Risk-Aware Vulnerability Assessment: Mesh-View Grid Mapping for Distribution System Resilience

With the increasing vulnerability of overhead distribution power grids to extreme weather events, assessing system resilience and component risk is critical for grid operators. Many distribution networks traverse heavily vegetated terrain, where tree failures due to extreme events can induce cascading outages and increase system fragility. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a mesh-view gri mapping framework for cell-level risk assessment framework that integrates vegetation impact modeling and extreme event analysis to quantify distribution system vulnerabilities. The methodology segments the distribution circuit into 64 spatial cells, enabling mesh-view analysis that overlays vegetation encroachment and extreme event characteristics to evaluate component-level failure probabilities. A risk quantification model is developed to identify critical infrastructure components by assessing deviations in failure probability from baseline vulnerability thresholds. The framework further enables cell-level risk estimation and supports resilience planning by informing and prioritizing investments aimed at reducing repair times and enhancing post-event recovery. Simulation case studies on a practical distribution circuit have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach in identifying high-risk components and guiding strategic resource allocation. By integrating mesh-view grid mapping with risk-aware resilience assessment, this paper provides a systematic methodology for enhancing outage mitigation strategies and improving robustness of distribution systems against high-impact, low-probability events.