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Design and development of fault diagnosis schemes (FDS) for electric power distribution systems are major steps in realizing the self-healing function of a smart distribution grid. The application of the FDS in the electric power distribution systems is mainly aimed at precise detecting and locating of the deteriorated components, thereby enhancing the quality and reliability of the electric power delivered to the customers. The impacts of two types of the FDS on distribution system reliability are compared and presented in this paper. The first type is a representative of the FDS which diagnoses the deteriorated components after their failing. However, the second type is a representative of... 

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) infrastructures have so far been brought into the huge amount of focus since the need for a more reliable power system accosting with the catastrophic events of interruptions has been raised. Hence, benefiting from an automation technology which can remotely monitor and coordinate commands to enable immediate response and switching are obviously inevitable. This paper outlines an implementable method in response to the goal of placement of remote terminal units (RTUs) which are in charge for data acquisition and control in a power distribution system. In this light, a new practical methodology based on the robust decision making (DM) method,... 

Design and development of fault diagnosis schemes (FDS) for electric power distribution systems are major steps in realizing the self-healing function of a smart distribution grid. The application of the FDS in the electric power distribution systems is mainly aimed at precise detecting and locating of the deteriorated components, thereby enhancing the quality and reliability of the electric power delivered to the customers. The impacts of two types of the FDS on distribution system reliability are compared and presented in this paper. The first type is a representative of the FDS which diagnoses the deteriorated components after their failing. However, the second type is a representative of... 

This paper presents a novel profit-based model for multistage distribution network expansion planning. In the proposed model, some capabilities of the distribution automation system are considered to achieve a plan that is more compatible with the strategic plan towards a smart distribution grid. Moreover, a method for reliability evaluation of a distribution network in the planning studies is proposed. The objective function of the planning problem is the net present value of the company's profit. The problem is solved by employing the genetic algorithm approach as a promising technique in solving the mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem. The proposed method is evaluated on an... 

In this paper, a new method for designing procedure of Reward-Penalty Scheme (RPS) in distribution system is proposed. Being fair and adoptable in viewpoint of distribution companies (DisCos) are main superiorities of the proposed RPS. Established based on concept of the Yardstick theory, its application can ensure regulators that a perfect competition will be created between DisCos to improve the service reliability. Also, such a regulation scheme can be a key for power system decision makers in order to prevent the DisCos from decreasing service reliability. Aimed to reach a fair mechanism, the proposed RPS rewards/penalizes the DisCos only compared with the other ones owning similar... 

Distribution automation application for fault management in the electricity distribution networks is one of the main potential remedial actions to reduce customers' outage times and hence improve service reliability. For this purpose, various automation schemes have been developed and introduced in different countries and by different venders. However, the challenge for electric utilities, especially in today's competitive electricity market, is to identify and evaluate potential reliability reinforcement schemes. Accordingly, appropriate schemes must be determined and prioritized for implementation. In this context, reliability cost/worth assessment plays an important role. A comprehensive... 

One of the most important issues in the smart grid is to quantitatively assess the impacts of distributed energy resources (DER) on the distribution system reliability. Solar cells (SCs) as developing DERs are normally placed close to the load centers. In this paper, a new algorithm is developed to evaluate distribution system reliability, considering SCs in the vicinity of the end-users. The probabilistic nature of the demand and SC power output are investigated to solve challenges of integrating these intermittent resources with the distribution system. In a smart home, to handle the variation of SC generation, solar load controller (SLC) is utilized to match load and generation of SCs... 

Implementation of Distribution Automation (DA) in electric power distribution systems can result in customer satisfaction with improved reliability, consistent quality and high-tech services. Loop Restoration Strategy (LRS) is a special DA method in the feeder level which is used by electric utilities to improve distribution system reliability. The effects of the implemented LRS on the reliability indices of a given distribution system mainly depend on its Automatic Control System (ACS). Selecting the type of ACS of LRS by electric utilities relies on the level of improvement required at load points and system oriented reliability indices. A step by step evaluation procedure is proposed in... 

Implementing automation system in distribution networks needs a huge investment that usually cannot be funded entirely in a short period of time. So distribution companies (DISCOs) should develop long-term plans to equip their network with automation technologies as far as economically justifiable. Aiming to provide a methodology for development such plans, this paper presents a novel multistage planning model for implementing distribution automation system considering all main hardware and software infrastructures. The proposed method optimally determines the type, location, and time in which an equipment or infrastructure must be added to network considering the network capacity expansion... 

This paper develops a general framework for reliability assessment of multi-microgrid (MMG) distribution systems. It also investigates reliability impacts of coordinated outage man-agement strategies in a MMG distribution network. According to the proposed reliability evaluation framework, which is based on sequential Monte Carlo simulation method, distribution system is divided into smaller sections/microgrids based on protection sys-tem configuration and operating measures are efficiently simulat-ed considering different operation modes. In order to demonstrate the role of outage management strategy in reliability performance of MMG distribution systems, at first, the required features of... 

Remote control switches (RCSs) are often assumed to be fully reliable in reliability and cost/worth analyses. This assumption, however, overestimates their merits, thereby misguiding network owners about their optimal implementation. This letter extends the current reliability evaluation procedure to incorporate probability of RCS malfunctions. Then, the extended procedure is applied to a network equipped with a few RCSs. The numerical studies reveal that RCS malfunctions degrade their worth, which may even affect their optimal number and locations. © 1969-2012 IEEE  

This paper develops a general framework for reliability assessment of multi-microgrid (MMG) distribution systems. It also investigates reliability impacts of coordinated outage management strategies in a MMG distribution network. According to the proposed reliability evaluation framework, which is based on sequential Monte Carlo simulation method, distribution system is divided into smaller sections/microgrids based on protection system configuration and operating measures are efficiently simulated considering different operation modes. In order to demonstrate the role of outage management strategy in reliability performance of MMG distribution systems, at first, the required features of an... 

This paper presents a reliability assessment algorithm for distribution systems using a Static Series Voltage Regulator (SSVR). Furthermore, this algorithm considers the effects of Distributed Generation (DG) units, alternative sources, system reconfiguration, load shedding and load adding on distribution system reliability indices. In this algorithm, load points are classified into 8 types and separated restoration times are considered for each class. Comparative studies are conducted to investigate the impacts of DG and alternative source unavailability on the distribution system reliability. For reliability assessment, the customer-oriented reliability indices such as SAIFI, SAIDI, CAIDI... 

This paper presents an efficient mixed-integer linear formulation for long term maintenance schedule of overhead lines. The proposed formulation is based on risk management approach and utilizes the model of decoupled risk factors. The proposed methodology yields a significant computational saving comparing to the previously reported dynamic programming. Risk management approach enables the asset managers to consider the actual condition of electrical equipment and expected consequence of their failures. Furthermore, the decoupled risk strategy in conjunction with the mixed-integer linear programming formulation establishes a precise description of time-dependent deterioration failure rate... 

Loop restoration scheme (LRS) is a special feeder automation (FA) scheme, which is used by utilities to improve distribution system reliability. The LRS is controlled and managed by its automatic control system (ACS). The impacts on distribution system reliability indices of implementing LRS mainly depend on the type of its ACS. Two common types of ACS of LRS are presented and used in this study. Successful operation of ACS is dependent on the protection and automatic control functions of switching devices of LRS. Different failure modes of these switching devices can therefore affect the procedure of ACS in fault detecting, isolating and service restoration. The impacts of failure of... 

Continuity of supply plays a significant role in modern distribution system planning and operational studies. Accordingly, various techniques have been developed for reliability assessment of distribution networks. However, owing to the complexities and restrictions of these methods, many researchers have resorted to several heuristic optimization algorithms for solving reliability-constrained optimization problems. Therefore, solution quality and convergence to global optimality cannot be guaranteed. Aiming to address this issue, two salient mathematical models are introduced in this paper for topology-variable-based reliability evaluation of both radial and radially-operated meshed... 

In power distribution systems, sometimes, system reliability indices are available, where some components' reliability parameters are unknown. This letter presents the inverse reliability evaluation (IRE) problem in radial distribution systems to find unknown components' parameters from the known system reliability indices. To this end, a nonlinear system of equations is presented and solved. The solutions are analyzed in the RBTS bus 2 to verify the applicability of the proposed approach and to show the importance of the IRE problem. © 1969-2012 IEEE