Planning Long-Term Network Expansion in Electric Energy Systems in Multi-area Settings

We present a multi-year and multi-area dynamic transmission expansion planning model. We define a set of metrics to rate the effect of the expansion among generators and demands. Additionally, we use congestion and saturation indexes, measuring changes in nodal prices and line saturations, respectively. We set the problem in a multi-area framework, assuming different entities in charge of the expansion simultaneously. The proposed formulation results in a mixed-integer linear optimization problem that can be solved using commercially available software. As a result, our model determines the best overall transmission expansion, reflecting both investment and operation costs as well as long-term financial parameters. The described approach is used to identify the most adequate expansion for a generic multi-area system based upon the IEEE 24-bus RTS. We compare the results obtained with individual expansions vs. multi-area expansions in terms of technical and economic indexes.