500 kV Transmission

Line Data

For the purpose of illustrations and examples used throughout the book, it is convenient to
use data that are consistent and realistic. Since many of the examples cited pertain to power
transmission lines, it is appropriate to use the same line parameters for all illustrations. This
makes the various examples consistent, and ensures the reader that comparisons between
examples are not due to the choice of transmission line parameters.
The transmission line parameters chosen for illustration are almost exactly those of lines
that exist in the western United States. All frequency-dependent data for the standard line is
based on a frequency of 60 hertz.

E.1 TOWER DESIGN

The transmission towers are lattice steel construction with a spacing between conductors as
shown in Figure E.l.
The conductors of the standard line are horizontal twin bundled 2156 kCM (1.092 mm2 ) 1
ACSR (Bluebird), with a stranding of 84/19. The conductors have an outside diameter of
4.475 cm (1.762 in). The horizontal spacing between adjacent phases is 9.754 meters (32 ft)
and the horizontal spacing between conductors of the same phase bundle is 45.7 cm (18 in.).
The shield wire is 7#8 alumoweld conductor. The horizontal separation between the shield
wires is 12.2 m (40 ft), and the shield wires are centered at an elevation 8.23 m (27 ft) above the
phase wires. The height of the phase wires above the ground is nominally 27.4 m (90 ft), but
base extension structures are used to raise the tower height, as required, for ground clearance.
The line is constructed with approximately 2 towers per km. For the sake of illustration,
the capital cost of the transmission line is taken to be US$350,000 per km.

I There

are 1974 circular mils in 1 square millimeter [1].

1287

1288

Appendix E 500 kV Transmission Line Data

Figure E.I Tower configuration of the standard

line.

E.2 UNIT LENGTH ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The following unit length parameters are given for the standard line:

z = 0.01864 + jO.3728 = 0.373288 QIkm LO.3728 rad

= 0.0300 + jO.6000 = 0.60075 Q/mile LO.3728 rad
y = 0 + j4.4739 JlS/km

= 0 + j7.200 JlS/mile

(E.1)
(E.2)

The characteristic impedance and admittance of the line are computed as follows:

- Zc

= Yc = " y= 288.765275 -

0.01864 + jO.3728
j4.4739 X 10-6
j7.214626 Q

= 288.855388 Q L -

(E.3)

1.431203

The propagation constant is also computed from unit length parameters.

,=a+jf3 = ~
= 0.00003228 neperlkm + jO.00129190 radianslkm

= 0.00005195 neper/mi + jO.00207911 radian sImi

(E.4)

E.3 TOTAL LINE IMPEDANCE AND ADMITTANCE

Let the length of the standard line be set to 320 kIn (about 200 miles). Then we can compute
the following.
l = 320km
0.0103287 neper + jO.4134077 rad

,f =

(E.5)

1289

Section E.6 Equivalent Pi

Then the total nominal line impedance and admittance can be con1puted as
Z
Y

== zi == 5.965163 + j119.303269 Q
== yf == 0 + j 1431.639227 /-LS

(E.6)

E.4 NOMINAL PI
The nominal pi is an approximate model for the transmission line, which sets the total line
impedance, given in (E.6), for the series impedance between the ends of the line and divides
the total susceptance into two equal susceptances of one-half the total amount, with these two
susceptances located at the ends of the line. The arrangement is shown in Figure E.2.

Figure E.2 Nominal pi circuit for the transInission line.

Using the data computed above, the parameters for the nominal pi line are as follows:

== 5.965163 + j 119.303269 Q
Y/2 == + j715.8196J4 J1S
Z

(E.7)

E.5 ABeD PARAMETERS

Another convenient way of representing the transmission line of Figure E.2, is by the use of
the two-port network equations, particularly theABCD equations, which are used for analyzing
cascaded two-port networks. These equations are written as
(E.8)

For the case where the transmission line is represented as a symmetrical pi, that is, with equal
shunt susceptance at each end of the line, we have

A == cosh ,f
B == Zc sinh ,i
(E.9)
C == Yc sinh,f
D == A
The ABCD parameters for the standard transmission line, with varying lengths, are given in
Table E.l (see page 1290).
E.6 EQUIVALENT PI
For long transmission lines, the equivalent pi is preferred to the nominal pi for transmission
representation in system studies. This line is pictured in Figure E.3.
The parameters of the equivalent pi circuit for the 320 km line are computed as follows:
Zrr

== Zc sinh ,i == B
== 5.629872

+ j 115.944278 Q

(E.lO)

1290

Appendix E 500 kV Transmission Line Data

TABLEE.l ABCD Constants for the Standard Transmission Line with Varying Length
{kin

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
260
280
300
320
340
360
380
400
420
440
460
480
500
520
540
560
580
600
620
640
660
680
700
720
740
760
780
800
820
840
860
880
900

ReA

ImA

1.00000oo
0.9996664
0.9986659
0.9969992
0.9946673
0.9916718
0.9880146
0.9836984
0.9787258
0.9731002
0.9668254
0.9599055
0.9523451
0.9441493
0.9353236
0.9258737
0.9158060
0.9051272
0.8938444
0.8819651
0.8694972
0.8564490
0.8428291
0.8286468
0.8139113
0.7986325
0.7828206
0.7664861
0.7496399
0.7322932
0.7144574
0.6961446
0.6773669
0.6581367
0.6384669
0.6183707
0.5978613
0.5769524
0.5556579
0.5339921
0.5119693
0.4896042
0.4669116
0.4439068
0.4206050
0.3970218

0.00000oo
0.0000167
0.0000667
0.0001500
0.0002664
0.0004158
0.0005981
0.0008129
0.0010599
0.0013389
0.0016495
0.0019912
0.0023636
0.0027662
0.0031984
0.0036597
0.0041495
0.0046670
0.0052116
0.0057825
0.0063790
0.0070003
0.0076454
0.0083136
0.0090038
0.0097152
0.0104467
0.0111974
0.0119662
0.0127520
0.0135538
0.0143703
0.0152004
0.0160430
0.0168969
0.0177607
0.0186334
0.0195135
0.0203999
0.0212912
0.0221862
0.0230834
0.0239815
0.0248792
0.0257751
0.0266678

ReB,n

ImB,n

0.00000oo
0.00000o
0.3727398
7.455627
0.7449823
14.906293
1.1162305
22.347039
1.4859886
29.772913
1.8537623
37.178974
2.2190591
44.560293
2.5813892
51.911958
2.9402655
59.229075
3.2952046
66.506777
3.6457270
73.740218
3.9913575
80.924586
4.3316258
88.055098
4.6660673
95.127008
4.9942227
102.135611
109.076241
5.3156395
115.944278
5.6298717
122.735150
5.9364805
6.2350350
129.444339
6.5251120
136.067377
6.8062973
142.599855
7.0781852
149.037426
7.3403798
155.375802
7.5924946
161.610765
7.8341534
167.738163
8.0649908
173.753916
8.2846519
179.654019
185.434542
8.4927935
8.6890839
191.091636
196.621534
8.8732035
202.020552
9.0448449
207.285095
9.2037135
212.411654
9.3495278
9.4820195
217.396816
222.237258
9.6009339
226.929755
9.7060302
231.471181
9.7970818
235.858508
9.8738765
240.088811
9.9362166
9.9839196 . 244.159272
10.0168177 248.067175
10.0347588 251.809915
10.0376059 255.384995
10.0252379 258.790031
262.022750
9.9975496
265.080995
9.9544515

ReC,J!S

ImC, J.1S

{mi

0.00000
-{).OOO50
-{)'()()398
-{).01342
-{).03180
-{).06208
-0.10720
-{).17008
-{).25363
-{).36071
-0.49417
-{).65682
-{).85142
-1.08070
-1.34733
-1.65394
-2.00310
-2.39733
-2.83909
-3.33075
-3.87466
-4.47305
-5.12810
-5.84192
-6.61652
-7.45383
-8.35570
-9.32389
-10.36007
-11.46581
-12.64259
-13.89177
-15.21462
-16.61232
-18.08593
-19.63640
-21.26457
-22.97116
-24.75680
-26.62197
-28.56707
-30.59236
-32.69798
-34.88395
-37.15018
-39.49644

0.00000
89.46750
178.87532
268.16379
357.27337
446.14458
534.71816
622.93499
710.73622
798.06329
884.85791
971.06219
1056.61860
1141.47007
1225.55997
1308.83219
1391.23118
1472.70194
1553.19011
1632.64198
1711.00453
1788.22546
1864.25322
1939.03709
2012.52713
2084.67430
2155.43044
2224.74831
2292.58163
2358.88512
2423.61450
2486.72655
2548.17912
2607.93117
2665.94280
2722.17524
2776.59094
2829.15353
2879.82790
2928.58016
2975.37775
3020.18936
3062.98505
3103.73618
3142.41549
3178.99711

0.0
12.4
24.9
37.3
49.7
62.1
74.6
87.0
99.4
111.8
124.3
136.7
149.1
161.6
174.0
186.4
198.8
211.3
223.7
236.1
248.5
261.0
273.4
285.8
298.3
310.7
323.1
335.5
348.0
360.4
372.8
385.3'
397.7
410.1
422.5
435.0
447.4
459.8
472.2
484.7
497.1
509.5
522.0
534.4
546.8
559.2

cosh Ii - 1 A-I
.
= - - = 0.527286 + J726.184687 JLS
(E.11)
Zc sinh~i
B
Values of the equivalent pi parameters for lines of different length are given in Table E.2. Note
that the nominal pi is in error by only about 1% for a line of 200 kIn length, but the error is over
Y1C/2 =

Figure E.3 Equivalent pi circuit for a long transmission line.

TABLEE.2 Standard Line Impedances and Admittances for Varying Length [3]
ekm

ReZnom,il

ImZnom,il

ImYnom ' J.1S

ReZtr,il

ImZtr,il

ReY,/2, J.1S

ImYtr /2, J,lS

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
260
280
300
320
340
360
380
400
420
440
460
480
500
520
540
560
580
600
620
640
660
680
700
720
740
760
780
800
820
840
860
880
900

0.00000
0.37282
0.74565
1.11847
1.49129
1.86411
2.23694
2.60976
2.98258
3.35540
3.72823
4.10105
4.47387
4.84670
5.21952
5.59234
5.96516
6.33799
6.71081
7.08363
7.45645
7.82928
8.20210
8.57492
8.94775
9.32057
9.69339
10.06621
10.43904
10.81186
11.18468
1] .55750
1].93033
12.30315
12.67597
13.04880
13.42162
13.79444
14.16726
14.54009
14.91291
15.28573
15.65855
16.03138
16.40420
16.77702

0.00000
7.45645
14.91291
22.36936
29.82582
37.28227
44.73873
52.19518
59.65163
67.10809
74.56454
82.02100
89.47745
96.93391
104.39036
111.84681
119.30327
126.75972
134.21618
141.67263
149.12909
156.58554
164.04199
171.49845
178.95490
186.41163
193.86781
201.32427
208.78072
216.23717
223.69363
231.15008
238.60654
246.06299
253.51945
260.97590
268.43236
275.88881
283.34526
290.80172
298.25817
305.71463
313.17108
320.62754
328.08399
335.54044

0.00000
44.7387
89.4774
134.2161
178.9549
223.6936
268.4323
313.1710
357.9098
402.6485
447.3872
492.1259
536.8647
581.6034
626.3421
671.0808
715.8196
760.5583
805.2970
850.0357
894.7745
939.5132
984.2519
1028.9906
1073.7294
1118.4681
1163.2068
1207.9456
1252.6843
1297.4230
1342.1617
1386.9005
1431.6392
1476.3779
1521.1166
1565.8554
1601.5941
1655.3328
1700.0715
1744.8103
1789.5490
1834.2877
1879.0264
1923.7652
1968.5039
2013.2426

0.00000
0.37274
0.74498
1.11623
1.48599
1.85376
2.21906
2.58139
2.94027
3.29520
3.64573
3.99136
4.33163
4.66607
4.99422
5.31564
5.62987
5.93648
6.23503
6.52511
6.80630
7.07819
7.34038
7.59249
7.83415
8.06499
8.28465
8.49279
8.68908
8.87320
9.04484
9.2037]
9.34953
9.48202
9.60093
9.70603
9.79708
9.87388
9.93622
9.98392
10.01682
10.03476
10.03761
10.02524
9.99755
9.95445

0.00000
7.45563
14.90629
22.34704
29.77291
37.17897
44.56029
51.91196
59.22908
66.50678
73.74022
80.92459
88.05510
95.12701
102.13561
109.07624
115.94428
122.73515
129.44434
136.06738
142.59986
149.03743
155.37580
161.61077
167.73816
173.75392
179.65402
185.43454
]91.09164
196.62153
202.02055
207.28509
212.41165
217.39682
222.23726
226.92976
231.47118
235.85851
240.08881
244.15927
248.06718
251.80992
255.38500
258.79003
262.02275
265.08099

0.0000000
0.0001244
0.0009955
0.0033620
0.0079768
0.0155983
0.0269936
0.0429395
0.0642252
0.0916543
0.1260473
0.1682433
0.2191032
0.2795114
0.3503791
0.4326465
0.5272859
0.6353045
0.7577478
0.8957029
1.0503017
1.2227251
1.4142066
1.6260368
1.8595677
2.1162177
2.3974768
2.7049120
3.0401731
3.4049995
3.8012269
4.2307943
4.6957527
5.1982733
5.7406567
6.3253436
6.9549248
7.6321542
8.3599608
9.1414631
9.9799844
10.8790695
11.8425024
12.8743269
13.9788678
15.1607546

0.00000
44.74121
89.49736
134.28338
179.11427
224.00507
268.97093
314.02706
359.]8881
404.47169
449.89134
495.46361
541.20456
587.13046
633.25785
679.60355
726.18469
773.01871
820.12343
867.51706
915.21820
963.24592
1011.61978
1060.35982
1109.48665
1159.02147
1208.98611
1259.40304
1310.29547
1361.68736
1413.60348
1466.06943
1519.11177
1572.75800
1627.03667
1681.97740
1737.61103
1793.96960
1851.08650
1908.99653
1967.73599
2027.34279
2087.85653
2149.31865
2211.77252
2275.26361

1291

1292

Appendix E 500 kV Transmission Line Data

4% for a line of 400 kIn length. Longer lines have progressively larger errors, if represented
as a nominal pi.
From (E.7) it is seen that Zrr is equal to B. However, the other ABeD parameters are
not so simply related to the parameters of the equivalent pi circuit. It is easily shown that the
following relations apply:

A = D = 1 + ZrrYrr
2

(E.12)

(E.13)
E.7 SURGE IMPEDANCE LOADING

The surge impedance loading of a transmission line is described in Chapter 2. For the standard
500 kV line, the surge impedance loading is computed as follows.
V2

(500)2

L-L =
= 865.755 MW
(E.14)
Rc
288.765275
Note that, if the voltage is given as the line-to-line voltage in kV, and the surge impedance is
given as a pure resistance in ohms, then the SIL is in MW.

SIL =

E.8 NORMALIZATION

In many computations, it is convenient to normalize all quantities. Many system analysts

prefer to normalize the electric system equations to a 100 MVA base. For the 500 kV line, this
gives the following base qu.antities.
SB = 100MVA

VB = 500kV
I B = 115.4701 A

ZB = 2500 Q
YB = 400 JLmho

(E.15)

Then any quantity can be normalized by dividing by the appropriate base quantity. For example,
the equivalent pi parameters are given in per unit as follows for a line 320 kIn long. First, the
characteristic impedance in per unit is
Zc = 288.765275 - j7.214626 = 0.115506 - jO.OO28858 pu
2500
The equivalent pi series impedance is computed in per unit as follows:
.
5.62987 + j 115.94428 n
Zrr = Zc sInh ,i =
2500
= 0.002252 + jO.046378 pu
= 0.046432 pu L87.220089

The per unit admittance for the equivalent pi line of 320 km length is
cosh,l - 1
.
Yrr /2 =
= 0.52729 + J726.1947
Zc sinh,i
= 0.0013182 + jl.8154617 pu
= 1.8154622 pu L89.958397

(E.16)

(E.17)

(E.18)

1293

Section E.9 Line Ratings and Operating Limits

E.g LlNE RATINGS AND OPERATING LIMITS

Transmission lines are designed to a rated voltage and all apparatus connected to that line are
also designed to specified voltage ratings. The ratings are usually given in terms of a design
value, plus a maximum operating limit that should not be exceeded. For the nominal 500 kV
translnission lines, these ratings are given as follows.
V
V
V

== 500 kV.nominal voltage

== 1.0 pu
== 525 kV operating voltage [2]
== 1.05 pu
== 550 kV maximum continuous operating voltage
~

1.10 pu

== 576 kV maximum design voltage [2]

~

1.15 pu

(E.19)
(E.20)
(E.21 )
(E.22)

The current-carrying limit for a transmission line may be based on several factors. The conductor current carrying capability per phase for the line is 3610 amperes based on a maximum
conductor temperature of 75C, ambient temperature of 25C, and a wind speed of 0.609 mls
(2 ftls). This corresponds to 3118 MW, which is nearly four times the SIL for the standard line,
an unreasonably high level. Since it is not reasonable to operate the line at such a high current
level, the physical line design may impose a lower limit based upon conductor sag. Conductor
sag must be limited to provide adequate separation between the high-voltage conductors and
the earth's surface or objects passing under the line. Since current flow increases conductor
temperature, which increases sag, the line current capacity may be sag limited. The line itself
may have a high current limit but the line terminal equipment may impose a lower limit. This
is particularly true where series capacitors are applied, since series capacitor costs vary as
the square of the current magnitude. Therefore, it may not be economical to provide series
capacitors with an unusually high rating unless the line is expected to accommodate such high
power flows on a regular basis.

REFERENCES
[1] Jay, F., Ed., IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms, ANSIJIEEE Std 1001988. 4th Ed., IEEE, New York.
[2] ANSI/IEEE Standard C37.] 00-198], "IEEE Standard Definitions for Power Switchgear," The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, 1981.

[31 Anderson, P. M., and R. L. Farmer, "Series Compensation of Power Systems," PBLSH, Inc., Encinitas, CA, ]996.