Economic Evaluation of Mitigation Methods Against Voltage Dips and Interruptions Based on Stochastic Reliability.

Abstract

This article describes a method to select the techno-economic optimal method for the mitigation of voltage dips and interruptions. Because of the wide variety in mitigation equipment available on the market, the uncertainty of the grid reliability and the mostly unknown interruption cost, it is a very difficult task to determine which investment is the ‘optimal’ one for a certain location. One of the most challenging issues in finding this optimal solution, is comparing totally different protection methods, each with their degree of protection, and their specific costs. The theoretical approach is considered and the difficulties which make it impractical for use are stated. Also the used investment policy in the industries is briefly treated, based on performed surveys. Next a method is proposed to compare different mitigation methods, avoiding the drawbacks of the theoretical method, based on the reliability indices of the power supply. The influence of the grid reliability is discussed. This method is based on the stochastic character of the electricity distribution reliability.