563-06 - Balancing Efficiency, Availability, Capability and Flexibility

Learning objectives
- Describe the concepts of economic dispatch
- List the two reserve categories and identify their sub-categories
- Describe Power Plant unit efficiency especially concerning how it fits into economic dispatch
- Describe the importance of maintaining power plant unit capability as high as feasible
- List and describe the components of power plant unit flexibility especially concerning their importance in economic dispatch
- Describe the importance of power plant units being available when needed
Course overview
Power plants must operate efficiently. But efficiency should not be the only consideration in decisions about unit operation. Power plant units operate as part of a fleet that must be efficient yet flexible, available, and capable. Understanding this balance is important in making proper operations and maintenance decisions for power plant units in a fleet environment. The Balancing Efficiency, Availability, Capability, and Flexibility training course describes the concept of economic dispatch. It also discusses running and shutdown reserves and why they are important. This online course explains economic dispatch, reserve capacity, efficiency, availability, capability, and flexibility. This course is part of the Efficiency, Reliability, and Environmentally Sensitive Operations training series.
The individuals involved in the development and promotion of this course do not receive any compensation or financial benefits outside of their regular employment for their work on this course.