Aging Power Delivery Infrastructures, 2nd Edition

9 Traditional Reliability Engineering Tools and Their Limitations

9.1 INTRODUCTION

The third of the five aspects of aging T&D infrastructure discussed in Chapter 1 is Engineering Paradigms and Approaches. Traditional power system engineering methods, and the paradigms built around them, are as much a part of existing power systems and their strengths and weaknesses, as old equipment and obsolete system layouts. Many of the key concepts and engineering approaches used in “modern” power systems were created in the mid-20^th century, at a time when electric consumer demands, societal expectations, and engineering criteria were far different from today’s. Like all engineering methods, the mid-twentieth century’s had their limitations and advantages. ...