Impact of Compressor Coordination on Linepack Optimization and Cost Reduction for 24-Hour Operation in Integrated Gas and Electricity Network

The integration of gas and electricity networks is pivotal for efficient energy management, particularly with the rising penetration of renewable energy sources. Compressor stations are critical for maintaining gas pressure and flow, and their optimal operation can significantly enhance system flexibility and reduce costs. While previous studies have explored coordinated operation of compressor units, this research introduces a novel price-responsive coordination strategy for compressor stations comprising both gas-driven compressors (GDCs) and electric-driven compressors (EDCs) within an integrated gas and electricity network. The proposed strategy operates GDCs when gas prices are lower and EDCs when electricity prices are lower, aiming to optimize linepack storage in gas pipelines. Using a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model, we optimize the scheduling of compressors based on hourly energy prices while ensuring network constraints are met. Simulations on a 24-bus electricity and 19-node gas network over a 24-hour period demonstrate that this coordinated approach leads to a substantial increase in linepack storage and a reduction in operational costs compared to uncoordinated operation. Simulation results show that in the proposed design, i.e., by integrating the optimized linepack model into the compressor station model, the amount of carbon dioxide produced has decreased by 33.3% and the total operation costs have decreased by 1.57%.