Large scale systems with multiple objectives: An interactive negotiation procedure

Abstract An interactive negotiation procedure for large scale systems with multiple objectives is proposed. It is assumed that there are multiple decision-makers, who have their own multiple objectives and who are dependent on each other via common resources or physical connections. The negotiation procedure includes two repeated main steps: the decision-makers' independent multicriteria optimization of their subsystems, and a convenient step for tradeoff between the decision makers. Assumptions guaranteeing the convergence of the negotiation scheme are established; among these one assumption, concerning independence of subsystems, is essential. The negotiation procedure is applied in the operation planning of two coupled hydroelectrical power systems of the southeast region of Brazil, and simulation results are included to show its usefulness in solving real world problems. The same operation planning problem is also solved by the SEMOPS method. A comparison is made from the viewpoint of methodology, practice and computational effort. The results obtained from the comparisons show that the proposed scheme is very effective in solving complex, multiobjective problems. Finally, conclusions and further work are addressed.