Book excerpt: This book deals with a very important problem in power system planning for countries in which hydrogeneration accounts for the greatest part of the system power production. During the past thirty years many techniques have been developed to cope with the long-term operation of hydro reser voirs. These techniques have been discussed in a number of publications, but they have not until now been documented in book form. This book is intended as the foundation for a special graduate course dealing with aspects of electrical engineering, operational research, water resource research, and applied mathematics. It may also be used for self study by practicing personnel involved in the planning and operation of hydroelectric power systems for utilities, consulting groups, and government regulatory agencies. The book consists of eight chapters. Chapter 1 reviews the historical developments in the field, discusses briefly all techniques used to solve the problem, and summarizes the modeling of hydroplants for long-term operation studies. At the end of the chapter we present in detail an outline of the book.