Reliability Indexing of Intra-Facility Dispatch Decisions

Abstract

The Powertrain Reliability Index (PRI) quantifies the trade-offs made in system reliability for efficiency, water use, and environmental purposes for relevant stakeholders. Using historical data from five North American hydroelectric facilities on a shared river system, this metric characterizes the annual probabilistic reliability of intra-facility dispatch decisions. The metric characterizes the operational risk of actual dispatch based on the lowest risk-exposed dispatch and the highest risk-exposed dispatch. By normalizing facility reliability by the number of components described within the facility, constraining operation by the historic dispatch total of unit starts and generating hours, and bounding by required grid flexibility, each facility’s dispatch can be scored for reliability.