Toward implementation of the reconfiguration for providing differentiated reliability options in distribution systems

This paper proposes an approach to providing differentiated reliability options in distribution networks under the assumption that utilities would guarantee to deliver power to customers according to customers' willingness to pay. The approach is based on the optimal system reconfigurations by operating normally closed switches (NCSs) and normally open switches (NOSs) for given fault locations and power supplies. In addition, a distributed generator (DG) is deployed to supply power to priority customers if all main substations are disconnected. The problem is formulated as an optimization problem with the purpose of minimizing utility liability. The optimization is performed offline and the optimal switch combinations are stored in a database for use by the utility in real time. Furthermore, a decision tree algorithm is applied to determine combinations of switches for cases that are not stored in the offline database.