Configuration
As mentioned previously, the FLISR application is configured through the Feeder Management tab of the Configuration Assistant tool and through some Event Management rules.
On the Feeder Management tab, the options described below can affect the way FLISR runs.
Power Flow Mode (PF Mode)
The PF Mode configures the type of Load Flow analysis performed for a feeder or island, for all advanced applications, including FLISR.
The choices are:
Disabled: Feeders that are disabled for Power Flow cannot have any advanced applications run in them.
kVA: Feeders in kVA mode will run a power flow solution that does not consider voltages or impedances. All devices are modelled as zero impedance and all voltages are treated as nominal. The results will be kW and kVAR flow only. This mode requires less data and performs faster, but gives less accurate results.
Power Flow: A full load flow analysis is run, using transformer winding data, impedances, source voltages. This gives the most accurate results.
To establish accurate results, load flow analysis is typically performed on entire electrical groups, sometimes referred to as islands. When feeders within an island have different PF Mode configurations, the "weakest" choice will prevail. That is, if one feeder is disabled the whole island is disabled. The precedence is disabled, as kva, and power flow.
Note: Here, islands are different from the Distributed Energy concept of an island. The Power Flow islands are not sections disconnected from the grid and sustained by DERs; they are all elements of the network fed by a common set of electrical sources in the NMS model. Typically, all devices feed from the same Substation.
The Event Management rule FLISR Solution Engine allows the administrator to set a power flow mode for FLISR that potentially overrides the mode configured on the Feeder Management tab. This rule can be configured to one of three values: legacy, kva or powerflow.
Legacy: Refers to a variation of the kVA analysis. This is a simplified kVA solution which only applies to a single feeder. It will only work if the feeder is completely radial; any mesh/loop on the feeder will cause FLISR to exit with an error. This mode should be considered deprecated and not used going forward. The kVA mode of the powerflow engine is a better choice, as it can solve more complex topologies while still leveraging much of the benefits of a kVA solution in contrast to a full power flow solve.
kVA: This mode will force FLISR to use kVA solutions in its analysis, even if the Feeders or Substations being analyzed are configured for Power Flow mode in the Feeder Management settings. For FLISR, a kVA solution is usually adequate because speed is of the essence.
powerflow: FLISR will not force an override of the Feeder's powerflow mode. The options set in the Feeder Management tab will also be used by FLISR.
FLISR Mode
The FLISR mode of the feeders determines what type of FLISR plans can be created for that feeder. The choices are:
Disabled: FLISR will not run on this feeder. This is useful for feeders where data or field infrastructure requirements have not been met.
Manual: FLISR will produce solutions on this feeder but not automatically execute them. The solutions must be reviewed by an operator first. This is useful for building confidence in the solution.
Automatic: FLISR will automatically execute the best solution it can find for a feeder, provided no blocking conditions (including violations) are detected. The solutions can be reviewed by an operator after execution.
Restore Only: FLISR can use the feeder as a restore feeder to pickup load from an adjacent faulted feeder, but it will not attempt to find isolation/restore solutions for faults on this feeder.