Difference between revisions of "GCDAMP- GTMAX"

1. Tool used to assist Western in making its operation of the CRSP powerplants more efficient
2. To estimate the electrical power production impacts of different operational regimes.
3. GTMax-Lite (and GTMax) has been used successfully to model operations at Glen Canyon Dam and other Salt Lake City Area Integrated Project dams for many years. (SDM workshop-2013)

In addition to numerous references to maximizing revenues and improving profits, the author(s) state that “minimizing costs may not be the most important objective”, and proceed to suggest that maximizing revenues would constitute a mathematically equivalent approach.

From a WAPA customer perspective, we believe that there is a significant policy-level difference between a statutory obligation that requires WAPA to market federal project hydropower at the lowest possible rates to consumers consistent with sound business practices, and a revenue maximization goal. On one hand, the author(s) correctly observe that the objective function of the GT Max model is to minimize cost. In this regard, we believe that WAPA and Argonne have correctly oriented the tool so as to be reflective of WAPA’s legal obligation.

On the other hand, the author(s) describe the business area where 100% of WAPA’s customers reside as “the regulated IOU business model”, which suggests to us that the author(s) may not understand the public power characteristics of WAPA’s customers.

The foregoing observations notwithstanding, the real damage in the revenue versus cost discussion is the promulgation of the misleading suggestion that utility business entities (WAPA, WAPA’s customers, other public power entities, IOUs, etc.) are exclusively focused on maximizing profits. This is particularly harmful in the AMP arena, where the majority of participants are not utility business professionals, and a perception that “profits trump natural resources” could be reinforced. As in items 3-4 above, the promotion of false perceptions such as this serves only to establish or strengthen barriers among AMP stakeholders who might otherwise be able to collaborate more effectively.

• GTMax site at Argonne
• GT Max Final Products of 2011 Hydropower KA and GT Max Model review workshop