Application of Three-Phase Power Flow Analysis to the Nigerian Distribution Networks

Single-phase power flow analysis is used to study most distribution networks in Nigeria. The use of single-phase-power flow analysis assumes that the network is balanced and that the conductor phases act identically. However, Nigerian distribution networks are highly imbalanced because of untransposed lines, irregularly distributed loads in conductor phases, mismatched conductor sizes, and spacing. Consequently, single-phase modeling of the networks fails to reflect actual network behavior, resulting in an incorrect power flow solution. This research presents the three-phase modeling of radial distribution networks for a three-phase-power flow study of Nigerian distribution networks. Olusanya's 54-bus and Ajinde's 62-bus distribution networks in Nigeria were evaluated, both of which were very imbalanced. Without making any assumptions about the network components, these two distribution networks were properly modeled. Each network's three-phase power flow study was carried out in the MATLAB environment. The power flow solutions for each network demonstrated unevenness in the voltage profile for each network phase, as well as inequality in the real and reactive power losses in each phase, indicating that the deployed three-phase-power flow analysis properly mirrored the underlying network characteristics. Therefore, applying three-phase power flow analysis to distribution networks is critical for proper assessment of distribution network performance.