The application of AM/FM system to distribution contingency load transfer

A geographic information management system (GIS) is applied to perform the automated mapping and facility management (AM/FM) of power distribution systems for contingency load transfer. Three phase load flow analysis is used to calculate the current flows of line switches by retrieving the network topology and facility attributes which have been stored in the AM/FM database. The current flows solved are then stored in the database as the attributes of line switches for load transfer analysis. When a system contingency such as a fault or overload occurs, the load transfer is then executed to find the switches to be operated by the heuristic search method while subjected to the system operation rules. By the proposed method, the network topology can be easily updated and displayed in the computers by the connectivity trace routine according to the switching operations. Since all the system facilities are stored in the AM/FM database according to the actual spatial coordinates, it provides practical information for the system operators and crews to allocate and operate the switches easily. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the integrated AM/FM system with application programs for distribution operation, a distribution system of Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) in Kaohsiung downtown area is selected for case study. It is found that contingency load transfer for distribution system operation can be enhanced significantly with the application of AM/FM systems to determine the switches to be operated and the corresponding spatial locations of the switches