Reclosers in Modern Grids: Protection, Automation, and DER Integration
Discover how reclosers have evolved from standalone devices into actors in self-healing grids.
In many countries, reclosers have been a cornerstone of distribution network protection for decades, helping utilities quickly isolate faults and restore power to customers. Today, however, their role extends far beyond traditional fault clearing.
As distribution grids become more automated and the integration of distributed energy resources (DER) continues to accelerate, reclosers are evolving more into intelligent system components that combine protection, communication, automation, and control. They play a vital role in enabling self-healing grid concepts, improving reliability, and supporting the transition toward more resilient and flexible power systems.
In this episode, OMICRON application engineer Alex Auman, who specializes in reclosure and protection testing, explains how reclosers help utilities integrate distributed energy resources (DER), improve reliability, and enable self-healing grid concepts. He describes various automation schemes, such as FLISR and other advanced coordination approaches, that help utilities keep more customers energized during faults and disturbances.
Alex also describes how distribution networks are becoming more complex and explains that as traditional protection methods reach their limits, utilities are moving toward system-level protection and automation strategies that rely on communication and coordination between multiple devices.
Finally, Alex highlights the modern testing approaches and solutions, such as OMICRON’s ARCO 400 and RelaySimTest, that help engineers validate both individual devices and complete automation schemes.
"Testing reclosers is often overlooked but is essential in increasingly complex power grids."
Alex Auman
Application Engineer │ OMICRON