Given that most of the failures and contingencies that lead to customer power outages are related to the power distribution sector, studies on the distribution system reliability with a view to improving the quality of services provided to clients are of great importance.

On the other hand, the evolution of distribution systems towards smarter and active grids and the integration of microgrids into them have made the reliability assessment of such systems challenging.

Microgrids can enhance energy efficiency in a sustainable power grid as well as the reliability of the distribution system, through supporting high penetration of renewable and distributed energy resources. Focusing on the ability of microgrids (MGs) to provide backup power supply to the distribution system in the event of main grid outages or disruptions, a reliability model for self-controlled distributed energy resource-rich MGs is presented from the perspective of the distribution system to which they are connected.

In this keynote, a model is first presented for the reliability assessment of microgrids from the standpoint of the distribution system. Then, using the proposed model, an analytical framework for evaluating the reliability of distribution systems in the presence of microgrids is presented.

Modelling and analyzing microgrids using the proposed methodology result in the simplification and acceleration of computations associated with the reliability assessment of the distribution system. Finally, using the method developed for assessing the distribution system reliability, a framework is presented for the optimal enhancement of the distribution system reliability.

M.Sc. and Ph.D. Degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1993 and 1997, respectively, where he worked as the postdoctoral fellow and assistant professor from 1998-2001 and 2001-2002, respectively.

Currently, he is a professor of Electrical Engineering Department at Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. He is a member of center of excellence in power system control and management in the same department.

Mahmoud Fotuhi-Firuzabad is the president of Sharif University of Technology, serving from 28 August 2014 to 18 October 2021, and Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering (2005-2014).

His current research interests include operation and planning of electric power systems, power system reliability, distributed renewable generation, demand response and smart grid technologies.

His technical contributions in the field include more than 700 papers, and supervising more than 130 masters theses and doctoral dissertations.

These publications have been well recognized in the scientific community with more than 27,000 citations with an h-index of 86.

He is the recipient of several national and international awards:

He is the recipient of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Gold Medal for the outstanding inventor award, 2003.

He is the recipient of PMAPS International Society Merit Award for contributions of probabilistic methods applied to power systems in 2016.

He is the recipient of Outstanding Researcher Award in the Iranian Power Industry (Iran-2017), Nationwide Outstanding Research Award (Iran-2012), Sixteen Khwarizmi International Award, and 2014 Allameh Tabatabaei Award.

He has received the IEEE Transactions Prize Paper Award for the publication “Optimal PMU Placement Based on Probabilistic Cost/Benefit Analysis, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 2013”.

He is the recipient of the 2025 IEEE PES Roy Billinton Power System Reliability Award.

He has been the PI of more than 40 industrial projects, and a keynote speaker in a number of national and international conferences.

He has also offered a number of short courses in power systems reliability at academic institutions and industries in Iran and abroad.

Dr. Fotuhi-Firuzabad has been a visiting professor in several internationally renowned institutions and universities (Finland-Aalto University, Denmark-Aalborg University, Malaysia- Universiti Teknologi MARA, China-North China Electric Power University).

He served as the Editor-In-Chief of the IEEE Power Engineering Letters from 2017 to 2022.

He also served as the Guest Associate Editor, Special Issue on " Electric Vehicle Charging Impacts on Power Systems (2023)", "Reliability and Resilience Modelling, Assessment, and Enhancement of Modern Power Systems with Proliferation of Grid-Edge Resources (2023)", IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution, and

Special Issue on " Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Electrical Power and Energy Systems (2024)", International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems.

Dr. Fotuhi-Firuzabad is a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS),

Associate Fellow of the Iran National Academy of Sciences, and

Iran National Academy of Sciences

a Fellow of IEEE for his contributions to the application of probabilistic techniques in power systems reliability assessment.

Dr. Fotuhi-Firuzabad is currently Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.