Representation of the influence of telecommunications on electrical distribution network reliability

This paper presents the development and application of a Monte Carlo based simulation approach for the evaluation of the reliability of an electrical distribution system, taking account of the presence of supporting Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). Starting from an examination of the nature of electrical distribution system reliability, a functional representation of the associated ICT is proposed in order to incorporate the impact of ICT dysfunction on the reliability of the electrical distribution system. Integrating this ICT representation into a Monte Carlo based simulation approach to electrical distribution reliability has allowed the dependence of the electrical network on ICT to be examined numerically. Results from a simplified example show the important existing, non-homogeneous dependence between reliability of the electrical network and the behaviour of different elements of the supporting ICT. At the same time, the results highlight the need for further refinements in the representation of the ICT, a process which can be aided by the use of the developed numerical approach.