Here's what we've been up to lately...

More Events changes (Monday, July 9, 2018)
We've added three new buttons to the event tool, found on the "Output Options" and "Event Diagnostics" pages.

• Repair Isolating Events: This is a big one.  Use this feature to re-define any contingency that causes singularity or isolation in Promod.  This will eliminate those nettlesome messages in the Promod ERR file that indicate "singular" or isolating contingencies.  Promod will modify such contingencies, but it won't tell you how.  Using this feature will not delete a branch from the definition, but it will "disable" the branch.  Saving the EVE file will record the disabled branch with a "! disabled" flag to hide it from Promod.  Disabled branches are NOT written to any PowerBase template.
  We strongly recommend using this clean-up tool.

​

• Rename Events: All event names will be replaced with the branch name of the first contingency branch.  If a contingency has more than one branch, a "+n" will be appended to the name, where n is the number of additional branches in the contingency.  This will help to separate N-1 from N-2, etc.
  Hint:  On the Event Definitions page, you can use the filter to view all N-2 definitions by typing a +1 in the filter box.

• Clean Event Names: If you are using the "E: xx" nomenclature for event names (actually, the contingency name), sometimes the numbering can become incorrect if you are adding or deleting events along the way (especially with the contingency evaluator additions).  To remedy this, press this button to remove the "E: xx" string from the name.  This affects the .EVE file save, and the PowerBase template saves, as well as the display on the Event Definitions page.

All of these are available in our development version of the PAT, and will be released as a production version soon (likely near the end of August).  If you want the dev version, just ask.

Contingency Evaluator & Multi-hour changes (Monday, July 2, 2018)
Some clients have noticed a dramatic slow-down with the PAT (we hate slow) when solving several hours with the contingency evaluator.  We think the problem is the vast amount of storage the PAT was using  to retain the results of each hour for the "Multi-Hour" tool on the LP solution, which isn't really needed for the contingency evaluator.  To fix this, we've made the retention of multi-hour results an option (on the "Options" button).  By default, it will be un-checked, but if you check it, it will be remembered by the PAT, so be careful.  We're hoping this will address the slow-down when using the contingency evaluator with several hours.

Also on the CE, we've heard complaints that the evaluator is adding TONS of contingencies automatically as you sweep through the hours evaluating contingencies.  This is a case where the developer did not foresee the consequences of what seemed like a good idea.  For those users who use pss/E "CON" files to create contingencies, this feature was adding a great many undesired contingencies to the problem.  To fix this, we've made the auto-create feature an option on the CE tool.  The option to automatically create contingencies can now be disabled by un-checking the new box on the contingency evaluator tool options screen (the front page of the CE tool).  The PAT will retain the value on subsequent runs.

One more thing:  On the results page of the CE, the "Add MON?" column (on the far right) is buggy when checking and un-checking.  To fix this, you can now check and uncheck by FIRST selecting the boxes you wish to check or un-check (by clicking or dragging the mouse on the cells), and THEN pressing either of the two new buttons to check or un-check the selection you've made.  Much easier, and hopefully, it will work.

Again, these new features are in the DEV version of the PAT for whoever wishes to use them.  We will roll it into version 2.4 after a few brave souls have tested it out for us.  Thanks.

New Event Repair Tool (Friday, June 22, 2018)
The ubiquitous islanding events problem is finally addressed by the PAT.  In Promod, when an event isolates a bus with a multiple line outage (radial single-line outages are handled just fine), Promod will disable a branch in the contingency definition to remove the island, but it's hard to tell which one.

In the DEV version of the PAT (soon to be released, but available on request), there is a new button on the "Event Diagnostics" tab that instantly searches for islands and disables as many branches as required to remove the island.  The contingency branches are retained in the event, but are marked as "disabled" by the PAT.  When writing an EVE file from PAT, the contingency branch is commented with a "! Disabled" flag.  Once this is done, there should be no events in the problem that cause islanding.  
​If you are using PowerBase templates to save your events, the disabled members of the contingency will NOT be included in the template.

Remember - the PDTR islands are a different matter - use the PDTR tool to weed out those Promod-crashing islands.


Things we're working on (Thursday, June 21, 2018)
Here are some features we are working toward in the next release...
1. Event templates for PowerBase - we've heard complaints that adding the "E:xx" to the event name (where xx is the event number) is causing problems when porting events to PowerBase with the four templates.  To fix this, we are adding a checkbox to the event output tool to suppress the addition.  We still recommend using it for those who maintain a text-based EVE file outside of PowerBase. I'm also getting rid of the "L/O prefix added to event names from the contingency evaluator (for the same reason). Done.
2. You can drag in a pss/E RAW file, along with an event file from Promod to look at shift factors.  This should be handy for ERCOT studies where the user commonly has both. Done.
3. The "inconsistent limit" event diagnostic now performs much better, and allows double-clicking for fast repair of monitored lines that have different limits under different contingencies. Done.
4. The IDEV processor has several bugs fixed. Done.
5. On the "Bus Injection Tool" of the Contingency evaluator, we now report the maximum injection possible at a bus without overloading any lines under contingency conditions. Done.
6. We added a "Filter" on the Shift Factor tool to make finding constraints much easier.  We also now report the shift factors in percent on the flow-tab double-click for consistency. Done.
7. We want to add a tool to the contingency evaluator to approximate the analysis performed by ERCOT when evaluating potential renewable sites for congestion (simple injection analysis using a DC power flow without re-dispatch). Done.
8. On the new hourly-congestion tool (the new H-C button), we are putting in a source-sink pair option to compute the most important constraints affecting an LMP basis.  The calculation uses HRX-file shadow prices to compute all LMP. Done.
9. Bringing the help file up to date with these new features. (working on it)

Any other suggestions from anyone?  Post them on the Message Board.


News on 2.3 (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)
We found a bug on an important diagnostic in the Events tool (inconsistent limits) - see the discussion thread on this topic.  If you're not using this diagnostic, consider using it now - we think it's important.  The updated version is now on the server.


New Production Release (2.3)  (Monday, June 4, 2018)
2.3 is ready on the server for everyone.  There are some significant additions as well as several more minor bug repairs.  Here are the important ones...

• On the new H-C tool (hourly congestion, for Promod 11.1.3 and higher users), there is a new tab that computes and selects the most important contributors to congestion at a selected generator bus or hub.  The top 5 (user selected number) positive and negative constraints (on average) are displayed on a grid and in a cool bar chart, which you can copy to a report.  Great for showing clients how their unit's LMP is affected by congestion. (Thanks, Neil, one of your better ones).  See the help file here.
• The PAT can now output an RDCH (read change) file for importing load and gen solutions into an AC power flow.  It's brand new, and hasn't been tested a great deal, so please check it out and let us know if it needs work.
• The "curve segments" page has a new drop-down category to show all units on emergency energy.

Keep your existing 2.2 version around, as we've made a lot of internal changes, and it would not surprise us if something needs attention.  Please, please report any bugs when you find them.

Another New Production Release (2.2)  (Wednesday, March 21, 2018)
Everything that's in the development version many of  you have been using is now rolled into an official production release (version 2.2.0).  Here are the principal features:

• Area long names are now available for PowerBase templates, using a new "special" file called "PromodAreaNames.csv".  This removes the problem of using short names (long names are NOT in the PFF) in PowerBase templates.  See the help file here on the format.
• AC/raw file compare tool.  You can now drag in two power flow RAW files for a limited compare, and port bus and branch changes to PowerBase using templates.
• On the Units page of the LP solution, you can select a binding constraint from a list to view the shift factors for all units and transactions against the selected constraint.
• The new H-C tool (hourly congestion tool, for use with Promod 11.1.13) is up and working.  See the help file here.
• When first loading a new case, the "Scope" is set to "All"
• Disabled contingency branches (due to islands) are now visible on the event tool.
• Several annoying bugs and problems repaired.

Please download 2.2 and report any problems.
I plan to be out of the country until May 4, but will be checking e-mail just about every day.

New Production Release for Valentine's Day (2.1)  (Wednesday, February 14, 2018)
We've been hard at work on a new promising feature on the Contingency evaluator.  It's called the "Bus Injection Analytics" tool, designed to find the best site for planned renewable generation.  It works by creating a dispatchable transaction at each injection bus with an assigned hourly MW pattern.  The PAT then runs through your selected hours solving the LP
with the new curve (one at a time), and recording how the new unit performs (dispatch, curtailment, and revenue). 
Note that no new unit commitment is computed, so the assumption is that the commitment will not change as a result of one additional unit added.
Click here for full details from the help file.
​Of course, all of the development features mentioned below since 2.0 are included in this release.
As soon as you begin using Promod 11.1.13 or higher, be sure to try out the new features mentioned below, and let us know how it works.

​More PAT development progress. (Tuesday, January 30, 2018)
We continue to work on the contingency evaluator to add features.
Most of our clients now use the multi-hour features in the CE (contingency evaluator), so we decided to add a "time view" to the tool.  When solving multiple hours, the current displays only show a "roll-up" of the hours for each overloaded line under the various contingency conditions.
Now (Thanks Steve W.) , you can view the overloads vs. time. 
The x axis represents the hour numbers (OK to go 8760 with thousands of contingencies  (ERCOT, about 2 or 3 hours, East is overnight).  Clicking on a "bar" for the hour populates the grid on the right, showing all the details for overloaded branches in that hour.  The height of the bar represents to the sum of flow violations for all lines.  If you like, you can focus on a single branch to see when and how it overloads.  An alternate view shows the number of overload occurrences.

It's also easier to solve multi-hour contingencies now.  Just drag in the HRX, pick your hours, drag in any CON files you wish to use (optional), open the CE and go directly to the "Evaluate" tab - assuming your options are already set, and press "Solve".  That's it.  No need to first solve an hour, or pre-define any contingencies - the PAT will find them, especially when combing over multiple hours.​  If you're solving only 1 hour, you will still need to first solve the LP.

Multi-hour LP. When solving multi-hour with the LP (not the contingency evaluator), the multi-hour tab on the LP solution now allows the shadow prices of binding constraints to save to a CSV file.  Up until now, only the congestion components for selected buses could be saved.

The release:  All of these features will be in version 2.1, which we will release after some brave clients test out our DEV version.  Let us know if you want in.  The help file's already written, so it won't take long.
​
PAT development progress. (Friday, January 12, 2018)
We've completed a few significant modifications to PAT 2.0 which are currently in our "development" version.

1. The contingency evaluator.  You may recall that the evaluator works on a "cloud" of buses that are topologically near the contingency.  The user specifies a "radius" to include in the cloud.  Recently, some of our dear clients have complained that they are not happy with this method because of the possibility that some important "downstream" overloads may be overlooked.  We agree.  To resolve this problem, the CE has a new feature to define the cloud using shift factors of all branches relative to the buses that touch the contingency.  Those branches whose shift factors exceed a tolerance (default = 5%) are added to the cloud, regardless of topology or kV.  The user has the choice of which method to use.  A note of caution.  When using the "radius" method (rather than the shift-factor method), you may be tempted to specify a large radius (say, 100).  This will make the CE crawl along at a super-slow speed.  This is because the NEW method the PAT uses (compared with the method in Old PAT) is VERY efficient with a small radius (5 or less), but is VERY inefficient  with a large radius.  (Thanks Sunil) . 
2. Also: When solving with multiple hours, the PAT searches for new N-1 contingencies to add as it goes along.   After solving each hour's LP, the CE tool solves for all line flows, searching for branches that satisfy the user-specified parameters for contingencies (on the CE options tab).  Each hour, the PAT will add new contingencies for the following hours.  This way, you are guaranteed to grab all important N-1 contingencies for each hour of the simulation, not just the first hour.  Don't forget, you can drag in multiple power flow "CON" files to define your contingencies.  Just drag in a set into PAT's main "gray" window.
3. Event file in CSV format. The PAT can write out an event file in CSV format (not power base templates, but a format that can nicely fit into Excel).  We just added the ability to read the file back in by dragging the CSV into PAT's main gray window.  This way, you can modify the event file in Excel and bring it back into PAT.  Remember, you can now produce power base templates for events in PAT's event output tab. (Thanks Shawn)
4. HRX hours.   Some clients (really only one) have found that the feature in PAT that remembers your previously solved hours can be annoying. Therefore, we made it an option on the "Options" button in the ribbon.  We hate annoying.

These features are now in the development version, and available to anyone who wishes to test them before we roll into production with 2.1.

Flow page modified. (Friday, December 28, 2017)
After a little prodding from SPP (Chris) and PJM (Nick), we've decided to restore the "Outside World" and "Promod Load" parts to the diagnostic that pops up when you double-click a flow constraint.  You can then double-click (again!) either of the components to see the bus-level details.  Hopefully this will do two things:

1. Make it easier to investigate the effects of outside resources on constrained flows.
2. Bring an end to the complaining.

​Currently, it's in the DEV version, which is available upon request. (Already on the server for PJM & SPP).


PAT 2.0 is here! (Wednesday, December 27, 2017)
 We've decided to bump the version number from 1.17 to 2.0 because of a really cool new feature made possible by the recent release of Promod 11.1.13  (thanks to Mark Adams @ABB). All of the 1.18 developments listed below are in 2.0, plus this:

• The HRX has new information for each hour.  All of the binding constraints for each hour, along with the shadow prices are now contained in the HRX.  
• The PAT will auto-detect this new information, so there should be no problem running Promod data in either new or old HRX format.
• With this new information, the PAT can  compute the energy and congestion components of all LMP for all hours very quickly.  This new information allows you to see what is influencing the solution before you solve it in PAT, just by floating the mouse over the shadow price on the HRX hourly form. 
• We can now also compute selected LMP "splits" between any two points in the model (for now, only generators, transactions, and hubs).  Look for a new H-C button on the tool strip, standing for Hourly Congestion.
• We can also show the statistics of all binding constraints, the average and max shadow prices, and more - in a table and with a chart.

We think this will be a very significant addition to the PAT, so we're calling it version 2.  What we lack here are ideas for developing tools around this new information.  We hope you will use the 2.0 thread on the Message Board to share your thoughts.  Please contribute.  Version 2.0 is on the server for everyone, along with a new help file.

APC  developments... (Saturday, December 2, 2017) (yes, we're open on Saturday)
There's a new tool on the APC to track selected units for all 8760 hours.  Pre-select the units of interest, both thermal and renewable, and read your  Promod solution case as before.  On a new tab, the hourly values of dispatch, production cost, revenue, profit, emergency and curtailment appear  on a grid with all 8760 hours.  You can view and export the data as a chart as well.  If you're interested in how selected units perform in a simulation, this tool is for you.
The APC help file  will show you the details under "Unit Hourly Tracking".
Currently, the feature is in the "development" version awaiting release, and available upon request.  We would like some brave souls to test the new feature and supply suggestions for its improvement.

PAT 1.18 developments... (Thursday, November 30, 2017)
Here are some things that are coming in version 18 (the current DEV, which is available upon request).

• You can now use the PFF compare tool to compare the bus/branch topology between a PFF file and a corresponding power flow RAW file.  Just drag them both in and bring up the PFF compare tool.  It also checks for branch rating differences. Latest development: The tool can now create PowerBase templates to upload AC RAW file data into Promod.
• The FLO/CON tool can now directly save an event file (EVE) for those constraints that came within a specified percentage of the rating during the entire Promod run.  Use this to weed out the superfluous events that are likely in your file, causing Promod to bog down.
• On the Spin Reserve page of the LP solution, you can now edit the spin requirements to investigate the effects of binding reserve constraints on the dispatch and LMP.
• On the Events tool, we now display the summer and winter ratings of interfaces and nomograms, rather than just the name.
• On the Load model tool, "values" tab, the PAT now displays the exact date and hour for peak load by day, month, or year.

Any other ideas out there?

PAT 1.17.5 on the server... (Tuesday, November 28, 2017)
Only a few minor bug corrections, plus a new feature on the Load Model tool.  When viewing on the "Values" tab in daily, monthly, or annual mode, we now publish the peak date and hour in the first column.  This way, it is easy to see the monthly and daily peak dates.
The zip archive will say 1.17.0 (as usual), but the version inside is 1.17.5
​

A few minor things with the PAT... (Tuesday, November 21, 2017)
We've had a few minor bugs and irritations reported lately, and consequently there is a new edition of 1.17 on the server tonight (11 pm - really). Here they are.  Download if you need the corrections:

• On the topology tab of the power flow tool, the "To-area" was not populating, and the "From Area" is incorrect for tie lines that cross Promod areas.
• When reading bus/branch templates created by the PAT, the program bombs because of the area name.  Problem is, I believe PowerBase requires the long area name, which unfortunately is not in the PFF file.  We publish the short name instead, which may give PowerBase a fit.  Let us know if you can think of a way around this.
• Also regarding the templates, if the bus/branch templates are in the PFF folder, the PAT reads them automatically.  If they aren't , then you get a warning and nothing happens.  We changed the procedure to prompt you for the files if they are in another folder.  Be sure to use the "multi-select" feature to grab ALL the templates you wish to read, so the proper order will be enforced.
• Irritation eliminated:  When using the mouse to select multiple hours to solve (dragging over a selection and right-clicking), the upper grid would reset to the first hour of the study, which can be super-annoying if you are working your way though a large number of selections.  We fixed that to leave the upper grid at or near the same location after the hours are moved.  (Note: don't forget to try the "Selection Tool" on the HRX form to select a collection of hours for contingency analysis.)  Also, you may right-click the lower grid and save to a CSV file.  Later on, you may read the list of hours back in using the button on the "Selection Tool" tab to restore your selection.

More 1.17 features added. (Thursday, November 16, 2017)
Just when one would think that nothing more could be added, a training session at Ameren added a ton of new suggestions.
Here is what we've added to 1.17 so far (note: The zip filename will still be 1.17.0, but the version in the program will display 1.17.3 - so make sure that's your version).

• Shift factor tool: You can now specify ANY bus or ANY branch to compute a shift factor.  Type in a bus and press "Compute" to view the factors for all event file constraints.  Drag in a branch from the power flow tool to view the shift factors for the branch at all generator and transaction buses.
• Generator outage tool (forced outages).  We added two new columns to make it easier to spot severe outage hours due to the random draw in the LIB file.  The columns specify each hour's total capacity MW (for the units you select), and the percent MW on outage.  This way, you can view the chart of % outage, click on the high points, and get detailed information on which units are on outage in those really bad hours.
• Contingency evaluator.  Overloaded lines that get flagged for new events are now checked for Shift Factor quality.  If the new overloads have a shift factor vector that is essentially null (< 0.02), then the new event is disabled.
• HRY scan.  The lengthy scan (5 minutes for an 8760 EI case) is now performed in a separate thread, so the PAT will not bog down while scanning.  If you want to do a scan (a really useful feature to study dump, curtailment & emergency), you can visit other parts of the program to work while the scan is in progress.
• Run PAT while Promod is still running.  We've fixed (I think) the problem of "locked" files, so you should be able to run the PAT while Promod is still chugging along.  Make sure the HRX file has something in it, though.  The file-length should be non-zero in the file explorer.  Once the HRX has information, just drag it into the PAT and go.
• Multi-Party (Interpool) display.  You can now edit the Max Interchange and the Hurdle Rate in PAT to see the effect on the dispatch. (Thanks, Mike A.)
• Minor bug fixes (always!)

Things we are thinking about, and would like your opinion (on the Message Board)...

• On the gen stack tool, report the constraints that would overload if a purely economic stack-dispatch were used for the peak hour of the month.  This could help point out where transmission should be upgraded to improve economics.
• Have the PAT generate a Monte-Carlo library file for Promod generation.  This way, we could prevent hours that have an unrealistic amount of generation on outage.  Instead of the wildly volatile outage pattern that we see now, would it be better to have a min and max band on any hour's outage MW in a company?  The outages could be positioned in the year to "smooth out" the volatility in the outage behavior.  We want to avoid the situation where transmission projects are strongly influenced by a bad Monte-Carlo draw.

APC News! (Monday, November 6, 2017)
The APC calculator can now run in "batch" mode.  It's easy to create an APC command file to read the Promod output files from a zip archive, generate the CSV reports requested in the command file, and zip up the reports in an output file.  You can put a one-line addition in your script that runs Promod to generate just about any report from the interactive-mode operation of the APC. (Thanks Ben A. - great idea.)  To see what the command file looks like, view the help file here.

The interactive version still allows multiple-case comparison, and bus-level details for investigation.  Don't forget the new FTP congestion report that determines the effectiveness of your generation congestion hedges.  Download your trial version today.

Version 1.17 is on the FTP Server !  (Thursday, November 2, 2017)
One day late - sorry.
In addition to the items mentioned earlier below, here are a few things to notice:

1. Several minor bug fixes found during the latest round of testing and training.  Thanks everyone.  It's always embarrassing to find bugs in a training session, but it's a great way to shake them out of the program.
2. I changed the scope tool to be oriented around Promod Companies and Promod Areas (not power flow areas). They're almost always the same, but not every time.  Promod Areas are used to find branches (think contingency evaluator), and Promod Companies are used to find units (like on the displays).
3. The Power Flow tool now computes interchange using Power Flow Areas as well as Pools and Companies.  Sometimes it is easier to spot interchange problems when we use power flow areas.
4. The random Transmission Outage tool (for forced & planned outages) is up and running - tested by MISO (thanks guys).  It works alongside the tool that repairs islanding caused by transmission outages.
5. The Help File is all up to date.

Time to start thinking about 1.18 now.  One idea (Nick D) is to allow the LMP calculation to filter out binding constraints that belong to another pool.  We would appreciate your thoughts on that subject on the Discussion Board.
Feel free to download 1.17 on the server.  If you find a problem - please report it early.

Alas!  More Developments coming in  version 1.17: (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)
I know, I know.  I said the new 1.17 would be coming out on 1 November.  Problem is, we've received a few more really cool ideas from our clients (thanks Mike A & company).  Here they are:

1.  On the "Curve Segments" page, you can now edit the "dispatch price" column to force a unit to run (or not run).  For non-committed units, the first segment's price will be a large positive number, which is the incremental offer at the minimum MW value.  Type in a zero, or even a negative number and press ENTER.  You can then re-solve the LP, and the unit should pick up.  To see the effects on the entire fleet, visit the "Units" page and sort on the "Change" column with the "Ignore scope" box checked.
2. On the "Units" page, look for a new drop-down box that contains the binding constraints for the solved hour.  A new column on the far right of the grid will show the shift factor for each unit for the selected binding constraint.  The grid will refresh when the constraint selection is changed.  This will save time rooting around in the shift factor tool for a unit's factors.
3. On the FLO/CON tool, you can now select a constraint on the "FLO" tab (by clicking on the row-header square on the left side of the grid).  Right-click the selection and choose "Show All Hours".  A pop-up will appear showing the MW flow values for every hour in the study.  Right-click the pop-up grid to save to a csv file.
4. On the "Load Model" tool, you may now dump out the hourly load values for an entire year.  To do this, use the date controls on the front page to select the range of hours (usually Jan 1 through Dec 31 of the desired year).  On the "Values" page, choose "Hourly", and select "All hours" in the drop-down box (it's the very first entry).  The grid will contain hourly load values for the selected year.  Be careful, though - if you don't limit the view to just one year, the hourly values will only show the first year, otherwise the grid would become too large.

These items are all complete in the DEV version (which anyone who asks may have), but I need to bring the help file up to date for the new features, which will require a few more days.  Patience, though - we will have it ready soon.


More Developments coming in  version 1.17: (Monday, October 23, 2017)
Here are a few more new features coming in the production roll-out on 1 November (that's the plan, anyway)...

• Monte-Carlo draw tool for Transmission.  The new PDTR tool that searches and repairs island-causing transmission outages has a new page.  Press the PDTR button to open the new random-draw transmission outage creator.  By kV class, you can specify an outage rate, an average time to repair, a min and max time to repair, and a seasonal percent share for outages to occur.  The "island tool" then combs over the new outages to remove any that separate the system (which will kill your Promod run).  The new outages can be marked as "planned" or "forced".  In a soon-to-be-released version of Promod (I'm told), any outages with an "ID" >100 will be recognized by Promod as an unplanned outage which will not affect the unit-commitment, as planned outages do (Thanks, Jim S).  We are working closely with the MISO staff to perfect the tool, which is their idea.  (Thanks Ryan, Amit, Ling L, and Ling H and any others who contributed.)
• Also: We are thinking about having the same sort of tool available to write the MC library for generator outages, which would give you, the user, more control over generator outages.  Let us know if there is any interest in such a thing.
• The scope tool now uses Promod Areas instead of power flow areas.  Almost always, these are the same thing, but sometimes they are different.  The advantage is that almost every bus in the footprint will have a Promod Area, but not necessarily a Promod Company.  For tools like the contingency evaluator, the Promod Area scope will capture just about every line in the scope without getting confused by remotely owned generators that may be hundreds of miles away from the area of interest for contingency evaluation (thanks Andrew).
• The contingency evaluator now has a "local scope" selection on the options page, so now you can easily change the Promod Areas selected for analysis without disturbing the global scope. (Thanks, Rodica).

As always, keep the ideas coming.  Use the 1.17 thread on the Message Board to post your suggestions.

Developments: (Monday, October 16, 2017)  There are new tools on the way.  The following are in our DEV version, which is available to anyone who wishes to try out new features before the production release (our BraveHearts).

• New Monte-Carlo Editor for Generation.  In the old PAT, we had an editor for modifying the outage library (binary .lib file - the one everybody loves).  It was OK, but clumsy and difficult to use, especially to see the big picture.  In the new PAT, we are about to release a new way.  On the "Gen Outage" tool, where the PAT displays the forced and planned (maintenance) outages, a new button will save a special CSV file with a very simple format.  The unit names go across the columns in the first row, followed by the total number of hours out for each unit over the course of the year.  The rows represent the 8760 (or there about) hours in the year.  Each cell in the spreadsheet is either blank (in service), or has the word "out" (for out of service - really).  To modify any outage, just edit the cells to place the outages wherever you like.  Note: Only the units that are in the scope and checked in the box on the left side will appear in the CSV.​ The same file can then be read back in (another button) to modify the outage schedules for the units (and only the units) in the CSV file.  All other units that are not in the CSV will be copied to the new LIB, unaffected.  Yet another button will write out the LIB file for Promod.  We think this will be a much easier way to visualize and modify any forced generator outages. (Thanks Charles - great idea). 
• The new feature to save events into CSV templates for porting to PowerBase seems to be working well.  I recently changed the default filename to include the "_1", to fix an annoying inconvenience.
• If you're writing bus templates for PowerBase, you may notice that the PAT does not write the area name.  This is because the "Long" area name is required, which does not appear in the PFF (surprise!). If anyone can think of a way to get the long name (like a special Promod file), we will consider it.
• The event warning that appears in the light-red warning box at the top of the program was falsely reporting duplicate interfaces when an interface appears both in the base case and in an event.  Fixed.
• The errors noted below are all repaired.

Again, if you wish an early copy of the development version (will become 1.17), let us know.  If we can get the help file complete by the end of the month, the new version will go into production on November 1, so look for it.

APC:  We are working to make the APC program work as a batch script for automatic processing following a Promod run.

Just noticed: (Thursday, October 5, 2017)  If you are using the Flo/Con file tool in PAT 1.16, you have to be careful if you plan to reduce the size of the event (EVE) file with the "Mark non-zero constraints" button.  This button is designed to mark all "non-binding" constraints as those that never come within the specified tolerance of their bounds.  Here's the problem:  It only processes the constraints within the scope, which unless the scope is the entire system, will get rid of far too many constraints as "non-binding".  We'll fix this right away, but for now: Set the scope to "All" pools, so that the entire event file will be processed by the "Mark..." button mentioned above.
  If you haven't tried this yet, it's a cool way to make the event file smaller so that Promod will be less slow.  Be sure to use a conservative tolerance, say 70% or so.
  Someone also pointed out that if the flo and con files are in a folder other than the PFF folder, the PAT will fail to find them - even when you point directly to them.  Again, this will be fixed right away, but for now, put the flo and con files in the same folder as the PFF.

PAT 1.16 update. (Thursday, September 21, 2017) We found a few bugs in the latest round of training, so the latest 1.16  is on the server now.  (Note: the zip archive will say 1.16.0, but the Title Bar on the program will show the sub version number of 1.16.1)  Here is the list of fixes:

• The LODF constraint builder (a tool that builds base-case & n-1 constraints around a list of buses) was not properly including the base case branches when saving events.  The event builder also  now ignores any potential monitored lines that have an LODF of -100%, which means the resulting monitored flow goes to zero MW.
• In the PDTR island tool, the PAT would not allow saving a csv file that did not previously exist, making it difficult to save the non-islanding transmission maintenance records.
• Also with the PDTR, the search filter was not able to find buses with lower case letters.  Now it can.
• In the contingency evaluator, it is no longer necessary to first solve the SCED LP before computing contingency flows for event-building.  After new events are added by the evaluator, all you need do is press "solve" again on the evaluator to see if the dispatch corrects the overloads.  No need anymore to go back to the LP.  The same is true in multi-hour calculations.  Just create or read the contingencies, go to the evaluator and press "solve".  Repeat if necessary.
  • A caution, though: it is always wise to examine the LP's behavior with the current set of events to make sure the case is well-behaved.  No sense in adding more constraints to an already goofed-up system.
• When saving PowerBase event templates on the event tool, my official tester found a few problems that prevented a clean upload to PowerBase with the new events from the contingency evaluator.  All fixed now. (thanks Rob C.)
• If you are using outage files with an otg extension, the PAT can now read these files - just drag them in together into PAT's main window after solving an hour.  The same is true for con contingency files.

If you are using any of these features, please download the new version.

PAT 1.16 and APC 7.0 Released! (Thursday, September 7, 2017)​  Check the Message Board for the many new features included in the 1.16 PAT release, and the APC 7.0 release.  All known bugs are fixed (including the Promod Area / Company bug mentioned below).  The help files are up to date and ready for use.  All licensed PAT and APC users can download the new version now.  For those who are not yet using the APC, a trial version is also in your FTP folder for use through September.  Even if you do not regularly compute APC, take a look at the help file (on the Products page of this website) to see what it can do.  It's a real time saver.

The new FTR tool on the APC. (Tuesday, September 5, 2017).  The APC can now read the MISO FTR award csv file, and provides easy bus mapping for the source and sink strings.  You can compare FTR revenue  against generation congestion charges to make sure your unit portfolio is sufficiently hedged against anticipated congestion from the Promod model.  Currently the code is in the DEV version (let us know if you wish to try it out), and will go into production soon.

New Tool in the PAT. (Tuesday, September 5, 2017).  On the Power flow tool, look for a new tab labeled "Flows", where you can view the "change" in flow on all branches due to any of the contingencies in the event file.  The new feature is currently in the PAT DEV version (let us know if you wish to try it out), and will go into production soon.

Bug Alert! (Tuesday, September 5, 2017).  We've found a long-standing bug in the PAT, but it's a rare one.  If your Promod companies and Promod areas do not have the same numbers (see the SMA2 table in the PFF), then the PAT will get seriously confused in the load mapping.  I believe we've fixed the problem in the DEV version (1.16).  I decided not to repair version 1.15 (the current production version) because the situation is very rare.  To make sure, check the SMA2 table of the PFF and verify that the area/company numbers are the same.  If you need the repair, either download the DEV version or let us know and we will get you a 1.15 with the repair.

Big change in the APC! - (Saturday, August 26, 2017)  
​We have taken the first step in making the APC able to read an FTR portfolio and compute FTR revenue vs. Company congestion charges.  The company congestion charge is the LMP spread between the generators and the load hub (for a specified company) multiplied by the generator's hourly dispatch.  The APC computes this charge from the hourly LMP in the BUS file and the hourly dispatch in the UNT file.  The FTR portfolio is read from a simple CSV file that lists source/sink/mw/type for each FTR.  It's easy to use and very fast. 

• The single-case version is complete and undergoing verification now.
• The multi-case version will follow soon, so you can compare congestion charges and FTR revenue changes among cases.  Should be a huge time saver and an excellent tool to help judge the value of comparative cases.

Bug Alert! (Monday, August 21, 2017)
In version 1.15 and the DEV version, there is an error occurring when an interface appears more than once in an event file. This usually happens when an interface is constrained in the base case and also in a contingency case.  The bug causes the 2nd occurrence to point to the wrong interface.  If the intended interface should be binding, then the solution will be affected, otherwise not.
The repair to 1.15 is on the server for everyone.  The "DEV" version still has the bug, so if anyone needs a new DEV, let Rob know, and I'll put one up for you.

Meeting presentations.  On August 16 & 17, Rob and Steve attended the MISO Promod meeting in Minneapolis, hosted by Xcel Energy.  As usual, ABB did a superb job organizing the content and the activities.  You can view our presentation on the APC here, and on the PAT here.


Regarding our development policy...

• We get our development ideas from you, the user.
• To send us an idea for development, register on the message board and post to the development thread, or create a new thread if you think the new idea might spawn a lot of discussion.
• We will respond to the post and let you know if (really, when) the suggestion will be implemented.
• In a few days, when we've taken our initial attempt to implement your idea, we will post a "DEV" version of the software for you to download and test.  When you give the OK, we will roll the result into the production version.

Recent PAT developments in the DEV version (to become 1.16)...

• The Event Output tab now creates CSV Templates for uploading new PAT events to PowerBase.
• There's a new Event diagnostic to identify Promod events that have conflicting names when truncated to 21 characters (this isn't a problem with PAT-generated event files, because each event name is prefixed with a special string (!E:xx, where xx is the event number), so each event will have a unique name.
• Event compare tool - you can read a 2nd event file and examine the differences, and merge. You can easily merge events with common contingencies, even with single event files.
• The scope tool now considers power flow areas along with pools and companies.
• New PDTR islanding tool.  Use this to search and repair transmission maintenance records that cause islands.
• Coming soon: New information in the HRX file that will allow you to compute all LMP very, very fast for all hours, without solving the hourly SCED problems.  This will be HUGE when ABB releases the version that sends the new data.
• We've received many comments recently about the need for training videos.  We will be working to add selected topics to the website soon.

Recent APC developments:
Version 6.0 is out there. (August 22)
Here's what's new in 6.0

• LMP on and off-peak and RTC averaging by company.
• LMP spread calculations between any two points (hubs, zones, buses in the BUS file).
• Fuel burn in mmBTU.
• SPP method up and running.
• Help file re-written and all up to date.
• It's on the DEV server.  If you're licensed with the APC, it should also be in your folder.

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