Innovative service restoration of distribution systems by considering short-term load forecasting of service zones

A rule-based expert system with a colored Petri net (CPN) inference model is developed for service restoration of distribution systems with fault contingency. The CPN models of distribution components such as four-way line switches are proposed to derive the proper restoration plan after the faulted location has been identified and isolated. To assure the restoration plan can comply with the operation regulation, heuristic rules based on the standard operation procedures of Taipower distribution system are included in the best first search of the CPN. The unfaulted but out-of-service zones will be restored as much as possible with the proposed switching operation plan. The short-term load forecast of each service zone is also included in the restoration strategy. A Taipower distribution system with 68 feeders is selected for computer simulation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed CPN model to solve the service restoration of distribution system.