For utilities that use wooden poles for overhead Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR) lines for distribution networks, faults are inevitable regardless of the maintenance efforts to keep the lines intact. This work intends to assess the impact of adding protection devices in distribution feeder of TANESCO distribution network by application of automatic fault locating, isolation and service restoration device(s) that will help improve the reliability indices of the distribution system.
The proposed fault handling technique will involve addition of protection device(s) whose main function will be to identify and isolate faults that are occurring in downstream section(s) from the point of its installation. This is achieved since those protection devices will be continuously monitoring the voltage presence and current flow in the medium voltage line where by any increase in current along with absence of voltage is signaled and counted or isolated depending on its the nature. The aim is to assess the technical economic impact of addition of protection devices along important and key places, sections and spur lines
ETAP will be used to evaluate the reliability of the current Mtibwa 33kV feeder design and then together with the proposed addition protection devices for automation which will be used to compared and so assess the impact of having automatic distribution feeder against an existing design of distribution network of TANESCO.
Presently, distribution network feeders fault location, isolation and service restoration for the and above 250km long distribution lines is a difficult and time consuming task as it involves risky and countless trials of isolation and service restoration to locate fault circuit which deteriorates reliability of the distribution and reduces circuit breaker life span and the whole process is costly in general.