A quantitative methodology to assess the process of service and infrastructure recovery in power systems

Abstract Increasingly severe weather threats urge system operators to apply a systematic approach to cope with emergencies. In this context, a sound estimation of the time needed to recover electric service and infrastructure plays an important role for recovery management. The paper proposes a quantitative methodology to simulate the service and infrastructure recovery process with its uncertainties, highlighting the dependence of the main recovery characteristics (e.g. duration, energy not supplied) on several technical and environmental aspects (e.g. visibility, road availability). Simulations run on a realistic HV (High Voltage) grid show that results are consistent with operator's experience, and the approach can be used to improve the organization and management of the recovery process at planning and actual emergency stages.