The Exemption Status of the Bona Fide Pledgee of Unregistered Securities Under the Securities Act of 1933

The number of connections of photovoltaic (PV) to distribution network is increasing. Very few PV connection guidelines that distribution system operators (DSOs) can refer to have been found. This paper deals with network planning guidelines for distribution networks with PV. The paper aims to identify planning rules that are relatively easy to implement.QC 20140625</p

Cooperation in International Procedural Conflicts: Prospects and Benefits

The need for international integration of civil procedure has been strongly felt all over the world, particularly in the countries of Asia, North America and Europe. The birth of an international treaty will be good news for all those involved in international civil disputes

Risk-based methods for reliability investments in electric power distribution systems

Society relies more and more on a continuous supply of electricity. However, while underinvestments in reliability lead to an unacceptable number of power interruptions, overinvestments result in too high costs for society. To give incentives for a socioeconomically optimal level of reliability, quality regulations have been adopted in many European countries. These quality regulations imply new financial risks for the distribution system operator (DSO) since poor reliability can reduce the allowed revenue for the DSO and compensation may have to be paid to affected customers.This thesis develops a method for evaluating the incentives for reliability investments implied by different quality regulation designs. The method can be used to investigate whether socioeconomically beneficial projects are also beneficial for a profit-maximizing DSO subject to a particular quality regulation design. To investigate which reinvestment projects are preferable for society and a DSO, risk-based methods are developed. With these methods, the probability of power interruptions and the consequences of these can be simulated. The consequences of interruptions for the DSO will to a large extent depend on the quality regulation. The consequences for the customers, and hence also society, will depend on factors such as the interruption duration and time of occurrence. The proposed risk-based methods consider extreme outage events in the risk assessments by incorporating the impact of severe weather, estimating the full probability distribution of the total reliability cost, and formulating a risk-averse strategy. Results from case studies performed show that quality regulation design has a significant impact on reinvestment project profitability for a DSO. In order to adequately capture the financial risk that the DSO is exposed to, detailed risk-based methods, such as the ones developed in this thesis, are needed. Furthermore, when making investment decisions, a risk-averse strategy may clarify the benefits or drawbacks of a project that are hard to discover by looking only at the expected net present value.QC 2011053

Impact of dependencies in risk assessments of power distribution systems

 Society has become increasingly dependent on electricity, so power system reliability is of crucial importance. However, while underinvestment leads to an unacceptable number of power outages, overinvestment will result in costs that are too high for society. The challenge is to find a socioeconomically adequate level of risk. In this risk assessment, not only the probability of power outages, but also the severity of their consequences should be included.   A risk assessment can be performed from either the perspective of customers or the perspective of the grid owner, depending on whether the consequences faced by customers or the grid owner are considered. Consequences of power outages are usually measured through interruption costs. Examples of interruption costs for the grid owner are customer compensations and loss of goodwill. Examples of interruption costs for customers are retail losses for commercial customers and loss of heating and lighting for residential customers. The aim of this thesis is to develop methods for assessing risks in power distribution systems from the customer-oriented perspective. From this perspective realistic assessments of customer interruption costs are essential.   To perform a customer-oriented risk assessment of a distribution system three different models are required: a customer interruption cost model, a load model and a reliability model. The customer interruption cost model describes the consequences, or costs, of power outages that customers face. The load model predicts the loss of load and the energy not supplied due to power outages. The reliability model describes component failures, which are the root causes of power outages, and the restoration processes that follow. The three models can be used together in a cost-benefit analysis to investigate the consequences for customers due to different investment alternatives.   In this thesis a set of new models is developed that incorporates time dependencies in customer interruption costs, load and component failures. The timing of the outage has an impact on the consequences customers face. Severe weather, which is a main contributor to component failures, is generally more common during certain seasons. These facts imply that there may be a correlation between high customer interruption costs and an increased risk for power outages. In Sweden the frequency of storms is higher during the cold period of the year when the demanded load and customer interruption costs are also high. By taking time dependencies into account, the correlation between high interruption costs and elevated risk for power outages is captured.   Results from the risk assessments of two test distribution systems using the models developed in this thesis show that taking time dependencies into account has a considerable impact on the estimation of customer interruption costs and energy not supplied due to outages. To evaluate the risks of extreme costs, the tools Value-at-Risk and Conditional Value-at-Risk which are commonly used in the finance industry are applied. A conclusion that can be drawn from the simulation results is that taking time dependencies into account is especially important when considering extreme outage events that give rise to extreme costs.Samhället blir allt mer elberoende och leveranssäkerhet av el är av yttersta vikt. Medan underinvesteringar leder till ett oacceptabelt antal elavbrott medför dock överinvesteringar för höga kostnader för samhället. Utmaningen är därför att hitta en samhällsekonomisk lönsam risknivå. I en riskanalys måste inte bara hänsyn tas till sannolikheten för elavbrott utan också avbrottens konsekvenser.   En riskanalys kan genomföras från antingen kundernas eller nätägarens perspektiv beroende på om det är kundernas konsekvenser eller nätägarnas konsekvenser av elavbrott som tas med i analysen. Konsekvenser av elavbrott mäts oftast i avbrottskostnader. Exempel på avbrottskostnader som drabbar nätägaren är goodwill-förluster och ersättning till kunder som har haft långa elavbrott. Exempel på avbrottskostnader som drabbar kunder är förlorade försäljningsintäkter för handel- och tjänsteföretag och uteblivna möjligheter till uppvärmning och belysning för hushåll. Avhandlingens syfte är att utveckla metoder för riskanalys av eldistributionsnät utifrån kundperspektivet. Centralt i detta perspektiv är realistiska uppskattningar av kundavbrottskostnader.   För att kunna genomföra en riskanalys från kundperspektivet krävs tre modeller: en kundavbrottskostnadsmodell, en belastningsmodell och en tillförlitlighetsmodell. Kundavbrottskostnadsmodellen beskriver konsekvenserna, eller kostnaderna, för kunderna av elavbrott. Belastningsmodellen modellerar icke-levererad energi och effekt på grund av elavbrott. Tillförlitlighetsmodellen beskriver fel- och lagningsprocessen för de olika komponenterna i elnätet. De tre modellerna kan kombineras i en kostnad/nytta-analys för att beskriva konsekvenserna för kunder av olika investeringsalternativ.   I denna avhandling utvecklas tre nya modeller som tar hänsyn till tidsberoenden i kundavbrottskostnader, belastning samt komponenters fel- och lagningsprocess. Tidpunkten för avbrottet har stor betydelse för vilka konsekvenserna blir för kunderna. Vidare är oväder, som ofta orsakar elavbrott, i regel mer koncentrerade till vissa årstider. Dessa fakta medför att det kan finnas en korrelation mellan höga kundavbrottskostnader och en ökad risk för elavbrott. I Sverige är vinterstormar vanligast och på vintern är även belastningen och avbrottskostnaden som högst. Genom att ta hänsyn till tidsberoenden fångas korrelationer mellan höga avbrottskostnader och en ökad haveririsk.   Med hjälp av de tre utvecklade modellerna genomförs riskanalyser av två fiktiva distributionsnät. Resultaten från analyserna visar att det ger en stor inverkan på den uppskattade kundavbrottskostnaden och den icke-levererade energin om hänsyn tas till tidsvariationer. För att utvärdera risken för extrema kostnader används två riskverktyg från finansbranschen: Value-at-risk och Conditional Value-at-risk. En slutsats från tillämpningen av riskverktygen är att tidsberoenden är speciellt viktiga att beakta om fokus ligger på de extrema händelser som ger upphov till extrema kostnader.QC 2010110

Quality regulation of Distribution Networks

Report written in the Perspectives on Energy System course.QC 2011120

Impact of dependencies in risk assessments of power distribution systems

 Society has become increasingly dependent on electricity, so power system reliability is of crucial importance. However, while underinvestment leads to an unacceptable number of power outages, overinvestment will result in costs that are too high for society. The challenge is to find a socioeconomically adequate level of risk. In this risk assessment, not only the probability of power outages, but also the severity of their consequences should be included.   A risk assessment can be performed from either the perspective of customers or the perspective of the grid owner, depending on whether the consequences faced by customers or the grid owner are considered. Consequences of power outages are usually measured through interruption costs. Examples of interruption costs for the grid owner are customer compensations and loss of goodwill. Examples of interruption costs for customers are retail losses for commercial customers and loss of heating and lighting for residential customers. The aim of this thesis is to develop methods for assessing risks in power distribution systems from the customer-oriented perspective. From this perspective realistic assessments of customer interruption costs are essential.   To perform a customer-oriented risk assessment of a distribution system three different models are required: a customer interruption cost model, a load model and a reliability model. The customer interruption cost model describes the consequences, or costs, of power outages that customers face. The load model predicts the loss of load and the energy not supplied due to power outages. The reliability model describes component failures, which are the root causes of power outages, and the restoration processes that follow. The three models can be used together in a cost-benefit analysis to investigate the consequences for customers due to different investment alternatives.   In this thesis a set of new models is developed that incorporates time dependencies in customer interruption costs, load and component failures. The timing of the outage has an impact on the consequences customers face. Severe weather, which is a main contributor to component failures, is generally more common during certain seasons. These facts imply that there may be a correlation between high customer interruption costs and an increased risk for power outages. In Sweden the frequency of storms is higher during the cold period of the year when the demanded load and customer interruption costs are also high. By taking time dependencies into account, the correlation between high interruption costs and elevated risk for power outages is captured.   Results from the risk assessments of two test distribution systems using the models developed in this thesis show that taking time dependencies into account has a considerable impact on the estimation of customer interruption costs and energy not supplied due to outages. To evaluate the risks of extreme costs, the tools Value-at-Risk and Conditional Value-at-Risk which are commonly used in the finance industry are applied. A conclusion that can be drawn from the simulation results is that taking time dependencies into account is especially important when considering extreme outage events that give rise to extreme costs.Samhället blir allt mer elberoende och leveranssäkerhet av el är av yttersta vikt. Medan underinvesteringar leder till ett oacceptabelt antal elavbrott medför dock överinvesteringar för höga kostnader för samhället. Utmaningen är därför att hitta en samhällsekonomisk lönsam risknivå. I en riskanalys måste inte bara hänsyn tas till sannolikheten för elavbrott utan också avbrottens konsekvenser.   En riskanalys kan genomföras från antingen kundernas eller nätägarens perspektiv beroende på om det är kundernas konsekvenser eller nätägarnas konsekvenser av elavbrott som tas med i analysen. Konsekvenser av elavbrott mäts oftast i avbrottskostnader. Exempel på avbrottskostnader som drabbar nätägaren är goodwill-förluster och ersättning till kunder som har haft långa elavbrott. Exempel på avbrottskostnader som drabbar kunder är förlorade försäljningsintäkter för handel- och tjänsteföretag och uteblivna möjligheter till uppvärmning och belysning för hushåll. Avhandlingens syfte är att utveckla metoder för riskanalys av eldistributionsnät utifrån kundperspektivet. Centralt i detta perspektiv är realistiska uppskattningar av kundavbrottskostnader.   För att kunna genomföra en riskanalys från kundperspektivet krävs tre modeller: en kundavbrottskostnadsmodell, en belastningsmodell och en tillförlitlighetsmodell. Kundavbrottskostnadsmodellen beskriver konsekvenserna, eller kostnaderna, för kunderna av elavbrott. Belastningsmodellen modellerar icke-levererad energi och effekt på grund av elavbrott. Tillförlitlighetsmodellen beskriver fel- och lagningsprocessen för de olika komponenterna i elnätet. De tre modellerna kan kombineras i en kostnad/nytta-analys för att beskriva konsekvenserna för kunder av olika investeringsalternativ.   I denna avhandling utvecklas tre nya modeller som tar hänsyn till tidsberoenden i kundavbrottskostnader, belastning samt komponenters fel- och lagningsprocess. Tidpunkten för avbrottet har stor betydelse för vilka konsekvenserna blir för kunderna. Vidare är oväder, som ofta orsakar elavbrott, i regel mer koncentrerade till vissa årstider. Dessa fakta medför att det kan finnas en korrelation mellan höga kundavbrottskostnader och en ökad risk för elavbrott. I Sverige är vinterstormar vanligast och på vintern är även belastningen och avbrottskostnaden som högst. Genom att ta hänsyn till tidsberoenden fångas korrelationer mellan höga avbrottskostnader och en ökad haveririsk.   Med hjälp av de tre utvecklade modellerna genomförs riskanalyser av två fiktiva distributionsnät. Resultaten från analyserna visar att det ger en stor inverkan på den uppskattade kundavbrottskostnaden och den icke-levererade energin om hänsyn tas till tidsvariationer. För att utvärdera risken för extrema kostnader används två riskverktyg från finansbranschen: Value-at-risk och Conditional Value-at-risk. En slutsats från tillämpningen av riskverktygen är att tidsberoenden är speciellt viktiga att beakta om fokus ligger på de extrema händelser som ger upphov till extrema kostnader.QC 2010110

Comparison of cost models for estimating customer interruption costs

Customer interruption costs are functions of many different factors such as interruption duration, timing and customer sector. Various cost models with different number of outage and customer characteristics included have been proposed during the years. This paper compares the customer interruption cost assessments of seven different cost models in a case study.Time sequential Monte Carlo simulations are used to simulate the customers’ benefits of increased reliability in a test system. The investigated cost models’ estimations of the Expected Customer Interruption Cost (ECOST) are compared and used in a costbenefitanalysis. Results show that the ECOST results are so different that the cost model choice affects the outcome of the cost-benefit analysis. Only when using some of the cost models the investigated reinvestments are estimated to be socioeconomically beneficial.QS 2013</p

The use of Critical Thinking Approach in Culturology Lessons for Grade 12

Diplomdarba temats “Kritiskās domāšanas pieejas izmantošana kulturoloģijas mācību stundās 12. klasē” ir izvēlēts ar mērķi izpētīt un izzināt kritiskās domāšanas pieeju un izstrādāt atbilstošu uzdevumu kopumu 12. klases kulturoloģijas mācību tematā “Kultūras procesi un starpkultūru attiecības”, un pārbaudīt to praksē. Latvijā jēdziens kritiskā domāšana tiek skatīts divējādi, ir pedagogi, kuri atbalsta kritiskās domāšanas pieejas izmantošanu izglītībā, un ir tādi, kuri uz to skatās diezgan skeptiski. Pētījuma aktualitāti nosaka jaunā satura ieviešana, kas balstās uz caurviju kompetencēm, kā vienu no kompetencēm iekļaujot kritisko domāšanu. Diplomdarba teorētiskajā daļā tiek analizēta un apkopota informācija par kritiskās domāšanas jēdzienu, tā saturu, kritiskās domāšanas vēsturi un pieejas attīstību Latvijas izglītībā, kā arī kritiskās domāšanas pieeju mācību procesā – trīs-fāžu modeli, metodēm un metodiskajiem paņēmieniem. Izpētīti normatīvie akti, mācību programmu paraugi, metodiskie un citi mācību materiāli. Empīriskajā daļā tika veikts pedagoģiskais izmēģinājums kulturoloģijas mācību stundās 12. klasē pēc kritiskās domāšanas pieejas. Veikta rezultātu apkopošana, izdarīti secinājumi pēc anketēšanā iegūtajiem datiem. Iegūtie rezultāti liecina par to, ka kritiskās domāšanas pieejas izmantošana var uzlabot dažādas kritiskās domāšanas prasmes kā sadarbību, prasmi formulēt savu viedokli, veidot tolerantu attieksmi pret klasesbiedriem, prasmi uzklausīt citu viedokli, kritiski izvērtēt informāciju. Mācību stundas ir daudzveidīgas un motivējošas. Diplomdarbā ir ievads, trīs nodaļas ar apakšnodaļām, secinājumi, literatūras saraksts ar piecdesmit diviem avotiem un divdesmit vienu pielikumu. Atslēgas vārdi: kritiskā domāšana, kritiskās domāšanas pieeja, kritiskās domāšanas prasmes, kritiskās domāšanas metodes un metodiskie paņēmieni, kritiskā domāšana kā caurviju prasme, trīs-fāžu modelis, kulturoloģijas mācību stundas.The topic of the diploma thesis “The use of critical thinking approach in culturology lessons for Grade 12” has been chosen with the aim to study and explore the critical thinking approach and develop an appropriate set of tasks for Grade 12 culturology study topic “Cultural processes and intercultural relations” and test it in practice. In Latvia, the concept of critical thinking is viewed in two ways, there are educators who support the use of the critical thinking approach in education, and there are those who are quite sceptical about it. The topicality of the research is determined by the introduction of new content, which is based on competencies, including critical thinking as one of the competencies. The theoretical part of the diploma thesis analyses and summarizes information about the concept of critical thinking, its content, the history of critical thinking and the development of the approach in Latvian education, as well as the critical thinking approach in the learning process - three-phase model, methods and methodological techniques. Normative acts, samples of study programs, methodological and other study materials have been studied. In the empirical part, a pedagogical experiment was performed in the lessons of culturology for Grade 12 according to the critical thinking approach. The results have been summarized; conclusions have been made based on the data obtained in the survey. The obtained results show that the use of critical thinking approach can improve various critical thinking skills such as cooperation, the ability to formulate own opinion, to form a tolerant attitude towards classmates, the ability to listen to other opinions, to critically evaluate information. The lessons are varied and motivating. The thesis contains an introduction, three chapters with subsections, conclusions, bibliography with fifty-two sources and twenty-one appendices. Key words: critical thinking, critical thinking approach, critical thinking skills, critical thinking methods and methodological techniques, critical thinking as a cross-cutting skill, three-phase model, culturology lessons

Regulation impact on distribution systems with distributed generation

Distribution system operators (DSOs) are facing new challenges when more distributed generation (DG) is connected to the network. In this new operating environment the DSO has to be able to plan an efficient network topology, which consists of reinforcement and extensions. In addition, the DSO has to finance the investment from tariffs. The methods to solve network planning problems are reviewed in this paper. The studied network planning problem is the case when the DSO has no influence on the location of DG due to the unbundling between DSOs and production. Furthermore, the regulation for how the DSOs are allowed to design the tariffs in systems with DG vary between countries, a comparison of how the DSOs design their tariffs under different regulations is presented. This paper ends with a case study on methods that Swedish DSOs use to plan the networks when considering the uncertainties caused by wind power and the regulation impact on distribution network planning and network tariffs in Sweden.QC 20130104</p

Regulation impact on distribution systems with distributed generation

Distribution system operators (DSOs) are facing new challenges when more distributed generation (DG) is connected to the network. In this new operating environment the DSO has to be able to plan an efficient network topology, which consists of reinforcement and extensions. In addition, the DSO has to finance the investment from tariffs. The methods to solve network planning problems are reviewed in this paper. The studied network planning problem is the case when the DSO has no influence on the location of DG due to the unbundling between DSOs and production. Furthermore, the regulation for how the DSOs are allowed to design the tariffs in systems with DG vary between countries, a comparison of how the DSOs design their tariffs under different regulations is presented. This paper ends with a case study on methods that Swedish DSOs use to plan the networks when considering the uncertainties caused by wind power and the regulation impact on distribution network planning and network tariffs in Sweden.QC 20130104</p