OPTIMAL OFF POINT DETERMINATION IN ELECTRICAL POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM USING RISK ASSESSMENT

Abstract

In normal operation of distribution systems, protection systems are important for reliability and efficiency measures. For reliability enhancement of primary loop distribution systems, off points are normally located in midway between substations. Off point in networks allow the continued supply of electric to customer during faults as the feeder is separated into two sections, between two substations. Once a fault is cleared, then the faulted section can be reconfigured to accept supply from the unfaulted section. This is known as load restoration in network distribution system. Currently, off points are allocated using load flows and based on the engineer’s experience. However this method does not optimize the reliability to customers, as it does not take into account the risk allocation to customers. To overcome this, the research proposed a risk-based analysis, which can determine an optimal off point location. The analysis used a real network between PMU Kota Setar and PMU Kota Sarang Semut, Kedah, Malaysia. Actual field data from varying utilities were used for completion of this project. Six scenarios were developed to get a clear view of the total impact of risk with varying locations of off point. It is shown that the method proposed in this project gives a better indication for the optimal determination off point in electrical power distribution systems compared to the commonly used method.