Update on distribution system fault location technologies and effectiveness

Automatic fault location is an area of significant interest and research in the industry. This paper provides an update on the work performed to date with various utilities and the fault location systems. Basic information on the techniques used to locate faults is provided as well as several examples of where these techniques have been deployed. INTRODUCTOIN As the complexity of electric distribution systems increases, so do the systems that monitor their health and performance. Permanent monitoring systems are used to track the ongoing system performance and to watch for conditions that could require attention, as well as to provide information for utility and customer personnel when there is a problem to be investigated. One particular area that has seen recent advances is the area of fault detection and location [1]. Benefits of such automated fault location are reduced fault repair time, identification of problem areas, fault cause identification and reliability improvement. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has a project that is a multi-year effort to evaluate different approaches, identify limitations, and develop recommendations as a function of the types of fault location systems [12]. In addition, a number of utilities have implemented fault location functionality to their existing substation power quality monitoring systems. This paper provides an update on the work performed to date with various utilities, the fault location systems, the performance of the system for actual fault conditions.