Distribution utilities still have limited visibility beyond the primary feeder, specifically on secondary circuits where DER penetration progresses. A joint study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and EGM tested how the targeted deployment of advanced sensing could improve that visibility without instrumenting the entire network.

Using the EPRI J1 test feeder with high solar PV penetration, researchers modeled EGM's Meta-Alert System across two utility use cases: distribution system state estimation and fault identification. The simulations showed that sensor placement on a relatively small share of feeder lines could materially improve network awareness and fault detection. In one set of tests, the system detected roughly 97% of single-line-to-ground faults, compared with 49% under the traditional protection scheme, and detected 100% of double-line-to-ground faults.

The study also examines what faster, more precise fault location can mean for restoration time, energy not served, and overall distribution-system performance. For utilities evaluating advanced sensing, DSSE, or faster fault identification, the full NREL and EGM paper offers the simulation methodology, deployment scenarios, and performance results.

See the complete simulation methodology and results in the downloadable PDF.