Optimal power dispatch : analysis of a new method with global convergence

The economic load dispatch is a common optimization problem faced by power grid operators. The task is to find the optimum repartition of a system load among different electricity generation facilities. Due to a physical phenomenon, called the valve-point effect, the objective function is not convex and classic methods of optimization cannot be employed. Most of current approaches are based on heuristics. and common reference cases miss a global optimum. However, a team of searchers from the UCL developed a new method, called AQUA, which is guaranteed to converge to a global optimum. In this thesis, the method is numerically tested over several reference datasets. The algorithm is expanded in order to solve problems subject to the valve-point effect and others constraints.