How the TSO Elia levels up outage planning using optimization

Outage Planning is becoming increasingly complex for System Operators

Anticipating the challenges that come along with the full transition of the energy landscape is becoming crucial for System Operators to continuously guarantee the security of supply for their millions of consumers. More specifically, Outage Planning is becoming increasingly complex for System Operators but at the same time, the rise of Advanced Analytics is bringing new opportunities.

Poll results showcase the challenges and expectations of other TSOs

Poll #1 What is the most painful point in your outage planning process?

• 49% Frequent external changes requiring re-planning
• 19% Teams coordination and process sequentiality
• 16% Reduced outage opportunities
• 8% Planning visualization
• 8% Others

Poll #2 What is the main benefit you expect from using advanced analytics in your outage planning process?

3 Key takeaways

1. A modular solution implemented in operations

Advanced Analytics is currently being leveraged at Elia Transmission Belgium. A modular solution has been created, allowing an integrated outage planning with the consideration of fully customizable constraints and business objectives

2. Developed with the right technology

Constraint Programming has proven to be an efficient technique to solve the outage planning optimization problem. It allows more agile planning of grid interventions when possible but also more stable when necessary

3. Bringing value to the user

Key tangible results for Elia Transmission Belgium:

• Reduction in the number and duration of outages, decreasing the overall stress on the grid
• Reduction in the workload for the field and planning teams
• An increase in the number of interventions realized each year and better use of the planned outages

Q&A

Q1: The outage plan is first optimized on a yearly basis to create plans for the coming year. Is that outage plan fixed or do you have to move outages when new inputs are arriving? And is that acceptable in the maintenance department if you have to do that?

R1: In intra-year, a weekly re-optimization of the outage planning is performed. At that time, changes in the outage planning are allowed to keep the planning feasible even with changes in the expected operating conditions as well as to be able to plan newly identified interventions. The tradeoff between agility, optimality, and stability is achieved thanks to the “inertia to change” sub-objective function.

Q2: How do you do if the constraints require doing several jobs at the same time on the same loop of a network? Is this problematic?

R2: Sometimes, depending on the constraints defined as input of the optimization problem, the tool is not able to plan all the interventions on the grid. In that case, the tool has to arbitrate between the different interventions based on their priorities. The interventions which the optimizer ca are identified and the list of constraints preventing these interventions to be planned can be retrieved by the user.

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Past Webinar co-organized with tso elia:

From Feasible to Optimized Outage Planning: Leveraging the Power of Advanced Analytics at Elia Transmission Belgium | 31/03/2021