Reliability evaluation of automated radial distribution system

Reliability comparison and the concept of quality service are becoming a standard part of marketing utility. Power quality and reliability is the key to successful delivery of quality product and operation of an industry. The reliability of an electrical power distribution system can be increased by automation of its feeder and associated parts. Automated and remotely controlled service restoration can eliminate the need to perform switching operations manually and can have a significant effect on the system reliability. In order to enable such effect to be quantitatively evaluated, this paper examines the inherent features of an automated distribution system and describes the concepts and models which reflect the behavior of the system. The concept of reliability is applied on an Indian utility network and the results of the studies are discussed.