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Optimal dispatch strategy to minimize the cost of unserved energy during load shedding for an academic institution
Dissertation (MEng (Electrical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2026
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| _version_ | 1869483774740267008 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Ye, Xianming |
| author_browse | Ye, Xianming |
| author_facet | Ye, Xianming |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2024 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MEng (Electrical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/108081 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-07-01T04:04:20.908Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/108081 Optimal dispatch strategy to minimize the cost of unserved energy during load shedding for an academic institution Ye, Xianming mohaunei@tuks.co.za Nei, Mohau UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Load shedding Cost of unserved energy Nonlinear optimization Optimal power dispatch strategy Academic institutions Dissertation (MEng (Electrical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2025. Load shedding poses a significant challenge to electricity consumers as it disrupts operations, leading to lost utility and inconvenience. In response, academic institutions often rely on backup power solutions such as diesel generators to maintain continuity of activities during such outages. The Cost of Unserved Energy (CoUE) is a key metric used to quantify the economic impact of these disruptions, including the direct and indirect costs associated with mitigation strategies such as backup power systems. This study proposes an energy management solution to minimize the cost of unserved energy during load shedding for an academic institution. The aim is to determine the optimal dispatch strategy for power generation sources under varying load shedding scenarios, subject to capacity constraints while achieving minimum backup generation costs and maximum productivity. The system consists of diesel generators as the backup power source and photovoltaic systems as the renewable energy source. A case study of an academic institution in South Africa is investigated under three scenarios: (1) load shedding with no backup generation; (2) load shedding with full backup generation; and (3) load shedding with partial backup generation. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear programming (NLP) problem and solved using the ‘fmincon’ optimization solver in MATLAB. Simulation results show that, under the full backup generation, the demand is fully met but at increased cost due to reliance on diesel; when there is no backup, the operational costs are minimized but with high productivity losses; the partial backup generation offers a balance between generation cost and productivity loss. The proposed model results in more CoUE reduction under the partial backup scenario but with more unserved energy. The analysis also revealed that when PV contribution is sufficiently high, the optimizer avoids selecting any unmet demand, which led to lower CoUE during multiple outage periods. Finally, the findings showed that buildings with larger roof areas are at an advantage of mitigating the impacts of load shedding because they offer the optimizer greater freedom to allocate more PV compared to the smaller buildings. Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering MEng (Electrical Engineering) Unrestricted Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production 2026-02-11T09:05:31Z 2026-02-11T09:05:31Z 2026-04-11 2025-11-28 Dissertation * A2026 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/108081 10.25403/UPresearchdata.31306486 en © 2024 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Load shedding Cost of unserved energy Nonlinear optimization Optimal power dispatch strategy Academic institutions Optimal dispatch strategy to minimize the cost of unserved energy during load shedding for an academic institution |
| title | Optimal dispatch strategy to minimize the cost of unserved energy during load shedding for an academic institution |
| title_full | Optimal dispatch strategy to minimize the cost of unserved energy during load shedding for an academic institution |
| title_fullStr | Optimal dispatch strategy to minimize the cost of unserved energy during load shedding for an academic institution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Optimal dispatch strategy to minimize the cost of unserved energy during load shedding for an academic institution |
| title_short | Optimal dispatch strategy to minimize the cost of unserved energy during load shedding for an academic institution |
| title_sort | optimal dispatch strategy to minimize the cost of unserved energy during load shedding for an academic institution |
| topic | UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Load shedding Cost of unserved energy Nonlinear optimization Optimal power dispatch strategy Academic institutions |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/108081 |