A single thermal object models basin-wide quantities such as the total value of storage across all reservoirs in the model. The thermal object also includes economic modeling of basin-wide power generation. A thermal object is not required for an Optimization model, but it can facilitate the modeling of common hydropower objectives. See Thermal for additional information on the thermal object.

The thermal object acts as a summarizing object for many variables that may be included in an optimization policy. It summarizes information by linking to each of the reservoir or other objects of interest. For example, to compute the total energy produced in the model, the Thermal.Hydro Generation slot should be linked to each PowerReservoir.Energy slot. Other possible links include:

If a thermal object is used in the model, these links will need to be created.