Hydropower Operations & River Systems Modeling
Chattahoochee Hydroelectric System Middle Chattahoochee River Operations Model
Georgia
Power Company (GPC), a Southern Company Services (SCS) affiliate, owns and
operates the Bartletts Ferry, Goat Rock, Oliver and North Highlands
hydroelectric developments on the Middle Chattahoochee River. The West
Point development, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is
located upstream of the GPC projects. The combined capacity of the five
developments is 364 MW. With limited storage and a mismatch of hydraulic
capacities, coordinated operation of the projects is highly interdependent.
To support their relicensing process, SCS retained Devine Tarbell & Associates, Inc.’s (DTA) staff to configure its CHEOPS™ computer-based operations model to simulate operations at the projects. DTA’s staff worked extensively with SCS to select model configuration options that will most accurately duplicate the development’s current and potential future operations.
In addition to the custom-configuration required to accurately model the Middle Chattahoochee River developments, SCS desired a model that would be flexible enough to quickly and easily change the configuration to another system.
DTA’s staff configured its CHEOPS™ model to analyze the Chattahoochee Hydroelectric System. Several new routines were developed to ensure that the unique features of the system were accurately characterized. A weekly peaking module was created for the Chattahoochee model to allow for simulation of the weekly cycling that occurs in the Bartletts Ferry reservoir. This weekly peaking module can be toggled on and off to investigate the benefits of this operating scheme. The model was delivered to SCS in January 1999. SCS staff was trained in the use of the model, and the model logic was explained in great detail. DTA’s staff supported efforts by SCS staff in their in-house verification of the model calibration.