Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Electricity: Decision-Making for Optimal Economic Performance

Abstract

Forecasting the values of a large number of variables is at the heart of all planning, and planni must always, therefore, involve some uncertainty in its outcome. The electricity supply sector is one of the most difficult for which to plan because of the long ‘load-time’ needed, from obtaining the go-ahead to order the plant from all concerned, to the completion of construction. However, one cannot say that, because of this, planning in such u sector bears little relationship to planning either in (say) the manufacturing sector or in one’s own every-day life. Such a viewpoint would show a schizophrenic attitude to planning in the electricity supply sector. ‘Spot’ pricing described later in this chapter, helps to ‘normalize’ the power system planning process.

This chapter owes a dot to the notes prepared by the author for the Intercollegiate M.Sc. course in Electrical Engineering, London University, 1980 and used by permission of Imperial College, London, UK. For further information the reader may also find it profitable to consult [1].