Co-optimization of generation unit commitment and transmission switching with N-1 reliability

Currently, there is a national push for a smarter electric grid, one that is more controllable and flexible. The full control of transmission assets are not currently built into electric network optimization models. Optimal transmission switching is a straightforward way to leverage grid controllability: to make better use of the existing system and meet growing demand with existing infrastructure. Previous papers have shown that optimizing the network topology improves the dispatch of electrical networks. Such optimal topology dispatch can be categorized as a smart grid application where there is a co-optimization of both generators and transmission topology. In this paper we present a co-optimization formulation of the generation unit commitment and transmission switching problem while ensuring N-1 reliability. We show that the optimal topology of the network can vary from hour to hour. We also show that optimizing the topology can change the optimal unit commitment schedule. This problem is large and computationally complex even for medium sized systems. We present decomposition and computational approaches to solving this problem. Results are presented for the IEEE RTS 96 test case.