DG Placements Impact on the Reliability of Typical Industrial Distribution System In Saudi Arabia

Electrical Distribution systems that are usually radially configured with one utility power source are inherently exposed to higher rates of outages and interruptions due to the fact that failures of system components including transformers, breakers and switching devices along with fault conditions caused by different conditions are not preventable but rather improvable. Historically at Saudi Arabia (SA), many industrial and residential distribution networks suffered from the problems incurred by the utility grid connection including equipment failure, low power quality or human, animal and weather conditions. The fact that the large‐size, the growing demand and the cost with the time requirements for enhancements projects have made distributed generation (DG) in all its application, namely, online or backup to play a key role in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors of the power system. In this paper, the value of DG installed as an online power source of typical industrial distribution network at SA (Abqaiq) is quantified by reliability indices that include SAIDI, CAIDI and ENS. The study outcomes will provide power system engineers with the sense of the reliability benefits of DGs penetration and an approach to assess its installations based on different factors such as the size and location.