Distribution reliability cost/benefit analysis software

The quality and maintenance of electricity supply to customers has always been a top priority for UK power utilities. The establishment of the Office of Electricity Regulation has obligated Regional Electricity Companies (RECs) to report customer interruptions and time off supply to the Regulator, and these are recorded in the Annual Report on Distribution and Transmission System Performance. With such pressure on the RECs to both maintain and improve the quality of supply, the need for an analytic tool was identified to aid in this process. This paper describes how Eastern Electricity initially formed a working group whose task it was to specify the requirements for a tool to analyse the reliability of a radial distribution system. The working group produced a detailed specification and definition for a suitable computer program. Discussions with ERA led to the formation of a collaborative program in which nine of the UK RECs funded the development of the program, which was called “The Rural Reliability Program”