Generation reliability impacts of industry-owned distributed generation sources

The successful integration of industry-owned distributed generation (DG) sources into the power systems of deregulated electric utilities involves fundamental long-term issues, conflicting objectives and important uncertainties. Presently, corporate financial difficulties, public environmental concern and deregulation of electric utility industry are making base load thermal and nuclear plants more and more difficult to build. As a result, industry-owned distributed generator is a source of electrical energy commonly considered as a part of the solution to this problem. Most of the available literature on DG has focused on its economic and interconnection impacts on a utility or on a ratepayer, or on an owner of distributed generating unit. What is missing from existing DG analysis is a relatively simple and understandable method examining the generation reliability impacts of industry-owned DG sources on utility systems. This paper presents industry schedule related models for modeling distributed generators for use in conventional generating capacity reliability assessment. The developed models are illustrated using the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Reliability Test System (RTS).