switch placement algorithm to reduce the impact of distribution network maintenance in continuity indexes

The main objective of power distribution utilities is to provide power to their consumers with the smallest number and duration of interruptions, which is why they are evaluated by continuity indexes such as SAIDI and SAIFI. Sometimes, interruptions are needed to expand the network or for maintenance operations. This paper proposes an innovative method to evaluate the best place to install switches based on graph theory and centralities measurements to prevent disconnecting unnecessary customers in a maintenance event. The algorithm is demonstrated step-by-step with a simple example of a theoretical distribution network and then applied to the IEEE 123 bus test case for a comprehensive evaluation