Abstract:
In the modern industrialized, society, there has been tremendous increase in the requirement of electricity. On one hand and at same time, management of greater variations in the energy used between day and night, weekdays and weekends or holidays and on the other hand, daily, weekly and yearly maximum loads pose serious problems to the electricity supply industries to deal with. If sufficient generating capacity is provided to meet' the maximum system load, it requires heavy expenditure on plants with very little earning of revenue from it.
The electrical energy as such cannot be stored in large quantities. Energy storage system in the form of pumped storage can reduce the overall cost of power by reducing the amount of generating capacity required by absorbing energy during off-peak period and delivering it during peak load. The use of hydro pumped storage facilities to meet peaking capacity has been growing at an increasing rate in some countries. It has been adopted recently in India.
Reservoir operation study is very useful part of the project and should not be over looked. A correctly prepared operation schedule can show how the reservoir should be operated to derive maximum benefits.
Optimizing of reservoir operation of a pumped storage scheme is complex. Since computers are available as fast calculating tools, the problem of reservoir operation in small periods (such as hourly period for pumped storage scheme) can be easily solved. Computer program for such a study has been developed in this dissertation and its applicability has been illustrated in case of Tehri Hydro Electric Project. The study has shown that slight variations in project operation schedule of Tehri Pumped .Storage Scheme have resulted in better irrigation facilities from the project and substantial increase in power generation.
