The Economic Effect of the Sudanese-Egyptian Electric Grid Interconnection on the Operating Cost of the Sudanese Grid

The exchange of electric energy between countries has been playing an important role in increasing energy security for many countries. Even though the improving of the grid infrastructure at the point of interconnection needs an extra cost, however, it also provides a huge benefit not only economical but also it helps exchanging the peak loads, improving the quality of supply by increasing the reliability and stability of the interconnected grids. This paper will economically examine the effect of the grid interconnection between Sudan and Egypt on Sudanese power system. This shall be done by formulating a unit commitment study with and without the Egyptian exchanged power to compare the operating cost for both scenarios. The results have shown that second scenario, with Sudanese- Egyptian interconnection being introduced, is economically better.