Feeder Manager 2.0 Definitions

Some definitions for Feeder Manager 2.0 include:

Ultimate Source: This is the most upstream source in the electric network. In Feeder Manager this is traditionally called the circuit source.
Subsource: Subsources are members of a junction feature class that indicate the source of each feeder at a given voltage level. Subsources must have exactly two connected edges. Subsources are typically switchable devices that exist immediately upstream or downstream of a transformer that should exist at every point of a secondary mesh network boundary. Correctly defined subsources allow traffic in one direction only, so traffic can only enter the mesh through subsources. The same subsources also prevent traffic from exiting the mesh. ArcFM uses subsource levels (outlined below) to define this flow.
Feeder Level: A feeder level consists of all connected features with the same voltage level. This voltage level is determined by the exiting voltage from a subsource. All connected downstream features with that same voltage are considered a feeder level.

Subsource Levels

Extended Feeder Manager requires that each FeederLevel has no more than one subsource per feeder or circuit. This means that the FeederLevel value cannot be the same on the upstream and downstream sides of a subsource. Feeder Level is determined by voltage.

Feeder Manager and downstream tracing halts at any subsource that has a level less than or equal to the previous subsource encountered.

Feeder Manager and upstream tracing halts at any subsource that has a level greater than or equal to the previous subsource encountered.

The following diagram demonstrates the directional cues that subsource levels provide. Feeder information can only pass through a subsource whose level is greater than that of an adjacent subsource.

Feeder Manager's design requires feeder information to flow through a subsource in one direction only. You must take care in assigning subsource levels to avoid creating a bi-directional subsource, as shown in the following diagram:

How Ultimate Sources and Subsources Work

Ultimate sources, by definition, have a level of 0, and all subsources (non-ultimate sources) have a feeder level greater than 0. It is important to remember that you cannot pass through more than one subsource at the same level.

Since the conductors all have the same voltage in the diagram above, the subsources all have the same feeder level (not equal to 0). The second subsource in the above diagram is de-energized because it is the second subsource in the trace with no increase in feeder level.

As the subsource levels increase, the conductors' voltage levels typically decrease, as seen in the following diagram:

Tracing continues through all the subsources in the above diagram because the subsource levels change.