Impact of automation on the reliability of the Athens Utilities Board's distribution system

The reliability effects of distribution automation on the Athens Utilities Board (AUB) in Athens, Tennessee are discussed. This investigation is part of the Athens Automation and Control Experiment, in which distribution feeder equipment on twelve feeders connected to three substations is being remotely controlled from a central dispatch center. A supervisory control and data acquisition system provides substation and feeder monitoring and remote control of feeder circuit breakers, power reclosers, and load-break switches. An analytical study is presented to show the improvement in conventional distribution system reliability indices that are achieved at AUB as a function of the penetration of automation equipment. Eight case studies are described, form actual AUB operations, where the automation system resulted in significant cost savings and reliability benefits that are not captured by conventional reliability indices.< >