Power Plant Economics & General Generation – 50 MCQs

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Q1. The fixed cost of a power plant depends on:
A) Interest on capital
B) Depreciation
C) Insurance and taxes
D) All of the above
Ans: D

Q2. The running cost of a plant mainly depends on:
A) Fuel cost
B) Operating cost
C) Maintenance cost
D) All of the above
Ans: D

Q3. The ratio of average load to maximum demand is called:
A) Plant capacity factor
B) Load factor
C) Diversity factor
D) Utilization factor
Ans: B

Q4. Load factor is always:
A) Less than 1
B) Equal to 1
C) Greater than 1
D) Zero
Ans: A

Q5. The ratio of maximum demand to connected load is:
A) Diversity factor
B) Load factor
C) Demand factor
D) Utilization factor
Ans: C

Q6. Diversity factor is always:
A) >1
B) <1
C) =1
D) Zero
Ans: A

Q7. Plant utilization factor is the ratio of:
A) Maximum demand / Plant capacity
B) Average load / Plant capacity
C) Energy produced / Plant capacity × Time
D) Actual energy / Maximum possible energy
Ans: A

Q8. Capacity factor is always:
A) < utilization factor
B) > utilization factor
C) Equal to utilization factor
D) Zero
Ans: A

Q9. The cost of generation is least in:
A) Diesel plant
B) Thermal plant
C) Hydro plant
D) Nuclear plant
Ans: C

Q10. The maximum demand on a station is 100 MW and annual load factor is 50%. The energy generated annually is:
A) 438 MU
B) 500 MU
C) 876 MU
D) 1000 MU
Ans: A

Q11. Depreciation cost takes care of:
A) Repair charges
B) Replacement of plant after life
C) Fuel consumption
D) Staff salaries
Ans: B

Q12. The fixed cost per kWh is reduced by:
A) Increasing load factor
B) Reducing maintenance cost
C) Reducing capital cost
D) Both A and C
Ans: D

Q13. Which type of power plant has the minimum running cost?
A) Hydro
B) Thermal
C) Nuclear
D) Diesel
Ans: A

Q14. The sum of fixed cost and running cost is called:
A) Capital cost
B) Operating cost
C) Generation cost
D) Production cost
Ans: C

Q15. Load curve shows variation of:
A) Energy with time
B) Load with time
C) Demand with voltage
D) Load with frequency
Ans: B

Q16. The area under the load curve represents:
A) Demand
B) Energy generated
C) Average load
D) Maximum demand
Ans: B

Q17. The average load divided by plant capacity is called:
A) Utilization factor
B) Capacity factor
C) Load factor
D) Demand factor
Ans: B

Q18. For high load factor, the cost per unit generated is:
A) More
B) Less
C) Zero
D) Constant
Ans: B

Q19. Which has least reserve capacity requirement?
A) Hydro
B) Thermal
C) Nuclear
D) Diesel
Ans: D

Q20. Power generation cost is highest in:
A) Hydro
B) Nuclear
C) Diesel
D) Thermal
Ans: C

Q21. Base load power plant operates:
A) Continuously
B) Only in peak hours
C) As standby
D) Intermittently
Ans: A

Q22. Which plant is most suitable for base load?
A) Nuclear
B) Hydro
C) Diesel
D) Gas turbine
Ans: A

Q23. Which plants are used for peak load?
A) Nuclear
B) Thermal
C) Hydro and Gas turbine
D) Diesel only
Ans: C

Q24. Maximum demand on station divided by installed capacity is:
A) Load factor
B) Plant capacity factor
C) Plant use factor
D) Plant factor
Ans: D

Q25. Spinning reserve is:
A) Standby plant kept in operation
B) Installed capacity minus peak demand
C) Plant running on part load
D) Cold reserve
Ans: A

Q26. Cold reserve means:
A) Plant not in operation but available for service
B) Plant running at no load
C) Plant running at part load
D) Plant not available at all
Ans: A

Q27. Hot reserve means:
A) Plant available for immediate service
B) Plant running at full load
C) Plant in repair
D) Plant not available
Ans: A

Q28. Operating cost of nuclear plant is:
A) Very low
B) High
C) Zero
D) Very high
Ans: A

Q29. In cost analysis, the most important factor is:
A) Capital cost
B) Running cost
C) Load factor
D) Depreciation
Ans: C

Q30. Incremental fuel cost is:
A) Cost per unit generation
B) Cost per unit increase in load
C) Fixed cost per unit
D) Running cost per unit
Ans: B

Q31. Economic load dispatch is based on:
A) Equal incremental cost criterion
B) Minimum losses
C) Maximum efficiency
D) Minimum heat rate
Ans: A

Q32. In power system, maximum demand is:
A) Average load × Time
B) Greatest of all demands
C) Installed capacity
D) Plant load factor
Ans: B

Q33. Which type of load curve is used for economic scheduling?
A) Daily load curve
B) Monthly load curve
C) Yearly load curve
D) Cumulative load curve
Ans: D

Q34. Which tariff is most economical?
A) Flat rate tariff
B) Two-part tariff
C) Maximum demand tariff
D) All of the above
Ans: C

Q35. Two-part tariff includes:
A) Fixed cost + Running cost
B) Capital cost + Operating cost
C) Fixed charge + Running charge
D) Fixed charge + Maximum demand charge
Ans: C

Q36. Depreciation methods used in power plant are:
A) Straight line method
B) Sinking fund method
C) Annuity method
D) All of the above
Ans: D

Q37. Which tariff encourages maximum use of supply?
A) Flat rate tariff
B) Maximum demand tariff
C) Power factor tariff
D) All of the above
Ans: B

Q38. Power factor tariff is applied to:
A) Improve power factor
B) Reduce fuel consumption
C) Increase load factor
D) Decrease losses only
Ans: A

Q39. The depreciation is highest in:
A) Hydro plant
B) Diesel plant
C) Nuclear plant
D) Thermal plant
Ans: C

Q40. If the connected load is 500 kW and maximum demand is 250 kW, the demand factor is:
A) 0.25
B) 0.50
C) 0.75
D) 1.0
Ans: B

Q41. If load factor increases, the cost per kWh:
A) Increases
B) Decreases
C) Remains constant
D) None
Ans: B

Q42. Which plant has the minimum maintenance cost?
A) Diesel
B) Nuclear
C) Hydro
D) Thermal
Ans: C

Q43. Which is not a fixed cost?
A) Depreciation
B) Taxes
C) Fuel cost
D) Interest
Ans: C

Q44. The most important factor for plant selection is:
A) Capital cost
B) Load curve
C) Fuel availability
D) All of the above
Ans: D

Q45. A consumer having low load factor will be charged:
A) Less
B) More
C) Same
D) Zero
Ans: B

Q46. Which of the following costs decrease with increase in load factor?
A) Fixed cost
B) Operating cost
C) Cost per unit generated
D) Depreciation
Ans: C

Q47. Annual cost of power plant includes:
A) Fixed charges
B) Operating charges
C) Fuel cost
D) All of the above
Ans: D

Q48. For maximum consumer satisfaction, the tariff should be:
A) Fair
B) Simple
C) Reasonable
D) All of the above
Ans: D

Q49. Which factor determines reserve capacity of plant?
A) Load curve
B) Diversity factor
C) Reliability
D) All of the above
Ans: D

Q50. The consumer who draws power at low power factor will:
A) Pay less
B) Pay more
C) Pay same
D) Not charged
Ans: B