A Comprehensive Scheme for Reliability Centered Maintenance in Power Distribution Systems—Part I: Methodology

Although reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) has proven its noticeable merits in many industries, has not been yet furnished with efficient analytical methods in the power engineering context. The first of this two-paper set presents a practical framework by which the RCM procedure can be implemented in power distribution systems. The proposed algorithm consists of three main stages. The prerequisites of the analysis are outlined in the first stage. In the second stage, an approach is developed to identify the network´s critical components, from the reliability point of view. Having practically modeled the components´ failure rates, an efficient cost/benefit evaluation approach is then proposed to distinguish a variety of maintenance plans. The optimal set of maintenance strategies is next adopted for implementation. The algorithm is terminated in the third stage by recording both technical and economical outcomes for tuning the forward maintenance activities. The proposed methodology, although tailored to distribution networks, is generic enough to be applied to other power system areas. In the companion paper, the proposed methodology is examined by application to the Birka distribution system of Stockholm City, Sweden, and more practical aspects are discussed.