Kentucky.gov: - distribution reliability

Public Service Commission
PSC WILL EXAMINE MEASUREMENT OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY - Investigation includes vegetation management practices

Press Release Date:	Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Contact Information:	Andrew Melnykovych (502) 564-3940 x208 (502) 330-5981 (cell)

     The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) today opened an investigation into how Kentucky’s electric distribution utilities measure reliability and how they manage vegetation in their rights of way.
      In an order issued today, the PSC required regulated electric distribution utilities to provide information on how they keep track of outages. The Commission also ordered the utilities to provide information on tree trimming and other measures used to prevent vegetation from contacting lines and disrupting service.
      “The opening of this investigation does not imply that Kentucky’s utilities are falling short in reliability,” PSC Chairman Mark David Goss said. “But the information we collect in this proceeding will assist the Commission in determining whether there is a need for standards both for reliability reporting and vegetation management.”
      The investigation is the result of recommendations made last year in a PSC report on Kentucky’s electric infrastructure. That report noted that utilities are not required to and do not report reliability data in a standard way.
      Similarly, Kentucky does not set parameters for vegetation management, the report noted. Setting clearance requirements for vegetation could help prevent some outages, the report said.
      In today’s order, the PSC noted that Kentucky law requires utilities to assure their customers of “reasonable continuity of service.” PSC regulations require service to be restored as quickly as possible and set standards for reporting outages to the Commission.
      The first step in the investigation begun today will be the collection of data from utilities. A public hearing has been scheduled for May 23, 2007.
      Parties wishing to become participants in the proceeding should submit their written requests to the PSC by Jan. 11, 2007. Anyone wishing to submit public comments may do so prior to or at the public hearing.
      Today’s order is accompanied by a data request to all regulated electric utilities. The questions include:
      * How does the utility monitor distribution system reliability?
      * How are outages detected, measured and recorded?
      * What parameters are recorded for each outage?
      * How is reliability calculated?
      * What standards does the utility use in trimming trees?
      * What local codes or ordinances affect vegetation management?
      * How often are easements cleared, by whom, and at what cost?
      Today’s order and related documents are available on the PSC Web site, psc.ky.gov. The case number is 2006-00494. The infrastructure study and related documents are also available on the PSC Web site. That case number is 2005-00090.
      The PSC is an agency within the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet. It regulates more than 1,500 gas, water, sewer, electric and telecommunication utilities operating in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and has approximately 110 employees.

UTILITIES COVERED BY THE DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY STUDY

* Louisville Gas & Electric Co.
* Kentucky Utilities Co.
* Duke Energy Kentucky
* Kentucky Power Co. (American Electric Power)
* Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative Corp.
* Blue Grass Energy Cooperative Corp.
* Clark Energy Cooperative
* Cumberland Valley Electric
* Farmers Rural Electric Cooperative Corp.
* Fleming-Mason Energy Cooperative
* Grayson Rural Electric Cooperative Corp.
* Inter-County Energy Cooperative
* Jackson Energy Cooperative
* Jackson Purchase Energy Corp.
* Kenergy Corp.
* Licking Valley Rural Electric Cooperative Corp.
* Meade County Rural Electric Cooperative Corp.
* Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative Corp.
* Owen Electric Cooperative
* Salt River Electric Cooperative Corp.
* Shelby Energy Cooperative
* South Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corp.
* Taylor County Rural Electric Cooperative Corp.

	See Also...
	Read the order Order Read the infrastructure report Infrastructure report

	Related Content
	FROM THE INFRASTRUCTURE STUDY: Right-Of-Way Maintenance and Vegetation Management An effective ROW or vegetation management program, cutting trees or branches which may come into contact with distribution lines, can help reduce outages during storms or severe weather. We are also aware that for all the benefits ROW clearing can provide, property owners, for aesthetic reasons, are sometimes hesitant to allow the utilities to trim or cut their trees. There is no current regulation in Kentucky which specifies the frequency or width of ROW clearance for distribution lines. When asked at the technical conference about the need to establish such a standard, all the jurisdictional electric utilities stated that it would be appropriate for the Commission to address this issue with each individual utility in the context of a rate case, but that standard clearance parameters should not be established. The Commission recognizes the difficulties electric utilities can encounter with property owners regarding ROW clearing. Furthermore, we are concerned that the reluctance of some property owners to allow proper trimming of their trees negatively impacts the reliability of entire distribution systems. Perhaps through the establishment of a distribution ROW clearance requirement, the electric utilities’ ability to keep branches away from their lines and improve the reliability of the electric service would be enhanced. Therefore, the Commission believes that further consideration should be given to the establishment of some practical distribution vegetation management clearing parameters for Kentucky’s jurisdictional electric distribution utilities.

	Related Content
	FROM THE INFRASTRUCTURE STUDY: Distribution System Reliability The Commission believes that electric distribution utilities should be encouraged to explore proven state of the art technology to implement cost-effective electric service reliability improvements. While the electric utilities responded that they had implemented reliability improvement programs, there were significant differences in the degree of sophistication of the programs. The Commission believes that it is important for each electric distribution utility to have formal programs to improve and maintain acceptable reliability levels. Such programs should include: (1) load forecasts; (2) formal system reviews; (3) targeted objectives; and (4) appropriate procedures to guide field personnel. In terms of the targeted objectives, the use of the SAIDI, System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) and Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI) indices, as well as other indices that may be appropriate, should be used to determine system-wide and localized feeder benchmarks against which performance can be measured each year. This, along with other information, could assist the electric utilities in identifying the distribution feeders with the poorest reliability and planning appropriate corrective action. Resource Adequacy-Distribution The establishment of a single state-wide reliability standard for use by all electric utilities in Kentucky may be impractical, given the diverse geographic characteristics and population density of the State. However, the Commission believes that it is important that each utility utilize standard criteria in the calculation of its own internal indices to enable some form of comparison among the utilities. This could include establishing standard criteria for excluding major events, the units of time to be used, and the detail to which system reliability will be measured. This could also assist utilities in establishing consistent benchmarks to measure annual or periodic performance. The electric utilities could use this information to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of their reliability improvement programs and provide greater consistency when reporting the results of their reliability improvement programs to the Commission or other regulatory bodies.