Impact of manual fault location strategies, remote fault indicators and remote switches on system reliability

In many contemporary medium voltage grids, the process of fault location remains predominantly manual. Technicians locate a faulty line by driving to the feeder's substations and inspecting the installed error direction indicators. This paper investigates different ways aimed at making this process more time and cost efficient. First, an algorithm is developed to determine the optimal strategy for technicians to efficiently locate faults, factoring in the travel times between stations. Second, the impact of remotely readable fault indicators on the time required for fault location and isolation is explored. Finally, it is evaluated how remotely controllable switches can improve the overall reliability of the power distribution network and the technical and economic feasibility of this enhancement is assessed.