Optimal Distribution Service Pricing for Investment Planning

Distribution network development planning is a complex task due to the size of a typical distribution network, the interconnectivity of its elements and the presence of various uncertainties. This planning process becomes even more complicated due to the constant pressure to reduce distribution network capacity reserve, operation and maintenance cost, and to postpone the capital investments as far as possible. Recent technological and organizational changes in the electric industry sector have had an influence on the operations and planning objectives of distribution network systems. New technologies and customer demand types require new paradigms of distribution network planning and operations. A corresponding model in support of these new paradigms should not include only the load forecast, but economic analysis, risk assessment and the impact of the new technologies. In this paper, we propose a model for distribution development planning with direct load control, distributed generators and optimal distribution capacity expansion.