Reliability worth assessment in distribution systems utilizing Monte Carlo simulation techniques

The basic objective of an electric power system is to provide electric power and energy to its customers at the lowest possible cost and at acceptable levels of reliability. But the two aspects are often in direct conflict and how to balance them is a challenging problem for present power system managers, planners and operators. The reliability assessment part of the problem has been well studied during the past few decades. In contrast, the ability to assess the worth of providing reliable service is not so well established and considerable work is still required. Meanwhile, lowest cost with a reasonable assurance of continuity and quality is fast becoming an important measure in selecting a specific power company by customers in the highly competitive environment. As the distribution system is the vital link between the bulk system and the customers, and previous studies indicate that distribution system makes a significant contribution to overall customer reliability, it becomes absolutely necessary to perform reliability worth assessment in distribution systems. The expected cost (ECOST) of supply interruptions and the interrupted energy assessment rate (IEAR) linked with system unreliability are used as reliability worth indices in this thesis.Master of Engineerin