Two-stage stochastic energy procurement model for a large consumer in hydrothermal systems

The Energy Procurement (EP) problem faced by a large consumer is concerned with planning the energy procurement in the various energy markets available, such that its short- and medium-term demands are met, and the risks involved in such trading are mitigated. Although a number of EP models have been proposed for purely thermal systems, no specific model has been addressed for solving this problem for a large consumer located in a hydro-dominated system. In this paper we discuss the main specific features and issues involving EP problems for hydro-dominated markets. A central issue is the estimation of future energy prices in the pool market. In hydro-dominated systems, uncertainties in incremental water inflows into reservoirs affect directly such prices, as well as the estimated demands, and these are difficult correlations to be captured by a price estimation model. In this paper, we propose a Price Scenario Generation (PSG) model to estimate future pool prices, which is able to capture spatial and temporal correlation among uncertain prices, water inflows and demands. The estimated prices obtained by the PSG are introduced in the proposed Energy Procurement Model for Hydrothermal Systems (EPMHS), which calculates the optimal procurement decisions, involving the portions of energy traded in the pool, bilateral and futures markets, as well as the self-produced energy. The proposed EPMHS is formulated as a sequence of mixed-integer two-stage stochastic linear programming problems, where pool prices are handled as uncertain parameters. The EPMHS represents trading risks using the Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) metric. We also propose a strategy for including yearly estimation of water inflows into the EPMHS, since prices in hydro-dominated markets are generally driven by water inflows forecasts. The model proposed is applied to the generation system of the northeast region of Brazil, and the results reveal coherent correlations between hydro and economic variables. •Specific features of Energy Procurement (EP) problems for hydro-dominated markets are analyzed.•An EP model for hydro-dominated systems is proposed, which integrates the PSG and the EPMHS models.•The PSG model estimates future pool prices while captures important spatial and temporal correlations.•A strategy for including yearly estimations of water inflows into the EPMHS model is proposed.•Results involving a real system reveal a coherent correlation between hydro and economic variables.