A method and its application to evaluate automated distribution control

Increased capital and generation costs coupled with the expense of distribution system losses are providing motivation to distribution engineers to improve their knowledge of the distribution system and apply that knowledge to improve its operation. A straightforward method is developed which is capable of examining the effects of continuous system reconfiguration of switches and capacitors with automated distribution control (ADC) on a portion of the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company (PP&L) service territory. A load model and an electrical model are applied in a six-step method. The development of this method was made possible by two key elements: the availability of unique time-of-day load data from a historical survey of several PP&L feeders; and the use of an advanced integrated distribution system modeling and analysis package. The results show that the application of ADC techniques provide potential distribution system loss reductions which could not otherwise be achieved