2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The United States electricity grid is a highly complex system. Many factors play a role in determining grid reliability, stability, and electricity prices. For consumer prices, factors such as fuel cost, operations and maintenance, overall power demand, and weather patterns affect costs at the individual power plant scale, which in turn impacts market prices. To model the interrelationships between factors affecting market price, we created an optimization tool for use in undergraduate engineering courses teaching grid concepts. Often overlooked at individual and regional-scale market models are environmental factors such as plant water usage (withdrawal and consumption), and carbon footprint (CO2eq). Via multi-objective optimization, we further explore these often-competing values in relation to electricity price. Our work demonstrates how varied interests can impact electricity prices, while also allowing users to experience market functionality via gamification of complex concepts.