Improving the reliability of distribution networks based on investment scenarios using reference networks.

Distribution systems are inherent monopolies and therefore have generally been regulated in order to protect customers and to assure cost-effective operation. In the United Kingdom, this is one of the functions of the OFGEM (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets). Initially the regulation was based on the value of assets, but there is now a trend toward performance-based regulation. In order to achieve this, a methodology is needed that enables the reliability performance associated with alternative investment strategies to be compared with the investment cost of these strategies. At present there is no accepted approach for such assessments. Building on the concept of reference networks proposed in Refs. 1 and 2, this paper describes how these networks can be used to assess the impact that performance-driven investment strategies will have on the improvement of reliability indices. The method has been tested using the underground and overhead parts of a real system. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 173(1): 24–31, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (<URL>www.interscience.wiley.com</URL>). DOI 10.1002/eej.20945 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]