Reliability Assessment of a Distribution Network with a Microgrid

Microgrid (mu g) is the present buzzword in the power industry with the new approach that it provides the grid operators to operate the grid. The unexpected weather events, increased electricity needs and potential threat to the cyber-security of the grid have raised several questions over the reliability of the grid with mu gs turning out to be the pragmatic solution to improve reliability. In this work, we wish to understand mathematically the extent to which the reliability of the composite power system improves with the presence of a mu g. To accomplish this task, we first describe the test system which in our case is the Roy Billinton Test System (RBTS). We then develop a performance assessment methodology for the RBTS, comprising of the assessment model. This methodology is then applied to assess reliability of the RBTS with and without the mu g. We make use of the availability of the RBTS as our reliability metric and conduct a side-by-side comparison of the metric results to understand the extent to which the reliability improvements accrue with the deployment of a mu g in the RBTS. Finally, we present the results on the improved reliability and also make important conclusions on the work presented. Our methodology for reliability assessment is simple and general enough and can be implemented on other distribution systems for the quantification of reliability under the implementation of a mu g.