I’ve visited this topic before, albeit in a 2018 post that is summarized and linked in the Intro to this publication. Although the above 2018 post is still basically correct, the electric grid, its generation control methods and consumers have changed massively since then, and the pace of that change is accelerating. Thus, I thought it was time to update this general subject.
The title of this publication comes from a new generation of grid-control systems that optimize how power-flow (dispatch) is controlled to improve efficiency, resilience and reliability.