Using Lateral Reclosers to Enhance Reliability

Image courtesy of Rennett Stowe under Attribution 2.0 Generic Deed, resized to 700 x 391 pixels.

Electric utilities can use lateral reclosers to improve reliability in several ways, which is obviously critical since maximizing uptime is one of the most important goals for any electric utility.  But this is easier said than done, as the convergence of increased extreme weather, customer expectations, and regulatory scrutiny has served to continuously move the proverbial goalposts.  Luckily, lateral reclosers can help overcome these external challenges.

How Lateral Reclosers Can Reduce Outages and Boost Reliability

The benefits of lateral reclosers are depicted nicely in this reliability case study.  Here is a summary of how they can help:

• Fault isolation – They can automatically isolate faults on lateral lines to prevent them from affecting the main feeder. This can reduce the number of customers who experience outages, not to mention the duration of those outages.
• Improved coordination – They can coordinate with other protective devices on the system, such as substation breakers and feeder reclosers. This coordination ensures that the device closest to the fault operates first, minimizing the impact of the fault on the rest of the system.
• Reduced outage duration – By quickly isolating faults, lateral reclosers can help to reduce the duration of outages. This is because crews can be dispatched to the fault location faster and repairs can be made more efficiently.
• Enhanced safety – They can improve safety by automatically de-energizing faulted lines, which can help to prevent electric shock and other injuries.
• Data collection – They can collect data on system performance, such as fault currents and outage durations, which can be used to improve system planning and operations.
• Remote control and monitoring – They can typically be remotely controlled and monitored, improving the speed and efficiency of response operations.
• Distribution automation – They can be integrated into distribution automation systems, allowing utilities to automatically reconfigure the system to restore power to customers after an outage.

In the final analysis, thanks to their ability to improve fault detection, streamline coordination, reduce outage duration, enhance safety, and provide data collection and remote-control capabilities, lateral reclosers are a great tool that utilities should be using to boost service reliability.