Fault resistance influences the operation of distance relays, thus causing it to give inaccurate impedance measurement, thus resulting to under-reach condition. .Trip report of fault occurrence in Alaoji-Afam 330kV line showed the effect of fault resistance on the relay operation. This paper seek to improve distance relay performance in terms of reliability, speed and selectivity on Alaoji-Afam 330kV transmission line, when fault resistance is present through adjustment of protected zone reach using NEPLAN software to model and simulate distance relay used for this study. Several simulations were run and the results showed good improvement of distance relay operation in handling fault conditions. Adjustment of the protected zone reach was done to compensate for the effect of high fault resistance on distance relay operation.