Electric Power Distribution Handbook

Book Preface

In industrialized countries, distribution systems deliver electricity literally everywhere, taking power generated at many locations and delivering it to end users. Generation, transmission, and distribution — of these big three components of the electricity infrastructure, the distribution system gets the least attention. Yet, it is often the most critical component in terms of its effect on reliability and quality of service, cost of electricity, and aesthetic (mainly visual) impacts on society.

Like much of the electric utility industry, several political, economic, and technical changes are pressuring the way distribution systems are built and operated. Deregulation has increased pressures on electric power utilities to cut costs and has focused emphasis on reliability and quality of electric service. The great fear of deregulation is that service will suffer because of cost cutting. Regulators and utility consumers are paying considerable attention to reliability and quality. Another change that is brewing is the introduction of distributed generation on the distribution system. Generators at the distribution level can cause problems (and have benefits if properly applied). Customers are pressing for lower costs, better reliability, and less visual impact from utility distribution systems.

Deregulation and technical changes increase the need by utility engineers for better information. This book helps fill some of those needs in the area of electric distribution systems. The first few chapters of the book focus on equipment-oriented information and applications such as choosing transformer connections, sizing and placing capacitors, and setting regulators.

The middle portion of this handbook contains many sections targeting reliability and power quality. The performance of the distribution system determines greater than 90% of the reliability of service to customers (the high-voltage transmission and generation system determines the rest). If performance is increased, it will have to be done on the distribution system.

Near the end, we tackle lightning protection, grounding, and safety. Safety is a very important consideration in the design, operation, and maintenance of distribution facilities. The last chapter on distributed generation provides information to help utilities avoid problems caused by the introduction of distributed generation.