Critical Review of Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) for Asset Management in Electric Power Distribution System

The purpose of maintenance is to extend equipment lifetime or at least the mean time to the next failure. Maintenance too incurs expenditures that result in very costly consequences when not performed or performed too little, and it may not even be economical to perform it too frequently. Therefore the two costs must be balanced. In the past, this balance had been estimated by extrapolating the experience obtained from existing systems and using the rule - of – thumb methods. Nowadays, the tempo of advanced and softiscated research in that direction has rendered such rule – of – thumb methods obsolete. The literature works describing the reliability centred maintenance methods for managing distribution assets have grown until the papers can now be numbered in thousands. This paper presents critical review of the various existing methods that have been developed by different reseachers and proposes a probabilistic model that will provide a quantitative connection between reliability and maintenance, a link missing in all the heuristic approaches

Flexible Transmission Network Planning Considering the Impacts of Distributed Generation

The restructuring of global power industries has introduced a number of challenges, such as conflicting planning objectives and increasing uncertainties,to transmission network planners. During the recent past, a number of distributed generation technologies also reached a stage allowing large scale implementation, which will profoundly influence the power industry, as well as the practice of transmission network expansion. In the new market environment, new approaches are needed to meet the above challenges. In this paper, a market simulation based method is employed to assess the economical attractiveness of different generation technologies, based on which future scenarios of generation expansion can be formed. A multi-objective optimization model for transmission expansion planning is then presented. A novel approach is proposed to select transmission expansion plans that are flexible given the uncertainties of generation expansion, system load and other market variables. Comprehensive case studies will be conducted to investigate the performance of our approach. In addition, the proposed method will be employed to study the impacts of distributed generation, especially on transmission expansion planning.

A review of maintenance scheduling approaches in deregulated power systems

Traditionally, the electricity industry is fully regulated with a centrally controlled structure. The power system operator has full technical and costing information as well as a full control over the operation and maintenance of power system equipment. Recently, many countries have gone through privatization of their electricity industries unbundling the integrated power system into a number of separate deregulated business entities. The preventive maintenance of power system equipment in the restructured electricity industries is no longer controlled centrally, and none of these entities currently have explicit accountability for maintenance activities. The approaches used to schedule the maintenance activities in the centralized system are not ideal for addressing the new deregulated environments. In recent years a few research publications has been reported in this area. This paper presents a review and analysis of these reported maintenance scheduling approaches for power system equipment in the changed environment

Econometric framework for electricity infrastructure modernization in Saudi Arabia, An

2017 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.The electricity infrastructure in Saudi Arabia is facing several challenges represented by demand growth, high peak demand, high level of government subsidies, and system losses. This dissertation aims at addressing these challenges and proposing a multi-dimensional framework to modernize the electricity infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. The framework proposes four different scenarios—identified by two dimensions—for the future electric grid. The first and second dimensions are characterized by electricity market deregulation and Smart Grid technologies (SGTs) penetration, respectively. The framework analysis estimates global welfare (GW) and economic feasibility of the two dimensions. The first dimension quantifies the impact of deregulating the electricity market in Saudi Arabia. A non-linear programming (NLP) algorithm optimizes consumers surplus, producers surplus, and GW. The model indicates that deregulating the electricity market in Saudi Arabia will improve market efficiency. The second dimension proposes that allowing the penetration of SGTs in the Saudi electricity infrastructure is expected to mitigate the technical challenges faced by the grid. The dissertation examines the priorities of technologies for penetration by considering some key performance indicators (KPIs) identified by the Saudi National Transformation Program, and Saudi Vision 2030. A multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) algorithm—using the fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)—evaluates the prioritization of SGTs to the Saudi grid. The algorithm demonstrates the use of triangular fuzzy numbers to model uncertainty in planning decisions. The results show that advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technologies are the top priority for modernizing the Saudi electricity infrastructure; this is followed by advanced assets management (AAM) technologies, advanced transmission operations (ATO) technologies, and advanced distribution operations (ADO) technologies. SGTs prioritization is followed by a detailed cost benefit analysis (CBA) conducted for each technology. The framework analysis aims at computing the economic feasibility of SGTs and estimating their outcomes and impacts in monetary values. The framework maps Smart Grid assets to their functions and benefits to estimate the feasibility of each Smart Grid technology and infrastructure. Discounted cash flow (DCF) and net present value (NPV) models, benefit/cost ratio, and minimum total cost are included in the analysis. The results show that AAM technologies are the most profitable technologies of Smart Grid to the Saudi electricity infrastructure, followed by ADO technologies, ATO technologies, and AMI technologies. Considering the weights resulting from the fuzzy AHP and the economic analysis models for each infrastructure, the overall ranking places AAM technologies as the top priority of SGTs to the Saudi electricity infrastructure, followed by AMI technologies, ADO technologies, and ATO technologies. This dissertation has contributed to the existing body of knowledge in the following areas: • Proposing an econometric framework for electricity infrastructure modernization. The framework takes into account technical, economic, environmental, societal, and policy factors. • Building an NLP algorithm to optimize a counterfactual deregulation of a regulated electricity market. The algorithm comprises short run price elasticity of electricity demand (ε), level of technical efficiency improvement, and discount rate (r). • Proposing an MCDM model using AHP and fuzzy set theory to prioritize SGTs to electricity infrastructures. • Adapting a Smart Grid asset-function-benefit linkage model that maps SGTs to their respected benefits. • Conducting a detailed CBA to estimate the economic feasibility of SGTs to the Saudi electricity infrastructure, This work opens avenues for more analysis on electricity infrastructure modernization. Measuring risk impact and likelihood is one area for future research. In fact, risk assessment is an important factor in determining the economic feasibility of the modernization. Probabilistic economic analysis can be applied to assess the risk associated with the implantation of the previously mentioned dimensions. The parameters used for the economic analysis, such as economic life of a project, and the discount rate, are usually deterministic. However, a probabilistic method can be applied to capture the uncertainty of the parameters. Another area for future research is the integration of both dimensions into one model in which GW resulted from market deregulation and SGTs insertion are summed

Economic assessment of transmission expansion projects in competitive electricity markets - an analytical review

Restructuring of the electricity market has changed many aspects of the transmission system operation and planning. Reliability-Driven and Economic-Driven transmission expansion planning by regulated and private utilities are the substitutes of the traditional Cost-Driven transmission expansion planning. Reliability-based criteria for assessment of the transmission projects are almost well-developed while there exists a lack of a comprehensive framework for the economic evaluation of the transmission projects. Definition of a quantitative and monetary framework for economic evaluation of future transmission projects demands a detailed market analysis. In addition, specific characteristics and responsibilities of the transmission system in the open access structure must be understood comprehensively. To reaching the aforementioned goal, an analytical review on the existing economic assessment methodologies would be highly beneficial for the researchers in this area. Moreover, most of the review literatures on transmission investment in competitive electricity markets are general. These review literatures have tried to address all aspects of this challenging issue with devoting only few paragraphs to economic assessment of transmission projects. Given the aforementioned shortcomings, this article would bridge the gap by the following contributions: Firstly, reviewing available approaches for economic assessment of transmission projects based on research papers and industrial reports, Secondly, analysing the reviewed criteria critically by applying them to a modified Wood and Wollenberg 6-bus case study and Finally, summarizing the key components of a successful Economic Assessment Framework for transmission expansion or upgrade projects. Practical experiences of California Electricity Market, New England Electricity Market, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland (PJM) and National Electricity Market, Australia have been accommodated in the article

Transmission planning in a deregulated environment

The worldwide trend for the deregulation of the electricity generation and transmission industries has led to dramatic changes in system operation and planning procedures. The optimum approach to transmission-expansion planning in a deregulated environment is an open problem especially when the responsibilities of the organisations carrying out the planning work need to be addressed. To date there is a consensus that the system operator and network manager perform the expansion planning work in a centralised way. However, with an increasing input from the electricity market, the objectives, constraints and approaches toward transmission planning should be carefully designed to ensure system reliability as well as meeting the market requirements. A market-oriented approach for transmission planning in a deregulated environment is proposed. Case studies using the IEEE 14-bus system and the Australian national electricity market grid are performed. In addition, the proposed method is compared with a traditional planning method to further verify its effectiveness

Economical and Reliable Expansion Alternative of Composite Power System under Restructuring

The paper intends to select the most economical and reliable expansion alternative of a composite power system to meet the expected future load growth. In order to reduce time computational quantity, a heuristic algorithm is adopted for composite power system reliability evaluation is proposed. The proposed algorithm is based on Monte-Carlo simulation method. The reliability indices are estimated for system base case and for the case of adding peaking generation units. The least cost reserve margin for the addition of five 20MW generating units sequentially is determined. Using the proposed algorithm an increment comparison approach used to illustrate the effect of the added units on the interruption and on the annual net gain costs. A flow chart introduced to explain the basic methodology to have an adequate assessment of a power system using Monte Carlo Simulation. The IEEE RTS (24-bus, 38-line) and The Jordanian Electrical Power System (46-bus and 92-line) were examined to illustrate how to make decisions in power system planning and expansions