Adequacy assessment of distributed generation systems using Monte Carlo Simulation

This paper presents a Monte Carlo-based method for the adequacy assessment of distributed generation systems. The state duration sampling approach is employed in this paper to model the operating histories of the installed distributed generators. A general procedure to assess the ability of the system power capacity to meet the total demand is presented and implemented in a typical case study where several distributed generation units are running in parallel within a sample distribution system and the system margins and the average amount of unsupplied loads are estimated using Monte Carlo simulation. The results obtained are presented and a new perspective to the power management of distribution systems is discussed.