Assessment on the impact of distributed generation to the distribution network overcurrent protection in Malaysia

Abstract

Distributed Generation (DG) is the generation of electricity from multiple renewable energy sources and is located closer to the user, or load. These days DGs is developing rapidly because of the advantages it could bring into the system such as enhancing the transmission efficiency, securing distribution reliability as well as reduction of climate change. However, the penetration of DGs to the existing national grid system may potentially contributes to several impacts, with the power system protection being one of the major issues. In this assessment, Power System Computer Aided Design (PSCAD) software is used to simulate different scenarios related to the distribution network without the presence of DG and with the presence of DG. The results of this simulation is studied in order to identify the changes of overcurrent protection relay performance that could leads to several negative impacts which could jeopardize the effectiveness of electrical supply security, the safety of consumers and the lifetime of electrical assets and equipment.