Heat waves are prolonged periods of excessive ambient temperature that may last up to several weeks. In
addition to posing health threats to the society, these events may easily push the power grid towards its
operational limits. The maximum capacity of many energy resources gets negatively affected by excess
temperatures. This can be in addition to the expected loss of life due to operation under harsh conditions.
Overhead lines, on the other hand, experience excessive conductor surface temperatures that can drastically
reduce their power transmission capacity. To make matters worse, the reduction in generation
and/or transmission capacity will coincide with a rise in electric demand, often attributed to the overutilization
of air-conditioning systems. This can jeopardize the ability of the power grid to maintain system
stability.Akey to ensuring thatthe grid continues operating safely and securely is to incorporate the effect
oftemperature into its operation schedule.In this paper, we propose an optimal generation dispatch strategy
for a distribution grid exposed to a heat wave event, while taking into account the dependence of
operational constraints of various components on ambienttemperature. We study a power grid equipped
with renewable and non-renewable distributed generation, battery energy storage, and demand responsive
loads. We evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed approach on a test system with data acquired
from the heat wave event of July 2006 in Sacramento, CA.