Reliability Evaluation of distribution networks using NEPLAN & DIgSILENT power factory

Reliability Evaluation involves calculating reliability indices which are a measure of how reliable a system is. This evaluation is important to electric utilities since it can show important information about the functioning of the power system. The aim of the research was to view the differences, if any, between results obtained from running reliability analysis tools in NEPLAN v5.5.1 and DIgSILENT Power Factory v14.0.511. A demo version of NEPLAN version 5.5.1 was used to obtain one set of results. The other set of results were obtained from the university licensed DIgSILENT Power Factory version 14.0.511. In order to compare these results a third method was chosen, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, to get base values for comparison. Due to its simplifying assumptions, NEPLAN gives different results; it also does not display all of the system indices with the assumption that one can use the given ones to calculate the rest. DIgSILENT has hidden components that can affect the results obtained.