SOPD Load Forecasting & Energy Scheduling 3

Question 1

The 'unit commitment' problem in energy scheduling determines:

Accepted Answer

Which generating units to start up or shut down over a planning horizon

Answer

Unit commitment solves which generators should be online or offline over a scheduling horizon, balancing startup costs, fuel costs, and reliability requirements.

Question 2

A system operator notices that actual load is tracking 8% above the day-ahead forecast on a summer afternoon. Which is the FIRST corrective action?

Accepted Answer

Issue a real-time adjustment to dispatch additional committed reserves

Answer

Dispatching pre-committed reserves is the first response to a load-above-forecast condition before escalating to emergency procedures.

Question 3

Which statistical method is MOST commonly used to forecast short-term (next 24 hours) electric load?

Accepted Answer

Regression analysis with weather and time variables

Answer

Multiple linear regression combining weather variables (temperature, humidity) with time-of-day and day-of-week factors is the most widely used short-term forecasting method.

Question 4

During a cold snap, a load forecast model shows higher-than-expected morning load. This phenomenon is BEST described as:

Accepted Answer

Morning pickup or cold load pickup

Answer

Cold load pickup occurs when thermostatic loads that were off during an outage or overnight all energize simultaneously, causing a sharp demand surge.

Question 5

An interchange schedule between Control Area A and Control Area B is set at 500 MW export from A. If actual flow is 520 MW, the 20 MW difference is called:

Accepted Answer

Inadvertent energy flow

Answer

Inadvertent energy is the difference between scheduled and actual interchange flow, tracked and settled between control areas periodically.

(SOPD) System Operator/Power Dispatching Practice Test

(SOPD) System Operator/Power Dispatching Practice Test

SOPD Load Forecasting & Energy Scheduling 3