Optimal Recloser Placement in Distribution Networks to Improve Power Quality Indicators

The paper addresses one of the major challenges faced by electricity distribution operators, namely maintaining alignment with the regulations in the field, which impose increasingly restrictive requirements on performance indicators. To determine these indicators, the distribution system operator (DSO) records all long-term unplanned network outages, on the basis of which plans and strategies to minimise them are subsequently developed. To this end, new solutions have been identified for the automation of the medium voltage overhead distribution network, the use of remote-controlled equipment becoming an increasingly attractive option for the operators of the electricity distribution networks. The paper analyzed the influence of the installation of remote-controlled equipment on the continuity of the electricity supply to users for the years 2022 and 2023 for a medium voltage power line. For this purpose, according to the performance standard, the SAIFI performance indicators – the average frequency of interruptions (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) and SAIDI - the average duration of interruptions (System Average Interruption Duration Index) of the network. The results demonstrated that the integration of this equipment into the electricity distribution network has a significant impact on increasing the performance of the electricity distribution networks, reducing the amount of energy not delivered to consumers and improving performance indicators.