Optimal Placement of Fault Indicators to Identify Fault Zones in Distribution Systems

The optimal placement of fault indicatorss (FIs) is one of the most viable alternatives to improve the reliability of customer service of the distribution utilities. This letter approaches the concept of fault zone as being the portion of the system characterized by the actuation of FI devices. The proposed method consists of FI placement in locations of the system that provide smaller fault zones. Moreover, these devices must be close to customers with high power demand to decrease the service interruption costs. The proposed method is tested on the IEEE 34-node test feeder, in which the results demonstrated that it is efficient to reach the stated objectives.