Load Priority Modeling for Smart Service Restoration

Enhancing the reliability of distribution systems (DSs) has become a necessity due to society's dependence on electric power and the high costs associated with service interruptions. One key technique for improving system reliability is to apply efficient power restoration methodologies, which must include a systematic load prioritization method that considers several practical factors that make the process of load prioritization a complicated and challenging one. This paper presents a dynamic load prioritization model for service restoration in DSs. The method ranks loads by priority and assigns a calculated weight for each load in the system. These weights are dynamic (i.e., time dependent), and can be used as an input for any restoration optimization problem. The proposed load prioritization procedure considers the criticality of the load, the amount of energy consumed, the number of connected customers, the cost of interruption, and the practice of demand side management programs. The Roy Billinton Test System (RBTS) Bus 4 system and the 3-feeder 16-bus test system are used as case studies to implement this method. The results of the case studies show that the proposed prioritizing method was able to quantify the importance of each individual load, and systems' reliability was improved.