Direct lightning discharges in overhead distribution networks invariably cause serious insulation damage, frequently leading to the electric system’s partial or total shutdown. Installing lightning arresters can be very effective, and it is commonly used to minimize this problem; however, considering that typically, electric distribution grids exhibit a very large number of electrical nodes, the massive use of lightning arresters may not be economically viable. In this way, this article proposes a methodology for allocating lightning arresters that can significantly reduce the number of lightning arresters installed, but at the same time maintaining an adequate protection level for the distribution grid. The proposed methodology, named Direct Discharge Crossing (DDC), analyzes the network criticality based on two main factors, which are the overvoltage magnitudes and the number of flashovers provoked by lightning discharges, and defines a feeder lightning performance function that is used to indicate the recommended location for lightning arresters’ installation. The simulation studies are accomplished using the IEEE 34 bus distribution grid and ATP software to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed solution, which is confirmed by the results presented.

The efficient protection of electric power distribution networks against lightning discharges is a crucial problem for distribution electric utilities. To solve this problem, the great challenge is to find a solution for the installation of surge arresters at specific points in the electrical grid and in a sufficient quantity that can ensure an adequate level of equipment protection and be within the utility’s budget. As a solution to this problem of using ATP (Alternative Transient Program), this paper presents a methodology for optimized surge arrester allocation based on genetic algorithm (GA), with a fitness function that maximizes the number of protected equipment according to the financial availability for investment in surge arresters. As ATP may demand too much processing time when running large distribution grids, an innovative procedure is implemented to obtain an overvoltage severity description of the grid and select only the most critical electric nodes for the incidence of lightning discharges, in the GA allocation procedure. The results obtained for the IEEE-123 bus electric feeder indicate a great reduction of flashover occurrence, thus increasing the equipment protection level.

Assessing the transient behavior of electric power transmission/distribution systems, when they are subjected to major disturbances such as lightning discharges, is an essential procedure to ensure the operational security of these systems, in order to supply good quality power to all consumers. Electromagnetic transient studies are routinely performed in the planning and operation phases of these systems, by using world widely known computer programs, among which stands out the Alternative Transient Program (ATP), via its graphical interface ATPDraw. However, preparing files for running case studies by using ATPDraw can become a time-consuming and human error-prone task. To overcome this drawback, this paper presents a toolbox for automatic generation and execution of Alternative Transient Program input files based on information directly obtained from technical databases of distribution utilities. This toolbox aims to reduce modeling time and susceptibility to human errors in the process of describing the grid in the software input file, which constitute the biggest obstacles to the extensive use of this program in real electric transmission/distribution networks. For the toolbox validation, a comparison was made between the input file generated by the ATPDraw auxiliary graphic interface and the file generated by the proposed toolbox by using the IEEE 13-bus and IEEE 34-bus test feeders. Besides that, the simulation results of both feeders for both softwares were compared, so that the correct operation of the Alternative Transient Program automatic case creator and executor proposed in this article were proved. In addition, the automatic generation of ATP cases for larger grids is exemplified with the IEEE 123-bus test feeder.