Development of power system reliability modelling technology

Estimating the reliability of electrical power systems is an important but evasive discipline for Telcos. Reliability is the most important factor in determining the cost and design of power infrastructure yet until now, the technology for readily estimating reliability of even simple power systems was not available. New simulation technology has been developed and commercialised to provide power telcos with practical reliability tools. Two and a half years of research and development has produced software capable of modelling the reliability of complex power systems. The new software analyses the reliability of AC and DC power systems on a desktop computer, estimating system MTBF, MTTR, availability and unavailability without any calculations on the part of the user. Systems can include secondary batteries which have traditionally been difficult to model. This paper discusses the new technique and presents examples of its application.