P OWER DISTRIBUTION AND UTILIZATION L ECTURE 3 Instructor :Kashif Mehmood

1.6 D ISTRIBUTION S YSTEM P LANNING I N T HE F UTURE Some of the past and present techniques used by the planning engineers in performing the distribution systems planning and factors affecting the distribution system planning have been examined. Furthermore, the need for a systematic approach to distribution planning has been stressed. The following sections examine what today’s trends are likely to portend(to indicate by prediction).

1.6.1 E CONOMIC F ACTORS There are several economic factors which will have significant effects on distribution planning in the 1980’s. The first one is inflation(expansion).Energy source conversion cost, environmental concerns. The second one is the increasing expense of acquiring capital (financial resources available for use). The third one which must be considered is increasing difficulty in raising customer rates.

1.6.2 D EMOGRAPHIC F ACTORS Important demographic (statistical study of populations) developments will affect distribution system planning in the near future. The first of these is the movement of the population from the rural areas to the metropolitan areas(urban areas). The migration from the suburbs( town or other area where people live in houses near a larger city) to the urban and near urban areas is a new trend attributable(resultant) to the energy crisis.

1.6.3 T ECHNOLOGICAL F ACTORS The final class of factors, which will be important to the distribution system planner has arisen from technological advances that have been encouraged(inspired) by the energy crisis. The first of these is the improvement in the fuel cell- technology. Fuel-cell technology is the type of technology in which a fuel cell is used. Fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction. The output power of such devices has risen to the point where in the areas with a high population density, large banks of fuel cells could supply significant amounts of the total power requirements.

1.7 F UTURE N ATURE OF D ISTRIBUTION P LANNING Predictions about the future methods for distribution planning must necessarily be extrapolations of the present methods. Algorithms and the problem-solving environment used by the system designer is expected to change significantly to take advantage of new methods which technology has made possible.

1.7.1 I NCREASING I MPORTANCE OF G OOD P LANNING Distribution systems will become more expensive to build, expand and modify. It is particularly important that each distribution system design be as cost-effective as possible.

1.7.2 I MPACTS OF L OAD M ANAGEMENT Load management’s benefits are system-wide. The load management may be used to reduce or balance loads on circuits, thus even extending their lives. In the future, the implementation of load management policies may drastically affect the distribution of load, in time and in location, on the distribution system, sub-transmission system, and the bulk power system.

The requirements of a successful load management program are specified by Delgado as follows : 1. It must be able to reduce demand during critical system load periods. 2. It must result in a reduction in new generation requirements, purchased power, and fuel costs. 3. It must have an acceptable cost or benefit ratio. 4. It’s operation must be compatible with system design and operation.

5. It must operate at an acceptable reliability level. 6. It must have an acceptable level of customer convenience. 7. It must provide a benefit to the customer in the form of reduced rates or other incentives.

1.8 T HE C ENTRAL R OLE O F T HE C OMPUTER I N D ISTRIBUTION P LANNING Distribution System Planners have used computers for many years to perform the tedious calculations necessary for System Analysis. In the past few years Technology has provided the means for planners to truly take a system approach to the total design and analysis

1.8.1 T HE S YSTEM A PPROACH The system approach to the design of a useful tool for the designer begins by examining the types of information required and its sources. This information generates decisions and additional information which pass from one stage of the design to another. At certain points, the human engineer must evaluate the information generated and add his input. Finally, the results must be displayed for use and stored for later reference. With this conception of the planning process, the various transformations of information are made as efficiently. One representation of this information flow is shown in Figure 1.10, where Outer Circle shows the interface between the Engineer and the system.

1.8.2 T HE D ATABASE C ONCEPT The database management system stores, retrieves and modifies various data on distribution systems. The database plays a central role in the operation of a such system. Because of Technology, it is possible to store and retrieve vast quantities of data economically with access times in the order of seconds. The database management system provides interface between the process which requires access to data and the data themselves. Operations on the database are performed by the database management system (DBMS). Figure 1.10 (A schematic view of a distribution planning system) is on next slide