Analyzing the reliability impact of distributed generation

With recent advances in technology, utilities can expect to see increasing amounts of distributed generation (DG) on their distribution systems. This DG can have positive impacts such as voltage support and deferred capital investments, but can also have negative impacts on protection coordination, voltage regulation, voltage flicker and short circuit levels. Reliability is an area where DG can have both a positive and a negative impact. This paper describes these situations and develops methods to analyze them using predictive reliability assessment tools.