Moving toward probabilistic reliability assessment methods

In the last ten years, sweeping change in the electric power industry in North America has led to challenges and uncertainties in continuing to reliably deliver power. Power system planners now face a broad range of uncertainties that their existing planning tools and methodologies are unable to adequately address. EPRI has developed probabilistic reliability assessment tools under power delivery reliability initiative, which has been successfully implemented by various energy companies in planning studies of growing complexity. This work has demonstrated PRA methodologies and tools can address these new uncertainties and significantly enhance the ability to conduct effective transmission planning.