Quantum for Energy and Utilities 2026

CASE STUDY 13 Quantum computing Enhancing unit commitment in grid operations with quantum optimization Modern power systems face rising complexity in unit commitment (UC): scheduling generators at minimum cost while meeting demand and operational constraints. The growth of intermittent renewable generation expands the combinatorial search space, challenging classical optimization approaches used by grid operators. IonQ and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), under the US Department of Energy GRID-Q effort, reported a hybrid quantum-classical UC formulation executed on IonQ’s 36-qubit Forte Enterprise system. In a demonstration instance (26 generators, 24-hour horizon), they used a layered variational method (MAL- VQA) to explore feasible schedules and introduced a cost-function design aimed at handling inequality constraints without qubit-intensive slack variables. At scale, such methods could enable faster exploration of feasible schedules, supporting lower operating costs and improved grid flexibility under renewable variability.18 Quantum for Energy and Utilities: Key Opportunities for Energy Transition 27