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Critical Assessment of the Foundations of Power Transmission and Distribution Reliability Metrics and Standards

Author

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  • Roshanak Nateghi
  • Seth D. Guikema
  • Yue (Grace) Wu
  • C. Bayan Bruss

Abstract

The U.S. federal government regulates the reliability of bulk power systems, while the reliability of power distribution systems is regulated at a state level. In this article, we review the history of regulating electric service reliability and study the existing reliability metrics, indices, and standards for power transmission and distribution networks. We assess the foundations of the reliability standards and metrics, discuss how they are applied to outages caused by large exogenous disturbances such as natural disasters, and investigate whether the standards adequately internalize the impacts of these events. Our reflections shed light on how existing standards conceptualize reliability, question the basis for treating large‐scale hazard‐induced outages differently from normal daily outages, and discuss whether this conceptualization maps well onto customer expectations. We show that the risk indices for transmission systems used in regulating power system reliability do not adequately capture the risks that transmission systems are prone to, particularly when it comes to low‐probability high‐impact events. We also point out several shortcomings associated with the way in which regulators require utilities to calculate and report distribution system reliability indices. We offer several recommendations for improving the conceptualization of reliability metrics and standards. We conclude that while the approaches taken in reliability standards have made considerable advances in enhancing the reliability of power systems and may be logical from a utility perspective during normal operation, existing standards do not provide a sufficient incentive structure for the utilities to adequately ensure high levels of reliability for end‐users, particularly during large‐scale events.

Suggested Citation

  • Roshanak Nateghi & Seth D. Guikema & Yue (Grace) Wu & C. Bayan Bruss, 2016. "Critical Assessment of the Foundations of Power Transmission and Distribution Reliability Metrics and Standards," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(1), pages 4-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:36:y:2016:i:1:p:4-15
    DOI: 10.1111/risa.12401
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Abdin, Islam & Li, Yan-Fu & Zio, Enrico, 2017. "Risk assessment of power transmission network failures in a uniform pricing electricity market environment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 1042-1055.
    2. Sayanti Mukherjee & Roshanak Nateghi, 2019. "A Data‐Driven Approach to Assessing Supply Inadequacy Risks Due to Climate‐Induced Shifts in Electricity Demand," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(3), pages 673-694, March.
    3. Renee Obringer & Rohini Kumar & Roshanak Nateghi, 2020. "Managing the water–electricity demand nexus in a warming climate," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 233-252, March.
    4. Alipour, Panteha & Mukherjee, Sayanti & Nateghi, Roshanak, 2019. "Assessing climate sensitivity of peak electricity load for resilient power systems planning and operation: A study applied to the Texas region," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 1143-1153.
    5. repec:plo:pone00:0219066 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Brian K. Harte & Umesh Kumar, 2020. "Electric Power Grid Disruptions: A Time Series Examination," Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 1(2), pages 197-216, September.
    7. Hossain, Eklas & Roy, Shidhartho & Mohammad, Naeem & Nawar, Nafiu & Dipta, Debopriya Roy, 2021. "Metrics and enhancement strategies for grid resilience and reliability during natural disasters," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    8. Wu, Mingyu & Guo, Xuesong & Zhao, Yu, 2025. "Cascading social risks: A cross-spatial vulnerability analysis of atypical power system failures in China," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).

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