Production Planning for Thermal Electric Power Industry of the Eastern India (Mixed-Integer Programming Approach)

This study develops a least-cost investment plan for the coal-based thermal electricity in the Eastern region of India. It expands the generation and transmission capacities as on 31st March 1981 in such a way that the regional demand for thermal power during 1989-90 is met at the minimum possible cost. The problem has been posed as a static mixed-integer programming exercise because of indivisibilities in generation and transmission capacities and scale-economies in electricity generation. The study presents three reference solutions and sensitivity of one of them with regard to demand estimates, fuel prices and power loss co-efficients.