit -
- Import Revenue -
- Loading -
- Loading Back -
- Loss Back -
- Max Flow -
- Min Flow -
Interface Available Transfer Capability -
- Export Limit -
- Import Limit -
- Export Limit -
- Loading -
- Loading Back -
Company Total Generation Cost -
- Build Cost -
- Capacity Built -
- Capacity Retired -
- Net New Capacity -
- Retirement Cost -
- Shadow Generation -
Company Regions Shadow Generation -
- Marginal Cost -
Variable Raw Value -

9. Changed Outputs

The following changes are made to existing output properties:

Collection Property Notes
Generator Hours of Operation Replaces "In Operation"
- Mark-up Renamed from "Markup"
- SHadow Price Received Renamed from "Marginal Cost Price Received"
- FO&M Cost Renamed from "FOM Cost"
- Ramp Up Price Replaces "Ramp Price"
- Ramp Down Price -
- Ramp Up Violation Replaces "Ramp Violation"
- Ramp Down Violation -
- Build Cost Now reported in thousands not millions
- Retirement Cost Now reported in thousands not millions
Generator Fuels Hours Available Replaces "Is Available"
Region - Replaces "Hours of Outage"
- Price-Cost Mark-up Renamed from "Price Cost Markup"
- Shadow Price Replaces "Marginal Cost Price"
- Generator FO&M Cost Renamed from "Generator FOM Cost"
Line / Transformer - Replaces "Is Congested"
- Hours Violated Replaces "Is Violated"
Phase Shifter Hours Binding Replaces "Is Binding"
Interface Hours Congested Replaces "Is Congested"
Contingency Hours Binding Replaces "Is Binding"
Financial Contract Hours Active Replaces "Is Active"
RSI Bid-Cost Mark-up Renamed from "Bid Cost Markup"
- Price-Cost Mark-up Renamed from "Price Cost Markup"
Constraint Hours Binding Replaces "Is Binding"
- Hours Active Replaces "Is Active"