IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 3, No.

1, January 1988

341

DYNAMIC SOLUTION OF DISTRIBUTION PLANNING IN INTERMEDIATE TIME RANGE

R. Hackam, Senior Member H.K. Youssef, Student Member Department of Electrical Engineering University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada ABSTRACT constructing new ones. The number of variables involved in the model is relatively smaller compared to the discrete models previously employed. In This paper applies the time-phased mode of the long range distribution planning model introduced in a addition the continuous non-linear nature of the formulation of the model is suitable for applications recent publication by the authors. The model described in the previous work incorporates an in contingency and reliability studies. accyrate formulation of the continuous non-linear cost function. Once the load-time variation in the area Although the model has been formulated in a under consideration is known, the model takes into flexible f o m t which makes it suitable for long range account the different types of costs (fixed costs, planning in one step (e.g. 20 years) or time-phased variable costs and the cost of energy losses) for all planning (e.g. every 5 years), it was solved for a planned facilities (substations and feeders) and then specific case for long range planning of 20 years [ 9 ] . either the opthum construction or expansion of the In the present work the model has been applied to system is obtained to satisfy the network operational the distribution system described in [ 9 ] but including and security constraints. A realistic utility example the refinement of the dynamic planning mode (every 5 is used to campare the dynamic and the static years!. A comparison has been made between the static solutions. solution obtained by the model and the dynamic solution (over the same period of time) obtained in INTRODUCTION this work. The planning of electrical-power networks is a bDDEL DESCRIETION complex process in which the application of computing techniques has grown steadily. In recent years there The objective of the distribution system planning has been a number of advances in the application of is to design distribution systems that can mathematical programning to the solution of efficiently, econcanically, and reliably satisfy the distribution system planning [l-93. In each of the load demands which might grow in time. The portion of models [l-31 approximations are necessarily made in the distribution system being planned includes the varying degrees of detail, to the primary feeder distribution substations and the primary feeder network. Mixed integer linear programing has been circuits. Expanding frcm an existing system (if any), used in these d e l s but was limited to relatively new substation sites and feeder routes may be added smll systems because of the inefficiency of the at certain t h s to meet the changing load techniques used. Explicit inclusion of th-dependant requirements. costs and voltage drop constraints has been applied [4] to improve the efficiency and to ensure the Knowing the spatial load variations in the area feasibility of mixed integer linear programing. A under consideration the distribution engineer has to linear transshipnt model has been used in [ 5 ] which consider different planning variables. This includes contains all the details of Adams and Iaughton model the existing facilities (substationsand feeders), all [l], for a single time period, except for the fixed the possible sites for new substations, the potential charges of the feeder segments. However, due to the right-of-way and the existing expandable facilities. assumption of the linearity involved in the model, the In addition the installation and operation time must solution may be unfeasible or non-optimal. Different be considered. The optimal design must satisfy the branch and bound criteria have also been used [6-81. network operational and security constraints with mini overall cost for all elements of the system. The different linearity assuqtions involved in The following constraints should be satisfied by the [l-81 lead to a near but not to the optimal solution. optiml solution: In the model described in [9] an accurate and continuous cost model in the p e r flow of each 1. Voltaqe Constraints element of the network and with the time-dependent capability was presented. This model simulates the The voltage constraints are included in the model actual relation between the planning variables, the in two form: installation time and the p e r flow of each network elemnt, and the fixed and the variable costs of that elemnt in addition to the cost of its energy loss.

The model also has the advantage of allowing the possible expansion in the capacity of some or all the existing feeders and substations instead of

7 -zi 7 ESPi e : p [ vi1 - vi2 c e=l

b]

= 0 ,

37 W Y 174-6 A paper recommended and approved by t h e TEEE T r a n s m i s s i o n and D i s t r i h u t i o n Committee of t h e I E E E Power E n g l n e e r i n g S o c i e t y o r p r e s e n t a t i o n a t t h e IEEE/PES 1987 Wtnter Meeting, !Jew O r l e a n s , L o u i s i a n a , February 1 - 6, 1987. Manuscript submitt e d J a n u a r y 30, 1386; made a v a i l a b l e o r p r f n t i n g December 1 5 , 1986.

U L where Vn and Vn are the per unit upper and lower

r

limits on the voltage at node n, Vn is the per unit voltage at node n at time segment r , Vi1 the per unit
r

0885-8977/88/0100-0341$01 .WO 1988 IEEE

342

Existing Substation

FIGURE 1 - Original 44 KV distribution network under consideration (SI to S3 existing substations, 4 to 60 transshipnt nodes, 61 to 87 load points). voltage at sending node of feeder i at t h secpent 7 , included and formulated as follows:
l p : e l <

r
Vi2 the per unit voltage at the receiving node of
r

. , i;
s s

i=1, --- ,
-1,

feeder i at time segment r , Zi the per unit impedance of feeder i at time segment r , ESPi the total power i segments permitted for element it , P real variable presenting power flow in power segment e of feeder i i at planning time s n t Truethe power capacity limit of power sezpuente of i, N total number of network nodes, NT total number of the-phased planning se-nts, and NF total n e r of existing and potential feeders forming a complete set. The first set (1) introduces upper and lower values for the node voltages at both the supply and the denand nodes, ( 2 ) S-1at-s the v o l m p in while the second feeders

-1,
0

---, NT ---, ESPi

--NS ---, NT _-_ , ESPS
I

(4)

<

Pre S Ue ;

F1, e=1,

(5)

where Pre positive real variable representing power

flow in p o ~ e rs t

e of SUPP~Ys at planning time limit Of P e SWr

s e n t

1 '

e' the power

merit e of supply st

2.

conservation Of paver Flow This set of constraints is introduced in the form:

NS total number of substations, and ESPS the total power sezpuents permitted for substation s.

NF

aij

j=1

Espj j i C Pre ]=Dr i e=l

i=lr ---I N
F1,
---I

The first set ( 4 ) presenting capacity limits on feeder power ratings. The second set (5) ensures that the power dispatched from any substation should not exceed its capacity limit.
4. Radiality constraints

NT

(3)

where aij is the ijth element of the node-feeder incidence mw-, Espj the total power sqnents j permitted for element j, pre real variable representing power flow in power s w n t e of f & e r j at plani ning t h s w n t r , Dr the demnd or power available at node i at time segment r .
3.

The model does not include radiality constraints since the practice showed that the optimal solutions of the distribution systems are always radial. If a solution has a point fed from two or m r e feeders, the load splitting technique presented in [6] is applied at this pint. In the mathematical prq-g model, the overall present worth cost function C to be minimized has the
form:
NS+NF

capacity Constraints

different sets of capacity constraints are

C=C Fs + I: Fi + C SENSEP iENFEp j=1

(fj+Lj)
(6)

343

where NSEP is the subset of all potential and expandable substations, NFEP the subset of all potential and expandable feeders, NS, the total number of existing and potential substations, NF, the total number of existing and potential feeders, F , , the present worth of capitalized cost for potential or expansion permitted of substation s which is an element of the subset NSEP, Fir the present worth of the capitalized cost for potential or expansion permitted of feeder i, fj, the present worth of variable costs for element j (feeder or substation excluding its energy losses cost), and L., the present worth of cost of energy losses in elemen? j .

substations to be built within the period of planning. 114 feasible feeders contain 39 3-phase existing feeders and 30 3-phase future feeders and 45 load branches. The system supplies the 27 load points, listed in Table 1, from three existing substations (SI and S2) have 140 MVA ratings and $3 has 200 MVA. 1.0 $/m/year variable cost, including the energy losses cost, at year 1983 is used. The capital cost of the future 3-phase feeders are $66,OOO/Km in the year 1983. The capacity limit of the feeders are 35 WA. The inflation rates considered are assumed in this example, as in [9], to be constant at 5.0% and 6.7%, respectively, for the fixed and the variable costs. The interest rates are also assumed to be constant at 17.0% and 10.0% for fixed and variable costs, respectively. The d e l has been tested on an IBM 3031 ccwputer at the University of Windsor. The program uses 10142 words for memry and it takes 39.8 minutes (CPU t k ) to obtain a complete solution.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

From equation (6) it is clear that the objective function includes the variable costs of all feeders and substations, the capitalized costs of the potential feeders and the substations, as well as the capitalized cost of the possible expansion permitted in the feeders and the substations. The maintenance and the operation costs are included in the variable costs. The cost of the energy losses are also included in the accepted form of a non-linear relationship with the planning variables. The cost model is a continuous non-linear function in the optimization variables which includes the p e r flow of the elexents, and the construction times of the future facilities. The network node voltages are also considered as optimization variables. For m r e detail about the ccenponents of the cost function C, a complete sumpary of the mathemtical programning formulation is given in Appendix I.
APPLICATION The model has been used to produce optimal timephased plan (every 5 years) of the subtransmission The costs for constructing system described in [9]. subtransmission feeders, which are typical for 556 K&l alu conductors, are estimated at $66,OOO/Km. The cost of construction of p r distribution feeders (336 K & l alumhum conductors) is estimated at $40,OOO/Km. New distribution substation (5000 KVA) have an estimated construction cost of $370,000. Table 1 presents the load-time variations where for each load node five parmters are listed: load node number, load at its saturation value, initial percentage, the first year of load growth, and the year that the load saturates.
TABLE 1 LOAD

The dynamic optimal solution (every 5 years)of the system, for the period 1983-2002, is shown in Figure 2. Table 2 includes power flow patterns through the network along with the receiving end voltages at each node for the four interval periods of five years each. From examination of these results, it is found that:
1. Only 2 new feeders have been added to the network SI-44 and S2-36 and they have been in service starting

at the third t h period. This is campared to the one step solution of 20 years [9] where 15 new feeders were used.
2. Feeder S3-16 beccarr?s slightly overloaded after the first two time period secpents (i.e. after 10 years). The percentage overloading in this feeder is (3.2% in the third time segment and 6% in the fourth t h seqent). If the pcwer capacity of this feeder has been increased by 25% after the second t h period,assumingthat the capital cost of the feeder is linearly proportional to its capacity limit; this expansion will cost $44,980.
3 . The variable cost over the planning period is

Network load data.

INITIAL FIRST YEAR OF LOAD CROWPH 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 SATURATION

NODE
NUPIREI;

LOAD SATURATION VALUE, kVA 7770 8290 7370 9200 9020 750 3000 4050 8840 7920 10500 6445 16650 7370 11050 20500 8600. 20680 11050 7440 7770 7400 393 13810 23220 41540 7670

PERCENTAGE
77.2 54.3 54.3 54.3 54.3

YEAR

61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 70 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87

100.0 100.0
54.3 54.3 54.3 54.3 54.3 75.0 54.3 54.3 77.2 100.0 48.4 54.3 94.0 106.0 100.0 50.9 52.3 25.8 55.0 91.3

2002 2002 1983 1983 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 1991 2002 2002 1988 1983 2002 2002 1985 1983 1983 1992 2002 2002 2002 1985

1
r

$7,047,688., with fixed cost $181,053., producing $7,228,741. for the overall cost. This is less than

the overall cost produced for the one-step solution of 20 years [9], although the system in this solution is operating over the whole planning period. Even if the expansion suggested in the above conwnt is made to avoid any overloading the total cost will be $7,273,722., which is still less.
4. No substations has been overloaded in any of the time periods.

5. The transshiprent node 33 is fed from two sources in the fourth t k secpent and this non-radial problem can be solved by the load splitting technique [6]. In addition load point 86 is also fed through two feeders during the third. and the fourth time periods and that is because the demand at this load is higher than the capacity limit of a single feeder during these two periods. Again, this can be solved by the splitting technique [6].

Figwe 1 presents the typical 44 KV distribution system under consideration. The network has no

From the above results we can see that the dynamic solution obtained here is better than the static solution obtained earlier [9]. The efficiency of the dynamic solution can be inproved using shorter time seqents (e.g. 5 secjmnts, of 4 years each). This would make the plan easier to be modified if

344
FIGURE 2

- Dynamic optimal

solution of the system (every 5 years).

81

( a ) After 5 years

32

v
71

79

new feeders have been added. All feedersand

N o

77

8 4 T 1 9 r

?9 e37

substations powers are within the capacity is limits. hdiality satisfied.

72

J's

is

74

85

56

77

32'

38

(b) After 10 years

No &tion

of new facilities and there is no

overloading. The network i s radial.

e36

1 74

68

1 ',

46

45

345

3 6 4 4

2 25

8
83

85

S2

71

77 feeders have been added SI-44 and S2-36. Feeder S3-16 is overloaded by 3.2% above its capacity limit. Load point 86 is fed by two feeders.
TWO new

I'
037

65

s5

053

043
5 9 * y

73 72 : 4
45

74
61

76

i2

id)

After 20 years 77

81

No new facilities have been added. overloading of feeder S3-16 has been increased to 6% above its capacity limit. Load point 86 is fed through two feeders. Transshipnt point 33 is fed f r m two sources.

054

*37

15 7L 2 A12
-

r's

is

74

346
TABLE 2. Opth-al power flow patterns through the network along with the receiving end voltages at each node for the four time periods. PI to P4 are the powers in perids 1 to 4. V1 to vd. are the V O l h F S in periods 1 to 4 .
FROM

NODE
s2 4 s2 6 7
8

TO NODE
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 15 26 27 23 24 28 29 25 30 34 31 32 33 17 35 36 44 76 62 62 63 64 65 67 68 66 61 79 78 74 70 71 84 69 75 87 77 81 82 83 85 80 86 86 72 13 16565 5299 46.225 46.316 23981 7416 25407 20108 17108 16358 11647 5766 750 3000 -2589 26253 20602 5063 6712 18629 14509 7300 2509 19319 7063 22173 15110 7440 16370 8600 17304 9618 7686 286 46.225 45.833 46.316 45.181 44.641 44.129 43.732 43.357 44.617 45.156 46.193 45.741 45.177 45.021 44.944 45.550 45.032 46.307 , 46.258 45.135 45.038 46.044 45.503 45.129 45.937 45.646 46.545 46.475 46.511 46.503 44.924 45.812

p2 28270 7770 26580 20184 20184 19434 13837 6850 750

V2 46.159 45.748 46.303 45.164 44.527 43.918 43.447 43.001 44.503 45.830 45.866 45.580 44.910 44.724 44.645 45.395 44.792 46.134 46.019 44.822 44.707 46.011 45.470 45.096 45.937 45.646 46.532 46.428 46.490 46.486 44,609 45.668

P3 28270 7770 26163 26263 23263 22513 16029 7935 750 3000

v3 46.159 45.7?8 46.307 44.824 44.090 43.385 42.839 42.323 44.066 44.799 46.041 45.420 44.643 44.428 44.336 45.352 44.749 46.198 46.131 44.509 44.376 45.978 45.437 45.063 45.937 45.646 46.518 46.382 46.484 46.97L

P 4 28270 7770 26340 26340 26340 5590 18220 9020 750 -3000 -7050 37087 28247 7920 10500 23095 16650 14420 7050 31730 11050 26160 15110 7440 16370 8600 34996 23220 11776 4376 3983 -9827 35000 8290 6540 20500 8290 7370 9200 9020 3000 4050 750 7770 11050 20680 7370 7920 10500 13810 8840 11050 7670 8600 7770 7400 393 23220 7440 35000 6540 6445 16650

v4 46.159 45.74R 46.306 44.819 43.988 43.186 42.566 41.979 43.964 45.579 45.715 45.388 44.614 44.370 44.265 45.309 44.706 46.025 45.892 44.196 44.045 45.945 45.404 45.030 44.038 43.747 44.594 44.424 44.541 44.409 14.332 44.332 43.672 46.535 44.546 46.159

9 10 8 7 13 14 s3 16 17 17
s7

-3000 -6076
31191 24477 6015 7974 21545 16650 11673 6076 23456 8392 23502 15110 7440 16370 8600 21945 14152 7793 393 -10488 31702

-3563 36131 28354 6968 9237 22320 16650 10047 3563 27593 9721 24831 15110 7440 16370 8600 26479 18686 7793

20 53 22 s3 26 s3 23 24 s1 29 s1 30 30 31 32 33

-8827 26782

393 -12149 35000 7293 1621 20500

44.294 45.571 46.543 46.559 46.159

s1
s2 s1 4

20500 6296

46.159 46.303

6 36 9 10 11
13

4711 5881 5766 3000 2589 750 7416 7063 12256 4711 5063 6712 8827 5651 7063 7670 8600 7770 7400 286 9618 1440 26782 4120 14509

--

7293 6484 8094 7935 3000 3563 750 7770 9721 17872 6484 6968 9237 12149 7777 9721 7670 8600 7770 7400 393 18686 7440 35000 1621 5670 16650

46.543 43.385 42.839 42.323 44.799 46.041 44.066 45.748 44.376 44.509 46.198 44.428 44.336 44.294 45.420 45.978 45.437 45.646 45.937 46.484 46.472 46.382 45.063 45.571 46.559 45.352 44.749

44.129 43.732 43.357 45.156 46.193 44.617 45.833 45.038 45.135 46.307 45.021 44.954 44.924 45.741 46.044 45.503 45.646 45.937 46.511 46.503 46.475 45.129 45.812 45.558 45.032

5597 6987 6850 3000 3076 750 7770 8392 15064 5597 6015 7974 10488 6714 8392 7670 8600 7770 7400 393 14152 7440 31702 4895 16650

43.918 43.447 43.001 45.830 45.866 44.503 45.748 44.707 44.822 46.134 44.724 44.645 44.609 45.580 46.011 45.470 45.646 45.937 46.498 46.486 46.428 45.096 45.668 45,395 44.792

46.535 43.186 42.566 41.979 45.679 45.715 43.964 45.748 44.045 44.196 46.025 44.370 44.265 44.332 45.388 45.945 45.404 43.747 44.038 44.541 44.409 44.424 45.030 43.672 44.546 45.309

14 12 5 27 26 22 18 ?9 33 16 23 24 25 29 31 32 34 28 35 44 70
21

347 unexpected events should m r such as a downturn in the load growth. It should be noted that there is a mininnun period for each time s q n t due to the installation time required for each new facility. This is typically 3 years for substations and one year for the feeders. In addition a limitation is necessarily imposed on reducing the time segment within the total period of planning by the accompanying increase in the requirement for the computer memry. Other factors affect the solution are the interest and the inflation rates which strongly influence the decision of the installation the. For example, if the inflation rates for the fixed and the variable costs are higher than the interest rates, the decision to build the new facility might be at a n earlier point of time during the planning period. coNcuTs1oNs The continuous mdel used has been applied successfully in its time-phased long range planning mode. The solution validates the capability of the model of dealing with large distribution systems due to the sparisty facilities available in the MINOS/Aupnted routine, which has been used in this work. It has also been shown that the dynamic solution is preferable to the static solution obtained earlier [9] in t e m of lower cost.
REFERENCES
R.M. pdams

91

H.K. Youssef, R. Hackam and M.A. Abu-El M a @ , "Novel Optimization Model for Long Range Distribution Planning". IEEE Trans. Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-104, pp. 31953202, 1985. B.G.A. Skrotski and W.A. Vopat, "Applied Energy Conversion: A Text in Power Plant Engineering". =raw-Hill, 1945. APPENDIX I COST FUNCTION FDRMUIATION

101

A description of the mathematical cost model for the general substation and primary feeder planning formulation is given. capitalized Costs For each of the new facilities, substations and/or feeders, and for the expanded power segment capitalized costs are included in the cost function. Usually for a certain size the capital costs of these fcilities are known at the time of planning. Due to inflation, these costs are likely to change by the time of installation, therefore, statistical data for inflation are necessarily employed and then the capital cost of these new facilities, assuming a certain size for each of the future and expansion facilities, can be formulated as a function of time. Finally assuming an interest rate, the present value of these costs can then be formulated as a function of time [lo].
Based on the above analysis the terms Fs and Fi in equation [6] are represented in the cost model in the following form:

and M.A.Laughton, "Optimal Planning of Power Networks Using Mixed Integer Programing". Proc. IEE (London), Vol. 121, pp. 139-148, Feb. 1974.

D.M. Grawford and S.B. Holt, "A Mathematical optimization Technique for Locating and Sizing Distribution Substations and Deriving Their optima1 Service Areas". IEEE Trans. on Pawer Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-94, pp. 230-235, March/April 1975. K.S. Hindi and A. Brameller, "Design of LowVoltage Distribution Network: A Mathematical Programing Method". Roc. IEE (London), Vol. 124, pP.54-58, Jan. 1977. M.A.El-Kady, "Cmputer-Aidd Planning of Distribution Substation and P r h x y Feeders". IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-103, pp. 1183-1189, June 1984. D.L. Wall, G.L. Thqson and J.E.D. NorthcoteGreen, "An optimization Model for planning Radial Distribution Networks". IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-98, pp.1061-1067, May/June 1979. G.L. Thcqson and D.L. Wall, "A Branch and Bound Model for Choosing Optimal Substation Locations". IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-100, Pp. 2683-2688, May 1981. C.I. Sun et all " C p t h l Distribution Substation and Primary Feeder Planning Via the Fixed Charge Network Formulation". IEEE Trans. on Power Apecatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-101, pp. 602608, March 1982. T.H. Fawzi, K.F. Ali and S.M. El-Sobki," ANew Planning Model for Distribution Systems". IEEE Trans. on power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS102,pp. 3010-3017, September 1983.

where Fs is the present worth of the capitalized cost

of substation s, Fi the present worth of the capitalized cost of feeder i, S E X P ~ the total power sepnts permitterj for potential or expandable substation s, FExPl the total power s q n t s permitted f o r potential or epandable feeder i, IS an integer constant for each new substation or substation expansion and Is = 0 if elent s is ptential, and Is = 1 if the e l m n t is expandable, 11 similar to IS b u t for feeder i, NT the total number of time-phased planning s n t s , and NT = 1 for long range future
S

planning, Fe the capitalized cost of the new power i secpent e of supply s at time of planning, Fe similar
s

to Fe but

for feeder i, /3

[(l+rf)/(l+rt)];

where

348

rf and rt are the inflation and the interest rates to obtain respectively, K weighting factor >>o,
s

value at the inservice t h e is calculated based on the inflation rate. The term fj in [6] can then be formulated as follows:

ramp decision function, U ,

S

of pwer segment e of supply

the power capacity limit i s S, Ue similar to Ue but

for feeder i, tr real variable representing installation time of the new supply facility s at planning i s time segment r , t , similar to t , but for new feeder
S

facility i, , P

positive real variable representing

power flow in power secpent e of supply s at planning i time segment r , and Pre real variable representing power flow in power segment e of feeder i at planning time segment r . This formulation makes it possible to determine the optimal installation t h e of the new facilities since these thes are considered explicitly. For m r e detail see Reference [9]. Variable Costs While the capital costs are only paid once at the time of installation, the variable cost of an element j (substationor feeder) is represented by the sum of equal payments paid during all the years of service. The equivalent present worth value of those payments is formulated as a function of time [lo]. As in the capital costs, the value of the variable cost at the planning t h e is considered and the corresponding

where fi is the present worth of the variable cost for element i, El the variable cost of elemnt i at the time of planning, Q = (1 + rt), T the sum of time segments to the end of segment r , ESPi the total power segments permitted for element i. The term fj does not include the cost of the energy losses. Cost of Enerqy IDsses The cost of the energy losses is related to the power rating of an e l a n t in a non-linear relationship and it is considered as a second order relationship in our model. However, it can be represented by other differentiated non-linear relationships. As in the variable costs, the sam procedure has been followed and the term L j in [6] is formulated as follows:

where L . is the present worth of. the cost of the energy losses in elenent j, and Cl the cost of the energy losses in element j at t h e of planning. Reuben Hackam received the B.Sc. degree frat the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa Israel, in 1960 and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Liverpool, England, in 1964. From 1964 to 1969, he was engaged in industrial research at the Nelson Research Laboratories, General Electric-English Electric Ccanpanies, Stafford, England. From 1969 to 1978, he was on the academic staff of the University of Sheffield England, first as lecturer, then as Senior Lecturer, and became a Reader in Electrical and Electronic Cngineering in 1974. Since 1979, he has been Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Windsor, y\iindsor,Ontario, Canada. During 1980-1981, Dr. Ilackam was and since 1984 is the Head of this department. From 1964 to 1969, he was also Visiting Staff Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Computing Science at the Staffordshire Polytechnic, %afford, England, and f r w 1970 to 1978, Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Coinputing Science, Sheffield City Polytechnic, England. D r . Hackam is a registered mofessional Fngineer in the Province of Ontario.

H.K. Youssef was born in Cairo, Egypt, on August 26, 1956. He received the B.Sc. (Elec.) and M.Sc. (Power and Machines) Engineering from Cairo University, Egypt, in 1979 and 1982, respectively. He joined the Department of Electrical Power and Machines in Cairo University in 1979 as Demonstrator then became Assistant Lecturer in 1982. He has been on leave of absence from Cairo University since then and presently working on his Ph.D. w e e at University of Windsor, Canada. His fields of interests are solid insulator performance under high voltage conditions in vaccum and transmission and distribution system planning.