Enhancing Distribution Grid Reliability via Recloser Placement

EasyChair Preprint 10876

Abstract

Distribution grids is a critical infrastructure that provides electricity to end-users, including residential, commercial, and industrial customers. However, the grids is prone to failures, resulting in economic losses and blackouts in daily activities, due to various events such as equipment aging, natural disasters, and human errors. On the other hand, the increasing number of distributed energy resources (DERs) and the aging of the existing infrastructure have posed the challenges to distribution grids reliability. One way to enhance the reliability of the distribution grids is to optimally locate reclosers. Reclosers are automatic, protective switches that isolate faults and restore power electricity within seconds, which minimizes the impact of outages to end-users. Therefore, this paper aims to present
a comprehensive study in reclosers placement strategies for enhancing distribution grids reliability. In this study, System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) and System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) reliability indices have been evaluated in a simulation-based approach to investigate the effect of reclosers placement on distribution grids reliability with a focus on reducing the damages caused by electricity undersupply. The results, carried out in Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP) software, show that reclosers placement can significantly improve the reliability of a real-world 10 kV distribution grid.

Keyphrases: Distribution grid reliability, ETAP, SAIDI, SAIFI, electricity undersupply, reclosers placement

@booklet{EasyChair:10876,
  author    = {Kseniia Zhgun and Hesam Mazaheri},
  title     = {Enhancing Distribution Grid Reliability via Recloser Placement},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 10876},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2023}}