Gas transmission networksoptimization algorithms and cost allocation methodologies

Resumo

One of the main goals in Europe nowadays is to promote the efficient management of the energy resources. For this reason, there are several regulations from the European Union pursuing the liberalization of the gas and electricity market as well of the integration of the national markets. These regulations should derive in a more efficient and competitive market obtaining lower charges for the final consumers. The different tasks studied in this thesis are related to the efficient management of the energy resources mainly focused on the natural gas industry. Specifically, this thesis focuses on different mathematical problems related to gas transmission networks. It consists of two parts. The first part of the dissertation deals with the mathematical modeling and the optimization of a gas transmission network (from the point of view of the technical operation). The second part is devoted to two cost allocation problems that naturally arise in this context: the design of tariffs for network access and the allocation of gas losses among the different haulers of the network.