SRAT—Distribution Voltage Sags and Reliability Assessment Tool

Abstract

Interruptions to supply and sags of distribution system voltage are the main aspects causing customer complaints. There is a need for analysis of supply reliability and voltage sag to relate system performance with network structure and equipment design parameters. This analysis can also give prediction of voltage dips, as well as relating traditional reliability and momentary outage measures to the properties of protection systems and to network impedances. Existing reliability analysis software often requires substantial training, lacks automated facilities, and suffers from data availability. Thus it requires time-consuming manual intervention for the study of large networks. A user-friendly sag and reliability assessment tool (SRAT) has been developed based on existing impedance data, protection characteristics, and a model of failure probability. The new features included in SRAT are a) efficient reliability and sag assessments for a radial network with limited loops, b) reliability evaluation associated with realistic protection and restoration schemes, c) inclusion of momentary outages in the same model as permanent outage evaluation, d) evaluation of the sag transfer through meshed subtransmission network, and e) simplified probability distribution model determined from available faults records. Examples of the application of the tools to an Australian distribution network are used to illustrate the application of this model.