Abstract
Electricity-distribution network operators face several operational constraints in the provision of safe and reliable power given that investments for network area reinforcement must be commensurate with improvements in network reliability. This paper provides an integrated approach for assessing the impact of different operational constraints on distribution-network reliability by incorporating component lifetime models, time-varying component failure rates, as well as the monetary cost of customer interruptions in an all-inclusive probabilistic methodology that applies a time-sequential Monte Carlo simulation. A test distribution network based on the Roy Billinton test system was modelled to investigate the system performance when overloading limits are exceeded as well as when preventive maintenance is performed. Standard reliability indices measuring the frequency and duration of interruptions and the energy not supplied were complemented with a novel monetary reliability index. The comprehensive assessment includes not only average indices but also their probability distributions to adequately describe the risk of customer interruptions. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of this holistic approach, as the impacts of operational decisions are assessed from both reliability and monetary perspectives. This informs network planning decisions through optimum investments and consideration of customer outage costs.
Highlights
There is increasing pressure on utilities and regulators to improve the quality of supply for customers at the lowest marginal cost
Time-varying failure rates are more realistic than average values, as they capture the higher likelihood of failure when the power components (PCs) has just been installed and when it is near the end of its lifetime [32]
£/customer/year and is derived by (9). This system-wide approach means that System Average Interruption Cost Index (SAICI) can be compared with system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) and system average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) directly, as it correlates to the frequency and duration of outages experienced
Summary
There is increasing pressure on utilities and regulators to improve the quality of supply for customers at the lowest marginal cost. To provide a link between the level of network investment required and the resulting system reliability, monetary reliability indices can be derived by accurately calculating the interruption costs using probabilistic methods derived from historical information [1] These monetary reliability indices can enable utilities to derive the economic value attached to a given level of reliability for each customer segment when conducting power-system reliability planning to ensure economic efficiency and sustainability [3]. This paper is organised as follows: Section 2 provides the integrated probabilistic methodology for reliability assessment that incorporates time-varying component failure rates, different component expected lifetimes, and the cost of customer interruptions.
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