There’s a healthy tension in the world of electric utilities that ensures profits are directly tied to better customer experience and services. Power companies have to achieve the greatest ROI for customers while keeping costs as low as possible, creating the most reliable grid so ratepayers experience as little pain as possible and receive the best services.
To do this, utilities rely on distribution planning to analyze, design, and optimize networks by determining appropriate infrastructure investments. They combine engineering and artistry to design functional, creative solutions that deliver the greatest improvements for their customers.
The Science of Distribution Planning
When distribution networks are as complex as they are, it only follows that planning those networks is just as complicated. While this is a huge simplification, below is an overview of things utilities and their designers have to consider when planning out electric distribution systems:
Load Forecasting: Predicting the future
Load forecasting requires utilities to analyze current power flow and demands to project future electricity required for various areas. Electric vehicle and DER adoption have further complicated this in recent years.
As demands change in different regions, designers have started using different scenario-based forecasts to incorporate demographic data, trends, adoption curves, growth patterns, etc to create more flexible systems that can handle rising and falling demands.
System Assessment: Keeping an Eye on Assets
Assets are constantly aging and demand is steadily growing. Because both of these things are true, utilities need to be constantly evaluating infrastructure conditions and capacity (especially in light of load forecasting!).
Part of this requires rapid, inexpensive data collection methods to quickly document assets and conditions. However, that’s just step one. Updating aging infrastructure demands time and money. Utilities are limited by budgets and capacity, so they need to make informed decisions on what to prioritize.
Field data needs to be combined with advanced censoring, condition-monitoring data, and predictive analytics to help 1) prioritize replacements and upgrades and 2) identify potential overloads in areas before they occur.
Network Modeling: Representing Real Life
Distribution design and engineering relies on accurate records of field data collection and grid operations to create safe and efficient systems. Traditional equipment now needs to be monitored and assessed alongside DERs and smart tech to design power systems.
This means that data needs to be delivered and represented accurately within GIS software and changes in the field should update asset management systems (model synchronization can help with this). Data-informed operation simulations can help engineers capture and plan for tech integrations to build more flexible systems.
Investment Planning: Balancing Improvements
With limited budgets and growing needs, utilities have to find ways to prioritize upgrades for the greatest impact. This can be especially tricky when accounting for the costs of integrating future technologies.
Most utilities use probabilistic risk analysis to compare the likelihood of potential failures. That info helps them target areas and projects that will ensure the highest reduction of risk per dollar spent, or invest in improvements that promise the greatest impact with incremental upgrades.
The Art of Design
While all these components of distribution planning are key, they’re not without their complications. That’s where engineering and design become an art, not just a science. Planning power networks is a creative problem, not just a mathematical equation. Part of the challenge in providing distribution is leveraging artistic solutions to address regulatory demands.
The fact is, while advanced technology is shaking up the world of distribution, smart tech, DERs, and microgrids aren’t the problem. These things are a part of the future of reliable power that we’re working to build.
We don’t need band-aid solutions that only address the problem at hand or are too rigid to allow creative applications.
We need accurate, economical data collection practices and methods that provide high-quality data on all relevant equipment quickly to inform creative, data-driven designing.
We need design tools that help optimize engineering so we can create intricate yet simple distribution networks informed by real operational statuses and demands.
We need software that harnesses out-of-the-box functionality, that can be customized to address reconductoring projects and DER integration and flex for different applications.
Different technologies, advancements, and best practices will continue to change as we learn more about providing power services to communities across the US. However, flexible, resilient, intuitive tools that help teams win not just today but next month, next year, and in the next decade… those are timeless.
Thanks for reading! Katapult Pro was always built to be scalable, with the ability to tweak and customize software to meet whatever challenge you’re facing. Learn how Katapult Pro can be leveraged for your team at https://bit.ly/katapult-pro-custom-services!
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