Tiedonsiirto osana strategista verkon suunnittelua ja kehittämistä

Advanced automation functionalities present a viable alternative for improving the reliability level experienced by the customers in a electricity distribution network in addition to other methods. The requirements imposed on information and communication systems vary according to the chosen implementation of the automation features. The purpose of this study is to examine two functionalities and their requirements. Main objective is to clarify the main differences between alternative implementation options and to support the decision making process of the distribution system operator by a financial evaluation of the functionalities. The thesis consists of two parts. The chosen automation solutions, multi-level protection of medium voltage feeders and automated fault location, isolation and restoration, are introduced and examined in the first part. The basis for economic viability studies are also identified and discussed. In the second part, the financial aspect is explored through case analysis and with reference to current regulatory framework. Three fundamental operation alternatives are found for both automation functionalities. The requirements set for field equipment, communication network and control center IT systems range from similar to those of present ones to a demand of highly intelligent integrated system. Especially the scenarios with independent field agents utilizing distributed decision making provide challenges to system design. The effect on reliability of the network is assessed in typical rural and urban environment. Both of the features presented show a potential for improvement. The resulting customer outage cost benefits are notably greater in rural area, but some advantage is also gained in urban environment. However, the needed investments in urban network surpass the economic benefits. In rural network the implementation is profitable, provided that the current IT and communication systems are adequate or only part of the system require renewal