Abstract
Net Present Value (NPV), Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Total-Life Cost of Capital (TLCC) are economic concepts widely used in capital budgeting to measure and compare the profitability of investments. More specifically, in the electricity sector these measures, with the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), are very often used to assess investments in generation assets. At the same time, electricity generation models based on mathematical programming and game theory have also been developed to determine optimal expansion plans of the generation capacity for long-term horizons. Though these two techniques have both been applied in the literature to assess generation investments in the electricity sector, taking into account, among others, investment, maintenance and operation costs, their mathematical relationships have been rarely reported or even understood. Here we provide some insight on the mathematical links existing between both approaches. © 2015 IEEE.

Abstract
Distributed Generation (DG) is providing end consumers the possibility to satisfy part of their electricity consumption by using their own small-scale power generators. To regulate DG, new regulation schemes are needed, being net metering one of the most used. However, regulators appreciate that net metering could jeopardize the incomes to cover the regulated activities' cost. This paper proposes a mathematical bi-level model to obtain the evolution of the access tariffs and their corresponding incomes needed to cover the regulated costs, as well as the optimal DG investment of the consumers under a net metering regulation, in a simplified framework. © 2015 IEEE.

Abstract
Operation of distributed energy resources is taking importance nowadays. This paper proposes an optimal planning and operation model of distributed energy resources in a district taking into account the mobility of consumers using conventional fuel vehicles (FV) or electric vehicles (EV). The stochastic model considers the uncertainty of the type of vehicle, availability and distance traveled, and then it manages the available resources to obtain the maximum benefit from the grid. Results show that the EVs assist to achieve greater benefits of the distributed resources. Moreover, the costs per driven km are mainly independent of the type of vehicle considered. © 2015 IEEE.

Abstract
Simulation is often used to forecast human populations. In this paper we use a novel approach by combining Micro-Macro (MicMac) models into an Agent-Based perspective to simulate and forecast the behavior of the Portuguese population. The models include migrations and three scenarios corresponding to three different expected economic growth rates. We conclude that the increase in the number of emigrants leads to a reduction of the Portuguese women that are in the fertile age. This justifies the decrease of births and therefore the general decrease of the total Portuguese Population.

Abstract
This paper proposes a two-phase approach for optimal short-term operational scheduling with intermittent renewable energy resources (RES) in an active distribution system. The first phase determines the amounts of purchased power from the market and the unit status of distributed generation (DG) and feeds the data into the second phase, a real-time scheduling coordination with hourly network reconfiguration. The two-phase proposed approach is applied to a case study of a sixteen-bus test system that uses synthetic data from renewable power generators and forecasts local user demands with a sampling time of five minutes.

Abstract
Smart grid can be expressed as a combination of power network substructures with an extensive telecommunication network which is able to provide a two-way communication and use of advanced sensors in order improve efficiency, system reliability, transport security, and power consumption. Loads in this network are divided into two groups, linear and non-linear. The majority of these loads on the network, such as rectifiers, electric vehicles are non-linear. The non-linear loads can cause odd harmonics in the network and can damage transformers. In this article, management and planning of hybrid vehicles for total harmonic index reduction and also annual cost reduction has been considered.