MODELING OF SIMULTANEOUS FAULT TO RELIABILITY ENHANCEMENT IN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

The main purpose of an electric power system is to provide electricity from the generation source to the customer point. Security and adequacy are the two most important requirements in power system reliability. As most of the faults that happen in a distribution network are experienced by the customers, improving the security of the distribution side can have a beneficial effect on the entire network. Faults can occur singly, but multiple faults can occur at the same time in many different places in the network. It is these simultaneous faults that can drastically affect the security of a network, and directly decrease its reliability. This paper studied the modelling of simultaneous faults by using the Monte-Carlo (MC) algorithm in a distribution network. This makes it possible to evaluate the effect of the repair time in different situations, and also to model various solutions to enhance the reliability of the network. A real overhead line feeder in a distribution network from a rural electricity distribution company was chosen for modelling the MC algorithm and to study the reliability procedures based on it. The calculations in our simulation model are based on number of the faults and the availability of maintenance and repair crews in the case of simultaneous faults. The algorithm can also be used for calculating the reliability indices in radial and mesh configurations with radially operated feeders.