Distribution automation applications software for the Athens Utilities Board

The development of a distribution automation applications software package for assessing system reconfiguration opportunities and volt/VAR control on automated radial distributions feeders is discussed. The package, called SYSRAP (System Reconfiguration Analysis Program), was developed as part of the Athens Automation and Control Experiment (AACE), a large-scale distribution automation research project being conducted on the Athens Utilities Board in Athens, Tennessee. The program runs on a personal computer, executes power flow and short-circuit analyses for detailed feeder models in tens of seconds, uses highly detailed feeder models including voltage-sensitive loads, and is adept at reorganizing the database to reflect switching operations and changes in the status of volt/VAR control equipment