Analysis of the Effect of Adding Fuse Cut Outs (FCOs) on Reducing the Outage Area of the Distribution Network on PE4 Feeder of PT PLN (Persero) ULP Sidimpuan KotaAnalysis of the Effect of Adding Fuse Cut Outs (FCOs) on Reducing the Outage Area of the Dist

Abstract

The reliability of an electric power distribution system is an important indicator for maintaining continuity of service to customers. One problem that frequently occurs in distribution networks is the extensive outage area caused by faults, resulting in many customers experiencing power interruptions. One effort to reduce the impact of these faults is to add Fuse Cut Outs (FCOs) at specific points in the distribution network so that faults can be isolated more selectively. This study aims to analyze the effect of adding Fuse Cut Outs (FCOs) on reducing the outage area on the PE4 Feeder of PT PLN (Persero) ULP Sidimpuan Kota. The research used a descriptive quantitative method with a comparative approach by analyzing conditions before and after the addition of FCOs based on fault data, outage area, number of affected customers, and fault duration. The results show that adding FCOs at Simarpinggan, Garonggang, and Siroccitan improved the fault-isolation capability of the distribution network. The average outage area decreased from 74 km to 48.5 km, or by 34.46%. In addition, the average number of interrupted customers decreased from 4,570 to 2,780 customers, or by 39.17%. The average fault duration also decreased from 2.53 hours to 1.15 hours, or by 54.55%. These findings show that adding FCOs is effective in reducing the outage area and the number of affected customers, as well as improving distribution-network reliability on the PE4 Feeder of PT PLN (Persero) ULP Sidimpuan Kota.