Fault Hunting Using Three-Phase Reclosers

Distribution Protection Engineers responsibilities include grid reliability improvements such as the addition of new sectionalizing devices and time-current curve (TCC) coordination. Sub-sectionalizing of the distribution feeder improves reliability as it minimizes the number of customers impacted by a fault. Today, there are many methods to further sub-sectionalize distribution feeders with or without TCC coordination studies. This paper presents a pilot program using a new "Smart Switch" in a loop scheme application that combines the benefits of sectionalizing/switch- and recloserbased systems, without the need for an extensive TCC study. The application illustrates various scenarios that hunt and isolate the faulted areas, all without impacting any TCC coordination settings on existing devices.