Reliability evaluation for the distribution system with distributed generation

Using Monte Carlo time sequential simulation and a simplified equivalent network, a new reliability evaluation method for the distribution system with distributed generation is presented in this paper. The zone element failure effect table is obtained only for the simplified network. Then, the impact of the distributed generators' (DG) stochastic power output, device running/failure states, and stochastic load capacities on the distribution system reliability are analyzed by the Monte Carlo time sequential simulation. With the help of the zone element failure effect table, the ransack processing during the reliability calculation is greatly reduced and repetitive failure analysis is avoided. Thus, the calculation of the reliability indexes is expedited. The strategy of synchronously sampling for the states of DGs and network devices is adopted, which increases the precision of the simulation. The new method proposed comprehensively takes into account the influence of the DG failure, the structure of the system, the configuration of the power island, and the installation position of DGs on the distribution system reliability. The results of the sample cases demonstrate the validity of the new method. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.