The role of Advanced Distribution Automation in the Smart Grid

The Smart Grid is not just advanced metering. Electric distribution feeders that are equipped with Advanced Distribution Automation (ADA) can make a significant contribution to accomplishing the overall Smart Grid characteristics as defined by the Modern Grid Initiative. In particular, ADA will enable the distribution feeders to be self-healing and more efficient, and will also facilitate the implementation of distributed energy resources. This paper described the major ADA applications and provides a smart grid “scorecard” that shows the relationship between each function and the smart grid characteristics.