Evaluation of Power System Resilience Improvements in Low-Income Neighborhoods

Abstract

This article provides an evaluation of power system resilience enhancements in low-income neighborhoods. Low-income households and communities may be subject to risks of different nature, such as natural hazards and human-made attacks, hereby considered as particular cases of high-impact, low-probability events that are highly likely to damage power grid infrastructures. Such events may result in long interruption times and lead to permanent disconnection from the grid in extreme cases, and consequently, the value of load lost may be much higher than the investment cost associated with prevention and mitigation alternatives. In this scenario, this article analyzes the value of load lost and the costs associated with installation, operation, and repair of grid components affected by extreme events to determine the benefits of different strategies for power system resilience improvements targeted at low-income neighborhoods.