This thesis deals with the dispatch of power networks under mixed pool and bilateral trading. The issues examined are i) influence of relative level of pool versus bilateral trading on economic performance indices like revenues and expenditures of generators as well as of loads; ii) comparative performance of mixed trading with firm and nonfirm bilateral contracts under various curtailment strategies; and iii) comparison of revenue derived from the pool and bilateral trading with the corresponding unbundled costs. The eventual goal of these results is to help generator and load serving entities choose appropriate relative levels of pool versus bilateral trades while considering risk, economic performance, as well as physical constraints.

An optimal power flow model is developed using linear programming method for optimization that dispatches the pool in combination with the privately negotiated bilateral contracts while minimizing cost and accounting for both losses and congestion. The bus incremental cost is also evaluated and effect of varying the relative levels of pool versus bilateral trading on the expenditures and revenues of generators as well as of loads is also discussed.