An integrated software environment for distribution system planning

The large scale restructuring of the electricity supply industry in the United Kingdom, brought about by privatisation, has given rise to a range of new and challenging problems to overcome in the operation and planning of the system. This paper describes a novel planning tool for distribution systems called Insight, which combines the use of the latest X-Windows graphics and relational database technology with new analysis algorithms in an environment specifically designed to tackle these problems. One of the most powerful features of the Insight software is its chronological analysis capability. A number of new time-based algorithms combine to give the distribution engineer an accurate picture of the behaviour of the system on which to base planning decisions. Examples of applications of the software are given towards the end of the paper