Application of customer interruption costs in transmission network reliability planning

A method that can be utilized to ascertain the optimum level of power supply reliability is used to compare the incremental cost of providing reliability with the incremental benefit of that reliability. The benefit of an increment of reliability can be considered to be the change in the customer interruption cost related to the change in the reliability level. Reliability cost-reliability benefit assessment is, thus, an important aspect of electric power supply planning process. Customer interruption costs form an essential input to this reliability cost-reliability benefit assessment process. This paper illustrates the utilization of customer interruption cost information in transmission network reliability planning using Canada's Alberta Interconnected Transmission Grid. The methodology presented in this paper can readily be applied to industrial and commercial power systems.