Assessment of a distributed resource plan for the Lebanese electric power system

This work presents a methodology to carry out an economic assessment of a distributed resource (DR) plan and a central generation (CG) plan of the Lebanese electrical power system. The study takes into consideration the savings due to transmission and distribution capacity deferrals associated with the DR plan, the cost of losses, and the cost of transporting fuel to the DR sites. The tools used are optimal generation expansion planning (GEP), load flow and contingency analysis, and present-worth cost methodology. The two generation plans are developed using the GEP program from which the production cost of generation in both plans are deduced. The losses in both development plans are estimated by using a load flow program to carry out studies at peak, intermediate, and minimum loads in the CG and DR plans. To avoid carrying out a detailed yearly distribution plan for each development paradigm, this paper proposes an approximate assessment based on a typical subtransmission distribution feeder layout to determine the number of years by which a DR plan will defer plant investment, and the power losses in the distribution system.