Use of statistical analysis in power plant performance monitoring

A method of monitoring the performance of a power generating unit, comprising:

• collecting first data related to a primary performance indication for the power generating unit at numerous different times within a time period, the first data including data corresponding to at least one cost in addition to a cost of fuel;
• determining the primary performance indication based on the collected first data;
• collecting second data related to each of a plurality operating parameters of the power generating unit within the time period;
• determining, based on the first data and the second data, one or more statistical measures associated with both the primary performance indication and at least one of the plurality of operating parameters;
• and
• controlling the power generating unit over a period of time to result in a desired value or desired range of values of at least one of the one or more statistical measures.

A system for monitoring the performance of a power generating unit, comprising:

• a computer readable memory;
• and
• a computer program stored on the computer readable memory and executable on one or more processors to:
• collect first data related to a primary performance indication for the power generating unit at numerous different times within a time period, the first data including data corresponding to at least one cost in addition to a cost of fuel,
• determine the primary performance indication based on the collected first data,
• collect second data related to each of a plurality operating parameters of the power generating unit within the time period,
• perform a correlation analysis on the first data and the second data to quantitatively determine, for the each of the plurality of operating parameters, a correlation between the each of the plurality of operating parameters and the primary performance indication, and
• determine from the correlation analysis a subset of the plurality of operating parameters that most affect the primary performance indication for the power generating unit, wherein each member of the subset of the plurality of operating parameters effects a bigger change in the primary performance indication than at least one other operating parameter of the plurality of operating parameters that is not a member of the subset.