See Also
To jointly dispatch the three areas we'll first combine them into a single super area. To setup the super area first select Optimal Power Flow > Super Areas from the Model Explorer to display the OPF Super Area Records display (alternatively you could also use the Aggregations > Super Areas display). To enter a new super area, right click on the "None Defined" entry in the first row of the display to show the display's local menu. Select Insert. This displays the super area dialog. Select Rename and enter a name for the new super area, "ThreeAreas." To add the three areas to the new super area enter "1-3" in the New Area #'s field and then select Add New Areas by Number (alternatively you could select the areas from the New Area Name list). Also, to enable the super area for control, set the Super Area Control Options field (AGC Status) to Optimal Power Flow Control. Select the Ok button to save the new super area.
Before resolving the OPF, let’s temporarily disable enforcement of line MVA constraints. You can do this from the Constraint Options page of the OPF Options and Results dialog. Check the Disable Line/Transformer MVA Limit Enforcement.
Also, now would be a good time to save the changes. To avoid overwriting the existing B7OPF file, select Save Case As from the File menu to save the case (pwb and pwd files) with a different name, say B7OPFSA (SA for super area).
Select Primal LP from the OPF ribbon group on the Add Ons ribbon tab to resolve the OPF. The results should be as shown below.
OPF Solution with Super Area WITHOUT Enforcing Line MVA Constraints
With the super area the individual area interchange constraints are no longer enforced. This permits the free interchange of power between the areas, resulting in an overall decrease in the total case hourly cost from $ 16,887 / hr to $ 16,227 / hr. View the OPF Bus Records display to verify that all the bus marginal costs are identical, equal to $ 17.10 / MWh. Of course the key problem with solving the system using the super area is that now there are line violations. These violations will be removed next by enforcing the line MVA constraints.