International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (IJECE) Vol. 11, No. 6, December 2021, pp. 4740∼4750 ISSN: 2088-8708, DOI: 10.11591/ijece.v11i6.pp4740-4750 ❒ 4740 Power system operation considering detailed modelling of the natural gas supply network Ricardo Moreno 1 , Diego Larrahondo 2 , Oscar Florez 3 1,2 Universidad Aut´ onoma de Occidente, Cali, Colombia 3 Universidad Distrital Francisco Jos´ e de Caldas, Colombia Article Info Article history: Received May 11, 2020 Revised May 25, 2021 Accepted Jun 12, 2021 Keywords: Natural gas system Optimal power flow Power systems Renewable energy Wind power ABSTRACT The energy transition from fossil-fuel generators to renewable energies represents a paramount challenge. This is mainly due to the uncertainty and unpredictability asso- ciated with renewable resources. A greater flexibility is requested for power system op- eration to fulfill demand requirements considering security and economic restrictions. In particular, the use of gas-fired generators has increased to enhance system flexibility in response to the integration of renewable energy sources. This paper provides a com- prehensive formulation for modeling a natural gas supply network to provide gas for thermal generators, considering the use of wind power sources for the operation of the electrical system over a 24-hour period. The results indicate the requirements of gas with different wind power level of integration. The model is evaluated on a network of 20 NG nodes and on a 24-bus IEEE RTS system with various operative settings during a 24-hour period. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license. Corresponding Author: Ricardo Moreno Energy and Mechanical Department Universidad Aut´ onoma de Occidente Cali, Colombia Email: rmoreno@uao.edu.co, odflorez@udistrital.edu.co 1. INTRODUCTION Two crucial sectors for life nowadays are natural gas (NG) and electricity. Although these sectors followed different paths throughout the majority of the 20th century, in the last 25 years they have progressively converged. The usage of NG for electricity generation through gas-fired generation plants has enhanced the interdependence among gas and electric power sources [1]. Consequently, the gas and power systems have become intertwined, leading to new challenges due to the complexity involved in the issues that each poses to the other [2]. In terms of gas-fired power plants, limitations due to both gas supply contracts and access to the gas network are unknown, generating effects and externalities in their operation. From the gas system perspective, the demand for natural gas from residential and industrial areas is more predictable and less volatile, compared to the natural gas consumption for electricity generation. For these reasons, the gas system interconnected to the electrical system requires greater flexibility. Nevertheless, flexibility is expensive because it requires additional extraction and transmission capacities to provide the necessary operational margin [3]. Moreover, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is imperative for climate change mitigation, leading to increased investments in reducing conventional fossil fuel-based power generation [4]-[6]. Therefore, a massive effort has been made worldwide to integrate renewable energy technologies [7]. This implementation Journal homepage: http://ijece.iaescore.com