Influence of reliability calculation and simulation of organization structure on quality of supply

Today´s regulatory demands are providing incentives for cost reductions to network operators in Germany and several other countries. If no corrective measures are taken by national regulation authorities (NRA), this could result in a reduction of costs at the expense of quality of supply. Thus, in 2011 the German NRA has implemented a quality regulation scheme which incentivizes network operators to integrate aspects of quality of supply in their considerations of cost reductions. This paper presents an approach which calculates the impact of changes of network asset and of operational service staff on the reliability of distribution systems. The approach uses a detailed reliability model to display the network structure, network equipment and customers´ loads in order to determine failure events, the respective remedial strategy and the impact on quality of supply. Furthermore, a detailed model of the network operators´ organizational structure and operational service staff is used. The effects of changes in operational expenditures (OPEX) and capital expenditures (CAPEX) on the quality of supply can be analyzed individually per customer as well as system-wide. Thus, it is possible to discover weaknesses in the network structure and the organization of service staff. This approach allows network operators to determine the effects of foreseen measures on quality of supply before implementing time-consuming and expensive projects in network and organization.