Dispatcho User Documentation

Welcome to the Dispatcho User Documentation. This guide is designed for people who will use Dispatcho on a day-to-day basis. We have tried to include many short example videos that show each feature being used, and this information is organized in a way to try and make it easy for people to quickly find answers to their questions.

We visually represent the allowable dispatch variance of a dispatch as a colored background area. By default, dispatch rules are configured based on the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) ISO Rules (e.g. Section 203.4: Delivery Requirements for Energy; 205.2 Issuing Dispatches and directives for Operating Reserve). Contact Dispatcho support if you want a different scheme for your assets.

When the TNG of an asset moves outside of the Allowable Dispatch Variance, Dispatcho will immediately send push notifications to all the devices that are watching the asset.

If the 10-minute average TNG of an asset is outside of the allowable dispatch variance then Dispatcho will flag that event as an exception.

Below we have a diagram of the allowable dispatch variance illustrated during both a steady state and ramping.

Anomalies and Exceptions

An anomaly is a single reading where the TNG is outside of the allowable dispatch variance. Visually, this is shown by the TNG line moving outside of the allowable dispatch area.

An exception is defined as a 10-minute period where the average generation is outside of the average allowable dispatch variance.

Exceptions are flagged in charts, with the label in a circle. Usually the number of consecutive 10 minute exceptions are displayed in the circle.

The dispatch table will show the count of the number of exceptions that happened between the start and finish of that dispatch.

Adding, Editing and Deleting Dispatches

Dispatches can either be added, edited, or deleted using a automated batch job, or it can be done manually using the user interface.

To edit the data manually you first need to navigate to an asset and click on the Edit button. Only the dispatches that intersect with the time range selected in the chart are displayed. If you don't see a dispatch that you're interested in, then adjust the chart zoom to include the time period of interest. Note: only Read/Write or Owner roles are able to change dispatch data.

Below the asset generation chart, you will see a editable table that behaves similar manner to a spreadsheet. Click on a cell you want to edit, and make the desired changes. If you wish to delete a row, click on the remove_circle_outline icon on the left-hand side of the dispatch row.

When you’ve finished adding/modifying/deleting dispatch rows, click the Save button, and the allowable dispatch area in the chart will immediately be updated.

If you wish to have your dispatches automatically imported from a external system such as ADaMS, please contact Dispatcho support, and we can help you automate this process.

Dispatch Details

To access the details of a dispatch, including ancillary services fields, you need to go to Edit mode for your organization's asset, click on +Details. The columns are laid out in a order similar to that in the AESO ADaMS tool, which can allow for copy/paste opportunities.

The following dispatch fields are available; in all cases, the unit is MW:

• AC - Available Capability
• Energy - The base energy for the dispatch
• DDS - Dispatch Down Service
• SR Disp - Spinning Reserve Dispatched
• SR Dir - Spinning Reserve Directive
• SUP Disp - Supplementary Reserve Dispatched
• SUP Dir - Supplementary Reserve Directive
• TMR - Transmission Must Run
• RR - Regulating Reserve

The values Energy, SR Dir, SUP Dir, TMR and RR are used to compute the Target MW, minimum and maximum. For example, if a dispatch has an Energy of 150 and a Regulating Reserve of 75, then the Target MW will be 150-225.

SR Disp and SUP Disp are used to compute the dispatched contingency reserve (DCR).

The TNG + DCR shouldn't ever exceed the Available Capability (AC).

Metadata

Each dispatch has some metadata associated with it that tells Dispatcho how to apply the dispatch when comparing it to the TNG values. Typically users will not need to see this information, but it's available for inspection by clicking on the +Metadata button.

The following metadata fields are available:

• Ramp Rate - Ramp Rate (in MW/min) for this particular dispatch. This value can be set per-dispatch if required, but the default is set in the Organization's Asset Settings.
• Tolerance - Tolerance (in MW) for this dispatch. The default is set in the Organization's Asset Settings page.
• Grace - Grace period (in minutes) before the slow ramp must begin. Defaults to 10 minutes.
• Skew % - The fast ramp and slow ramp skews by ±40% (default) or the Skew Mins (whichever is greater).
• Skew Mins - used in the skew calculation described in Skew %. Defaults to 5 minutes.

Please reference the Dispatches and Allowable Dispatch Variance chart for more context.

Adding Historical Dispatch Data

If you have a spreadsheet, it is very easy to add historical dispatch data to Dispatcho. It's just a matter of formatting the dates correctly.

Below is a video that shows the different ways to add historical dispatch data.

Zoom Presets

There are six preset ranges available: 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days and All.

Use these to quickly set an exact time range in Dispatcho. Having an exact time range makes it easy to quickly measure the total amount of power produced in a time range and compare it with the same size of time range in the past.

History Navigator

This control provides a view of all the available history for an asset in Dispatcho. You can:

• See a zoomed-out view of all the data available.
• Scroll back in time to previous time ranges and investigate visible peaks/valleys in generation.
• Resize the viewable range of the main part of the chart by dragging the handles.

Drill Down and Back Up

The easiest way to zoom in to a particular part of the chart (and see more detail) is clicking and dragging the left mouse button over the range of the chart that you're interested in. It's easy to go back to your previous zoom level by clicking on the arrow_upward icon in the chart toolbar.

Navigate to Exceptions

One of the primary features of Dispatcho is counting the number of generation exceptions.

In the table of dispatches below the primary chart, we see the number of exceptions that occurred during that dispatch. If there are no exceptions, instead of 0, the Exception column will be blank. If you click on the exception count, then that will cause the chart to go to a time range that includes where that dispatch begins and ends.

Jump to Live

When the chart view doesn't include the current time, then the toolbar icon that takes you to the live view will become active. When it is active and can be clicked on, it is white in color. Clicking on the "go live" toolbar icon will move your view to include the most recent data, and it will change the zoom level to 8 hours.

Dispatch Selection

It's common to want to be able to see the corresponding line in the dispatch table for the range you’re looking at in the chart. Or what dispatch you're editing in the table is on the chart. If you click on the chart during a time range where a dispatch exists, you will see the dispatch selected in the table.

When in Edit mode, selecting a dispatch in the table will highlight the corresponding range in the chart.

Annotations

Annotations are notes about a specific asset at a specific point in time. They are associated with the generation history of the asset and they can be created by any organization member with a role of Annotator, Read/Write, or Owner.

To create an annotation, click on the outlined_flag icon and then click on the point in time on the chart when you want the annotation to be created.

You can provide a code (up to 3 characters), which can be anything. It is up to each organization to standardize what to use for this, but it could be something as simple as the initials of the person who is adding the annotation, or it could be involving a comprehensive "event code" system that categorizes the kind of event that is being annotated.

Next, provide up to 140 characters of descriptive text.

Annotations are represented on the chart as a square "flag" displaying the code. Mouse-over, click, or tap on the flag to see the descriptive text. Annotations also show up on printed reports, with the annotation code and description showing up on the table below the chart.

Users can belong to one or more organization. Organizations are the primary subscription unit in Dispatcho. They contain:

• Assets
• Members
• Dispatches
• Annotations
• Configuration Settings

Each organization is a security silo. If you give someone Owner access in one organization, it doesn't affect their permissions in any other organizations. Dispatches that are created in one organization can't be seen in any other organization.

Private assets that have been created in one organization cannot be seen by other organizations.

Create an Organization

You can create a new organization by clicking the "Create New Organization" button on the user home page.

To create a new organization, you must provide a "URL Name" that isn’t already taken, and you must select at least one public asset.

Once your organization has been created, you can add members to your organization and set their security. You can change the properties of the organization, including which assets you want to track. You can also adjust the default tolerance and ramp rates of selected assets.

Add, Edit or Remove Members

Click on the "Members" link at the top of the Organization home page. From there, you modify the table of users. Create new users by adding their name, their email, and setting their privilege level. After you’re done making changes, click the "Save" button.

When you add new users to the system, a invitation email will be sent to the email address that you provided for that person. When they click on the link in the email and create an account, they will be asked to join your organization.

There are three different privilege levels in organizations: Owner, Read/Write, Read Only.

Read Only members can view assets, dispatches, anomalies, and exceptions; run reports; and opt-in to receive push notifications.

Annotator members can add or remove annotations.

Read/Write members can modify dispatch records.

Owner permissions grant full control of the organization. Most members should not need to have the Owner-level permissions.

Asset Settings

Organizations can set the current Tolerance and Ramp Rate values for their assets that are applied to new Dispatches on the Asset Settings page, accessible from the Organization Dashboard.

In Dispatcho, many values like the Tolerance and Ramp Rate for an asset are effective-dated. This is because each dispatch records the Tolerance and Ramp Rate that is used for duration of time that dispatch is in effect. This allows you to change any effective dated values for the future to suite future needs (e.g. the AESO could make rule changes) without having the new rules impact historical data.

Alert Sounds

Users that keep a browser window open to monitor assets can be alerted to events with sounds (audible alarms). Which sounds are configurable on a per-organization basis.

An organization's alert sounds can be configured by anyone who has the Owner role. You can do so by clicking the Configure Organization at the top of the organization's Home page.

• Dispatch Anomaly: Played when a TNG reading for an asset falls outside of the allowable dispatch variance.
• OR Obligation > AC: Played when the TNG + DCR > AC.
• Dispatch Starting: Played at the effective start time of a dispatch.
• New Dispatch: Played when Dispatcho becomes aware of a new dispatch starting in the future.

To hear these sounds, the user needs to have a browser open to the Organization Home page or on a particular Asset page.

NOTE: These sounds don't impact the sound that users hear when receiving push notifications. Those sounds are determined by your browser/OS/device.

Tolerance Overrides and Grace Period Modifiers

Sometimes you may want to be forewarned before an asset you're monitoring reaches the edge of the tolerance range that was specified by the AESO. To set tighter dispatch variance ranges, you can use tolerance overrides and grace modifiers.

These settings can be found by clicking on the Overrides link at the top of your organization dashboard.

Tolerance Override

This overrides the default tolerance for an asset. The typical use case would be to set a lower number than the default.

Dispatcho supports asymmetric tolerance overrides. For example, if you want to describe a tolerance range of 3 MW above the dispatch target and 7 MW below the target, set your tolerance override as +3/-7.

Grace Modifier

Grace modifiers can be used to add or subtract minutes from the grace period in the metadata of each dispatch.

For example: set an asset's grace modifier to -4, then all of the dispatches that have a grace period of 10 minutes will have their ramping variance calculated as though the grace period is only 6 minutes.

Note: When using a tolerance override or grace modifier, the color of the Allowable Dispatch Variance range will change from green to blue.

Organizational Push Notification Settings

From the Configure Organization screen, you will see two fields related to Push Notification alerts: Anomaly Count Trigger and Cooldown (minutes).

Anomaly Count Trigger: how many anomalies are required inside of the Cooldown before push notifications are sent to all the devices that are watching an asset?

Cooldown: how long it takes to reset after the first anomaly is encountered.

The first anomaly encountered will begin a cooldown window and initialize a Anomaly Count at 1. When the Anomaly Count Trigger is reached, a push notification is sent.

If Anomaly Count Trigger = 1, then a push notification will be sent immediately on the first anomaly. No additional notifications will be sent until the cooldown resets.

If Anomaly Count Trigger = 2, Dispatcho will only send push notifications when a second anomaly occurs during the cooldown window.

Note: Cooldowns are on a per-asset basis. If Asset A is on cooldown, it doesn't affect Asset B.

These settings can only be changed by organization members who have the "Owner" privilege level, and they’re set on a per-organization basis and affect all members of the organization.

Data Analysis

Dispatcho collects and organizes power generation data in a fast and capable data repository. We created tools to get insights from this data for both real time and historical analysis.

Grid Analytics

Grid Analytics is an analysis tool to help you answer the question "What changed on the Alberta electric grid?"

Group Charts

Group charts allow you to select an arbitrary set of assets and display them together as multiple series in a single chart.

Omni-Charts

Omni-Charts allow you a great deal of flexibility in charting.

Supply Surplus & Price

The Supply Surplus & Price panel in Grid Analytics Pro shows the real-time relationship between supply adequacy and the actual and forecast energy price. It is fed by multiple data sources and is continuously updated.

This can be used as a forecasting tool because it allows the user to clearly see what expect in the near future based on the forecast supply adequacy based on the price adequacy in the recent past. The relative price volatility at different surplus levels allows the user to infer details about important parts of the merit order.