We build and experiment with a realistic but reduced natural gas model of Israel. The system is unusual because (a) it is controlled from a limited number of points which are at, or close to, the gas extraction sites offshore of Israel's Mediterranean coast; (b) control specifies average flux at inlet, not pressure; (c) there are no inland compressors to regulate pressure; (d) power system is the main consumer of gas (70% of Israel's power is generated at gas-fired power plants distributed across the country). Nature of the system suggests that a special attention should be given to understanding dynamics driven by fast transients in gas consumption meeting intra-day variations in the electricity demand, and accounting for increasing role of uncertain renewable generation (mainly solar). Based on all of the above we pose and resolve a sequence of dynamic and control challenges, such as: How to time ramping up- and down- injection of gas to guarantee a healthy intra-day line-pack which meets both pressure constraints and gas-extraction patterns? We report simulation results and utilize monotonicity properties of the natural gas flows which render robustness of our conclusions to the uncertainties of the edge withdrawals of gas.
The full paper is published as a part of PSIG 2023.
