The thermal unit commitment problem is treated by means of the Lagrangian relaxation method. The duality gap is not a reliable indicator of solution optimality for smaller power systems. Elimination of the less significant constraints for the process including transmission losses and some integral constraints led to modification of the algorithm. A simplification of the possible paths to reach solution optimality is presented along with a policy for changing the Lagrangian coefficients in connection with the spinning reserve reaching a selected limit.
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