A series of hybrid quantum-classical generalized Benders decomposition (GBD) algorithms are proposed to address unit commitment (UC) problems under centralized, distributed, and partially distributed frameworks. In the centralized approach, the quantum GBD transforms the master problem (MP) into a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization form suitable for quantum computing. For distributed systems, the distributed consensus quantum GBD employs an average consensus strategy to reformulate subproblems into local subproblems. By leveraging the dual information, local cutting planes are constructed to decompose the MP into local master problems (LMPs). This approach reduces the qubit overhead and addresses the partitioning requirements. The consensus-inspired quantum GBD (CIQGBD) and its partially distributed variant, D-CIQGBD are proposed based on optimizing the allocation of relaxation variables directly, the algorithms construct more rational cutting planes, thereby enhancing the minimum eigenenergy gap of the system Hamiltonian during quantum annealing and improving the computational efficiency. Extensive experiments under various UC scenarios validate the performance of the above-mentioned hybrid algorithms. Compared to the classical solver Gurobi, D-CIQGBD demonstrates a speed advantage in solving the security-constrained UC problem on the IEEE-RTS 24-bus system. These results provide new perspectives on leveraging quantum computing for the distributed optimization of power systems.
A series of hybrid quantum-classical generalized Benders decomposition (GBD) algorithms are proposed to address unit commitment (UC) problems under centralized, distributed, and partially distributed frameworks. In the centralized approach, the quantum GBD transforms the master problem (MP) into a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization form suitable for quantum computing. For distributed systems, the distributed consensus quantum GBD employs an average consensus strategy to reformulate subproblems into local subproblems. By leveraging the dual information, local cutting planes are constructed to decompose the MP into local master problems (LMPs). This approach reduces the qubit overhead and addresses the partitioning requirements. The consensus-inspired quantum GBD (CIQGBD) and its partially distributed variant, D-CIQGBD are proposed based on optimizing the allocation of relaxation variables directly, the algorithms construct more rational cutting planes, thereby enhancing the minimum eigenenergy gap of the system Hamiltonian during quantum annealing and improving the computational efficiency. Extensive experiments under various UC scenarios validate the performance of the above-mentioned hybrid algorithms. Compared to the classical solver Gurobi, D-CIQGBD demonstrates a speed advantage in solving the security-constrained UC problem on the IEEE-RTS 24-bus system. These results provide new perspectives on leveraging quantum computing for the distributed optimization of power systems.
• We propose a new hybrid quantum-classical algorithm for solving the UC problem. • The hybrid model successfully optimizes 24-hour UC systems from 10 to 1000 units. • The model outperforms classical metaheuristics (GA and SA) and classical MINLP. • This represents an improvement over previous QCUC methods, a step to real-world use. Resource scheduling is critical in many industries, especially in power systems where the Unit Commitment (UC) problem determines the on/off status and output levels of generators under physical and economic constraints. Traditional exact methods, such as Branch‑and‑Bound, Branch‑and‑Cut, dynamic programming and mixed‑integer linear programming (MILP), remain the backbone of UC solution techniques, but they often rely on linear approximations or exhaustive search, leading to high computational burdens as system size grows. Metaheuristic approaches, such as genetic algorithms, particle swarm optimization, and other evolutionary methods, have been explored to mitigate this complexity; however, they typically lack optimality guarantees, exhibit sensitivity to initial conditions, and can become prohibitively time‑consuming for large‑scale systems. In this paper, we introduce a quantum‑classical hybrid algorithm for UC, and other resource scheduling problems by extension, that leverages Benders decomposition to decouple binary commitment decisions from continuous economic dispatch. The binary “master problem” is formulated as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) model and solved on a quantum annealer. The continuous “subproblem,” which minimizes generation costs, with Lagrangian cuts feeding back to the master until convergence. We evaluate our hybrid framework on systems scaled from 10 to 1,000 generation units. Compared against a classical mixed‑integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) baseline, the hybrid algorithm achieves a consistently lower computation‑time growth rate and maintains an absolute optimality gap below 1.63%. These results demonstrate that integrating quantum annealing within a hybrid quantum-classical Benders decomposition loop can significantly accelerate large‑scale resource scheduling without sacrificing solution quality, pointing toward a viable path for addressing the escalating complexity of modern power grids.
This paper proposes a learning-based quantum-classical Benders decomposition method for solving large-scale two-stage stochastic unit commitment (UC) problems. The approach integrates a long short-term memory (LSTM) network to approximate subproblem costs and a support vector machine (SVM) classifier to filter dominant Benders cuts, thereby reducing problem size, facilitating quantum computing implementation, and improving scalability. The master problem is reformulated into a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problem, enabling its solution on quantum hardware. The key contributions are: (i) a quantum-classical decomposition framework tailored for stochastic UC, (ii) an LSTM-based subproblem proxy to facilitate iterations, (iii) an SVM-based cut filtering method to retain only dominant cuts, and (iv) a QUBO reformulation suitable for quantum solvers. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed method significantly reduces computational overhead and quantum resource requirements compared with conventional approaches.
Leveraging the current generation of quantum devices to solve optimization problems of practical interest necessitates the development of hybrid quantum-classical (HQC) solution approaches. In this paper, a multi-cut Benders decomposition (BD) approach that exploits multiple feasible solutions of the master problem (MP) to generate multiple valid cuts is adapted, so as to be used as an HQC solver for general mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problems. The use of different cut selection criteria and strategies to manage the size of the MP by eliciting a subset of cuts to be added in each iteration of the BD scheme using quantum computing is discussed. The HQC optimization algorithm is applied to the Unit Commitment (UC) problem. UC is a prototypical use case of optimization applied to electrical power systems, a critical sector that may benefit from advances in quantum computing. The proposed approach is demonstrated using the D-Wave Advantage 4.1 quantum annealer.
This paper introduces D2-UC, a quantum-ready framework for the unit commitment (UC) problem that prepares UC for near-term hybrid quantum-classical solvers by combining distributed classical decomposition with distributed quantum execution. We reformulate deterministic and stochastic UC into a three-block alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM): (i) a convex quadratic subproblem for dispatch and reserves, (ii) a binary subproblem expressed as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO), and (iii) a proximal slack update for consensus. The core contributions are fivefold. First, we demonstrate how the full UC problem can be expressed as a single monolithic QUBO, establishing a direct interface to quantum solvers. Second, we decompose this large binary block into three type-specific QUBOs for commitment, startup, and shutdown, making the problem more tractable but revealing slower ADMM convergence. Third, we restore local logical couplings through per-unit-time micro-QUBOs, which accelerate convergence. Fourth, we batch micro-QUBOs into K non-overlapping block-diagonal problems, reducing many subproblems to a fixed number of solver-ready QUBOs per iteration, compatible with distributed variational quantum eigensolvers (DVQE). Fifth, we integrate an accept-if-better safeguard with DVQE to stabilize hybrid updates and prevent oscillations. Case studies confirm that the proposed methods deliver feasible schedules, faster convergence, and QUBO sizes aligned with current and near-term quantum hardware capabilities. All detailed data, codes, and parameter values are available at https://github.com/LSU-RAISE-LAB/3B-ADMM-UC-DVQE .
Mixed-integer linear programs (MILPs) are fundamental to power system operations but are challenging to solve due to their NP-hard nature. Quantum annealing, which seeks to find the ground state of an Ising model–a minimization of a quadratic binary function–offers potential speedups for solving combinatorial optimization problems. However, converting MILPs into quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problems often requires lots of slack variables, leading to significant qubit overhead and limiting the capability of quantum annealers. In this work, we propose an efficient formulation approach that generates a QUBO representation of a targeted MILP without introducing auxiliary binary variables. Geometrically, our method approximates the value function of the MILP with a quadratic binary function leveraging a simple convex optimization subroutine. We prove the existence of the QUBO representation, which preserves the MILP’s optimal solution and objective value with the same number of binary variables. The proposed approach is validated on several instances of the security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC) problem, with test cases featuring up to 288 binary variables, demonstrating its efficacy in reducing qubit overhead for quantum-classical hybrid Benders decomposition frameworks.
This paper proposes a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm to solve a fundamental power system problem called unit commitment (UC). The UC problem is decomposed into a quadratic subproblem, a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) subproblem, and an unconstrained quadratic subproblem. A classical optimization solver solves the first and third subproblems, while the QUBO subproblem is solved by a quantum algorithm called quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA). The three subproblems are then coordinated iteratively using a three-block alternating direction method of multipliers algorithm. Using Qiskit on the IBM Q system as the simulation environment, simulation results demonstrate the validity of the proposed algorithm to solve the UC problem.