BC Hydro perspective on distribution islanding for customer reliability improvement

BC Hydro, one of the largest electrical utilities in Canada, has experienced a substantial growth in distributed generating sources that are connected to its Distribution System (12 kV, 25 kV and 34.5 kV). These Power Generators (PGs) are mostly run-of-river hydraulic generating plants with capacities ranging from 1.0 to 15.0 MW. This increment in the number of independent power producers (IPPs) is the result of an aggressive energy acquisition plan to meet provincial renewable energy targets.