Abstract—Hydropower is one of the most significant renewable energy resources, especially for mountainous countries like Laos PDR. Expansion and development of many hydropower projects in the country have presented a challenge to the operation of multiple reservoir system. Nam Ngum river was the focus of this work, where there are two or more cascading reservoirs. Optimal operation of such system is of interest, with the main goal of maximizing power generation. A multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) was adopted in this study, applying to two cascading reservoirs of Nam Ngum 1 and 2 hydropower plants. It was demonstrated that increases in hydroelectric power generation could be realized for all cases of normal, dry and wet years, compared to the traditional actual operation of the hydropower plant system. Similar approach may be adopted to assess opportunities in other water management problems. 0 

Index Terms—hydroelectricity, renewable energy, multiple reservoir management, optimization, power engineering

Cite: Phoutthavanh Sorachampa, Nakorn Tippayawong, and Kanchit Ngamsanroaj, "Optimal Operation of Two Cascading Reservoir System for Maximizing Hydropower Generation Based on Particle Swarm Algorithm," International Journal of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 21-25, March 2021. doi: 10.18178/ijeee.9.1.21-25