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Main Authors: Zhang, Qian, Xie, Le, Zhao, Long, Wang, Congcong
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22120
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author Zhang, Qian
Xie, Le
Zhao, Long
Wang, Congcong
author_facet Zhang, Qian
Xie, Le
Zhao, Long
Wang, Congcong
contents High renewable penetration increases the frequency and magnitude of net-load ramps, stressing real-time flexibility. Two commonly deployed remedies are look-ahead economic dispatch (LAED) and ramp products (RPs), yet their operational equivalence under the industry-standard rolling-window dispatch implementation is not well understood. This paper develops linear optimization models for multi-interval LAED and RP-based co-optimization, and proves that an enhanced RP formulation can match LAED's dispatch feasible region at a single time step when additional intertemporal deliverability constraints are enforced. We then show that this equivalence does not generally persist under rolling-window operation because LAED and RP formulations optimize different intertemporal objectives, leading to divergent end-of-window states. Using different test systems under stressed ramping conditions and multiple load levels, we show LAED achieves similar or lower load shedding than RP implementations with the same look-ahead horizon, with the most pronounced differences under high-load, ramp-limited conditions. The study highlights the limitations of current ramp product implementations and suggests enhancements, such as introducing more mid-duration RPs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_22120
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Comparative Assessment of Look-Ahead Economic Dispatch and Ramp Products for Grid Flexibility
Zhang, Qian
Xie, Le
Zhao, Long
Wang, Congcong
Systems and Control
High renewable penetration increases the frequency and magnitude of net-load ramps, stressing real-time flexibility. Two commonly deployed remedies are look-ahead economic dispatch (LAED) and ramp products (RPs), yet their operational equivalence under the industry-standard rolling-window dispatch implementation is not well understood. This paper develops linear optimization models for multi-interval LAED and RP-based co-optimization, and proves that an enhanced RP formulation can match LAED's dispatch feasible region at a single time step when additional intertemporal deliverability constraints are enforced. We then show that this equivalence does not generally persist under rolling-window operation because LAED and RP formulations optimize different intertemporal objectives, leading to divergent end-of-window states. Using different test systems under stressed ramping conditions and multiple load levels, we show LAED achieves similar or lower load shedding than RP implementations with the same look-ahead horizon, with the most pronounced differences under high-load, ramp-limited conditions. The study highlights the limitations of current ramp product implementations and suggests enhancements, such as introducing more mid-duration RPs.
title Comparative Assessment of Look-Ahead Economic Dispatch and Ramp Products for Grid Flexibility
topic Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22120