Reliability Studies
Reliability studies are performed to maximize the reliability, efficiency, and safety of an electric power system. Depending on your particular needs, protective-device coordination, short-circuit, and load-flow studies may be performed and incorporated with the reliability study.
In many cases, a reliability study will include a site visit by a field engineer to assess factors such as:
- Location and placement of surge arresters
- Protection and coordination design guidelines
- Equipment operation and maintenance practices
- Outage response procedures
- Outage reporting databases
- Primary-fuse sizing practices for pole-top and pad-mounted transformers
- Transformer sizing and loading data
- Equipment failure and reliability data
- Equipment installation and commissioning procedures
- Construction standards for new and existing equipment
- Outage restoration and sectionalizing procedures
- Distribution automation practices and equipment performance data
- Tree trimming practices
- Other specified practices, procedures, and guidelines.
Following the site visit, a comprehensive report is submitted discussing the findings and suggesting ways to improve overall reliability of the distribution system. The economics of preventive maintenance and continued operation of older equipment are considered, including downtime, repair costs, and production losses.
Recommendations may include replacement of marginal equipment and/or equipment approaching the end of its service life. S&C’s High-Reliability Distribution System featuring Vista® Underground Distribution Switchgear and the IntelliTEAM II™ Automatic Restoration System are often considered to improve system reliability.
The assessment of system reliability, based on reliability indices such as SAIDI, SAIFI, and CAIDI, is performed using software such as CYMDIST for Windows®.