Abstract
<span>Failure rates of rural power systems are statistically studied based on lightning parameters and a two-state weather model (normal and <span>adverse). Lightning information is matched with geographical coordinates of 251,024 power transformers in a vast area in central <span>Colombia. An important portion of transformers present failure rates 45 times higher than normal, and very large overhead lines, <span>representing a high portion of the total system, present very high failure rates over 75 times higher than in normal weather conditions.</span></span></span><br /><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span>
Highlights
Reliability levels of power distribution systems in Colombia are apparently low compared to those of developed countries, and are even lower than those of similar developing countries
This paper investigates the effect of the lightning activity in Colombia on the reliability of power distribution systems and tries to state if lightning is responsible for the major portions of the value of reliability indexes such as SAIDI
66,380 power distribution transformers are located in the high lightning active area in Figure 6, with a GFD higher than 8 flashes/km2year; this number is slightly higher than the total number of transformers in the most populated city in Colombia (Bogotá, approx. 8 million people)
Summary
Reliability levels of power distribution systems in Colombia are apparently low compared to those of developed countries, and are even lower than those of similar developing countries. That huge difference has several possible explanations; the first logical analysis is to focus on the levels of investment and technology use; the Colombian power regulation, based on an open market scheme, encourages power utilities to continuously improve their reliability indexes, so that even though the levels of investment are not high, these are not so different from other developing countries. In this sense, another explanation based on local conditions is required. The lightning phenomenon has its maximum occurrence in tropical regions and its physical parameters present variations compared with those typically observed in other
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