Contribution of Microgrids to Distribution Network Reliability

The current development of distribution networksinto active and smarter systems has been facilitated by theintegration of novel technologies such as Microgrids (MGs) andDistributed Energy Resources. These new concepts are expectedto bring about significant economic benefits at the distributionlevel in the form of network reinforcement deferral andincreased reliability levels, among others. In this context, thispaper aims at shedding light on the impacts that the use of MGsfor post-contingency distribution network management can haveon reliability. For this purpose, a reliability assessment toolbased on sequential Monte Carlo Simulations (MCS) ispresented and used for the evaluation of a real distributionnetwork, while a framework to implement the MG services isalso proposed. The results show that reliability improvementsfor MG users can be remarkable, while external network usersand the network operator also perceive benefits. The formerexperience higher reliability levels, and the latter experiencelower network reinforcement needs when connecting additionalcustomers due to the services provided by MGs.