Planning considerations for modern distribution systems

Distribution system planning has gone through a great deal of uncertainty, but it would seem that in the 2020s, the multifaceted task is becoming clearer. Notwithstanding, there are different requirements for different circumstances, including whether the planning task is urban, suburban, or rural, whether or not there are sun and rooftop space available when electricity is needed, whether EV penetration and local charging are becoming significant, whether heating and cooling will impose new electrical loads, and whether or not there is already electrical infrastructure in place that is fit for purpose going into the carbon-neutral future. Accordingly, this chapter will outline some basic planning principles in building future-proof networks, and mention in passing the irony that conservative planning philosophies in the past may be of benefit in the present. Nevertheless, stochastic renewable generation and new loads mean that old networks may encounter challenges in coping with additional thermo-mechanical stresses when they are least able to. Deferring expensive upgrades is explored by several means, including dynamic rating and curtailment of renewables, and finally, a broad range of distribution network simulations are presented with cost analyzes and observations.