Utility network reliability costing methodology

The authors present a reliability costing methodology which accounts for varying customer demand patterns, varying customer utilization mixes, varying costs of interruptions per utilization pattern, and the frequency and duration of customer interruptions over a portion of the lifetime of an electric utility´s network configuration. The methodology, which is based on a set of matrix calculations, readily accommodates changes in network parameters. A reliability study of Edmonton Power´s downtown or city core and downtown or city area load points is presented to show the impact of alternative network configurations, capacity restrictions, and variations in component failure and renewal characteristics on load point reliability indices and the total cost of service interruptions.<>