Reliability assessment of distribution grids with DG via quasi-sequential Monte Carlo simulation

The increasing insertion of distributed generation (DG) in distribution systems has profoundly altered the typical structure of these grids. In general, renewable DG resources are intermittent and make the reliability performance evaluation of distribution networks more complex. Thus, it is essential to have an efficient method and models capable of adequately representing the stochastic characteristics of load, generation and grid, including the protection system response. The proposed quasi-sequential Monte Carlo simulation (QS-MCS) aims to capture in detail the behavior of these characteristics, just like sequential or chronological simulations do, but with the same simplicity and performance of non-sequential simulations. Based on new unbiased test functions, distribution reliability indices are calculated to cope with the insertion of DG considering two systems, and discussions are raised about the flexibility, accuracy and computational efficiency of the proposed method.