The 2015 version of the Distribution Planner’s Manual required updating to account for the latest demands on the planning of the distribution system. Utility planners wrote the original manual in 1982, containing 14 sections covering various topics such as load forecasting, reliability evaluation, and loss mitigation. CEATI developed the first update in 2015 to acknowledge that plenty had changed since its original publication. The manual is being extensively updated again, including separating the original two volumes into 14 discrete reports.

Grid modernization impacts the electric distribution system more than any other portion of the power grid. This guide was created to identify the infrastructure and real-time monitoring and control needs of the future distribution grid and their capabilities and limitations to accommodate changing stakeholder needs over the next 10-15 years in a cost-efficient manner, based on the latest technologies and expected technology advances.

This guide is designed to help distribution utilities evaluate and mitigate the effects that increased use of electric vehicles and their related charging have on power demand and overloading risk. The guide covers current adoption forecasts and possible network impacts. It also contains useful suggestions for detecting and reducing the impact of EV charging loads on distribution grids and recent case studies of possible network management solutions.

This report compares the characteristics and total ownership costs of various types of commercially available poles used in distribution systems in North America and Europe. Total lifecycle cost is calculated by an algorithm that simulates the life of a pole over a 100-year period. The simulation includes initial costs, ongoing inspection costs, and potential costs due to planned and unplanned replacements.

This report provides a guideline to establish a simplified methodology to calculate a health index of distribution system assets based on the most critical indicators of end-of-life and data sets that most utilities already have in their health index formulation. An asset’s health index provides an objective and accurate indication of the probability of its failure at any time during its service life. Health indices can be used to support investment decisions for an asset’s renewal and rehabilitation.