2026 Event Schedule

Distribution feeder circuits have traditionally been designed as radial feeds, with the voltage being the highest at the substation and the lowest at the end of the circuit. This allows the voltage to be the highest where the load is greatest and increases profitability for the utility. In today's environment, this design greatly limits Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR), as well as solar hosting capacity. For these technologies to be deployed with maximum benefit, the feeder circuit voltage needs to be the lowest at the substation and higher at the end of the feeder. A concept denoted as "Flipping the Circuit" is introduced in this tutorial with a series of presentations that explore the need to flip the circuit, and how best to accomplish this. The recommended solution attempts to maximize the existing distribution infrastructure while allowing for advanced functionality to support the distribution grid Distribution Energy Resources (DERs) . The tutorial will discuss how to properly engineer the circuit for primary radial applications that can be tied via normal open points to other circuits. Changing feeder configurations, either manually or with FLISR schemes impacts the operation of switched capacitor banks and voltage regulators and can lead to voltage violations. The tutorial also explores how the penetration of DERs connected to the distribution feeder impacts the voltage as well as the operation of voltage regulators and switched capacitor banks. The tutorial discusses the trend of no longer performing routine maintenance and how predictive maintenance can limit the exposure of failing equipment that causes outages and possible fires.
The tutorial also presents the centralized volt var optimization (VVO) technology that addresses the complexities of the distribution grid of the future. Impact of cyber-attacks on VVO systems, and how to address these cyber-attacks on field IEDs are discussed. Cost-Benefit Analysis of implementing VVO is also discussed. Verification, Assessment and Monitoring Requirements for CVR along with power quality are also covered in this tutorial. Finally, practical implementation challenges of voltage regulation from a utility perspective are also presented.