Comparison of Reliability Indices From the Perspective of Network Automation Devices

The role of electricity has become more significant in today´s society; electricity distribution has to be reliable and there should be no outages. Incentives from economic regulation support this direction of development. Therefore, there is a demand for development of distribution networks. The key question is, from which viewpoint the issue of reliability is addressed in the network renovation process? Are we optimizing the number of faults (SAIFI), the duration of faults (SAIDI), the outage costs (CENS), or some other reliability index? If the target is to minimize CENS, can this be done by evaluating the basic reliability indices? These questions have to be answered when considering the placement of a network automation device. Network automation such as circuit reclosers or switchgear with breaker functions and remote-controlled disconnectors belong to the basic structures in distribution technology, and they play a significant role in the improvement of reliability. A recloser installed into the network may have a great impact on reliability, by which the outage costs can be reduced even by 30%. Hence, a study, which approaches the reliability indices as a decisive factor in the placement of network automation devices, is needed.