Abstract
This paper addresses the provision of ancillary services in Portugal and Spain in the scope of the Common Iberian Electricity market. The paper reviews the definitions and the international practice regarding ancillary services with emphasis on primary, secondary and tertiary reserves and describes the procedures adopted by the Portuguese and Spanish TSO's to procure and allocate reserve levels. On the other hand, the paper discusses the models that can be used to enlarge the integration of the reserve markets, namely regarding tertiary reserve. Using data from 2009, the paper presents the results of the simulations that were performed for several situations including an ideal unlimited interconnection capacity, the existing interconnection capacity and an interconnection capacity increased by 300 MW. The results obtained indicate that the adoption of a common tertiary reserve list would ultimately be beneficial for the consumers since the cost of tertiary reserve would be reduced. However, a larger integration and cooperation between the two TSO's would be clearly required. © 2011 IEEE.

Abstract
Photodynamic therapy is a very promising approach to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms. The photodamage of cells involves reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are generated in situ by two main mechanisms (type I and/or type II). The mechanism responsible for the photoinactivation (PI) of a bioluminescent recombinant Escherichia coli, induced by three different cationic porphyrins, was identified in this work using a rapid method based on the monitoring of the metabolic activity of this bacterium. The inhibitory effect of the photodynamic process in the presence of a singlet oxygen quencher (sodium azide) or free radical scavengers (D-mannitol and L-cysteine) was evaluated by exposing bacterial suspensions with 0.5 mu M Tri-Py+-Me-PF, 5.0 mu M Tetra-Py+-Me or 5.0 mu M Tri-SPy+-Me-PF to white light. Strong bacterial protection was observed with sodium azide (100 mM) for the three cationic porphyrins. However, in the presence of Tri-Py+-Me-PF and Tetra-Py+-Me and the free radical scavengers (L-cysteine and D-mannitol) the reduction on the bacterial bioluminescence was significantly higher and similar to that obtained in their absence (5.4-6.0 log reduction). In the case of Tri-SPy+-Me-PF two distinct behaviours were observed when L-cysteine and D-mannitol were used as free radical scavengers: while the presence of L-cysteine (100 mM) lead to a bacterial protection similar to the one observed with sodium azide, in the presence of D-mannitol only a small protection was detected. The high inhibition of the PS activity by L-cysteine is not due to its radical scavenger ability but due to the singlet oxygen quenching by the sulfanyl group (-SH). In fact, the photodecomposition of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran in the presence of Tri-SPy+-Me-PF is completely suppressed when L-cysteine is present. The results obtained in this study suggest that singlet oxygen (type II mechanism) plays a very important role over free radicals (type I mechanism) on the PI process of the bioluminescent E. coli by Tri-Py+-Me-PF, Tetra-Py+-Me and Tri-SPy+-Me-PF. Although the use of scavengers is an adequate and simple approach to evaluate the relative importance of the two pathways, it is important to choose scavengers which do not interfere in both PI mechanisms. Sodium azide and D-mannitol seem to be good oxygen and free radical quenchers, respectively, to study the PI mechanisms by porphyrinic photosensitizers.

Abstract
The scheduling of maintenance actions of generators is not a new problem but gained in recent years a new interest with the advent of electricity markets because inadequate schedules can have a significative impact on the revenues of generation companies. In this paper we report the research on this topic developed during the preparation of the MSc Thesis of the second author. The scheduling problem of generator maintenance actions is formulated as a mixed integer optimization problem in which we aim at minimizing the operation cost along the scheduling period plus a penalty on energy not supplied. This objective function is subjected to a number of constraints detailed in the paper and it includes binary variables to indicate that a generator is in maintenance in a given week. This optimisation problem was solved using Simulated Annealing. Simulated Annealing is a very appealing metaheuristic easily implemented and providing good results in numerous optimization problems. The paper includes results obtained for a Case Study based on a realistic generation system that includes 29 generation groups. This research work was proposed and developed with the collaboration of the third and fourth authors, from EDP Producao, Portugal.

Abstract
This paper presents a model to solve the Generation Expansion Planning (GEP), problem in competitive electricity markets. The developed approach recognizes the presence of several generation agents aiming at maximizing their profits and that the planning environment is influenced by uncertainties affecting the demand, fuel prices, investment and maintenance costs and the electricity price. Several of these variables have interrelations between them turning it important to develop an approach that adequately captures the long-run behavior of electricity markets. In the developed approach we used System Dynamics to capture this behavior and to characterize the evolution of electricity prices and of the demand. Using this information, generation agents can then prepare their individual expansion plans. The resulting individual optimization problems have a mixed integer nature, justifying the use of Genetic Algorithms (GAs). Once individual plans are obtained, they are input once again on the System Dynamics model to update the evolution of the price, of the demand and of the capacity factors. This defines a feedback mechanism between the individual expansion planning problems and the long-term System Dynamics model. This approach can be used by a generation agent to build a robust expansion plan in the sense it can simulate different reactions of the other competitors and also by regulatory or state agencies to investigate the impact of regulatory decisions on the evolution of the generation system. Finally, the paper includes a Case Study to illustrate the use and the results of this approach.

Abstract
This paper presents an impact analysis of communications in frequency and active power control in hierarchic multi-microgrid structures. Since communications can potentially introduce significant difficulties in the operation of electric power systems, particularly in the case of islanded multi-microgrids, an assessment is performed considering delays and losses that control information is likely to experience when traversing the communication infrastructure. Results show that the impact of communication difficulties under most simulated scenarios is reduced, whereas in more demanding scenarios the control structure can have a significant role in minimizing the impact of communication failures.

Abstract
This paper presents a conceptual framework to successfully integrate electric vehicles into electric power systems. The proposed framework covers two different domains: the grid technical operation and the electricity markets environment. All the players involved in both these processes, as well as their activities, are described in detail. Additionally, several simulations are presented in order to illustrate the potential impacts/benefits arising from the electric vehicles grid integration under the referred framework, comprising steady-state and dynamic behavior analysis.