What is Substation ?

Substation is an Electrical installation where power is

controlled for transmission & distribution purpose.

Substations can be categorized as:

 Power evacuation substation
 Substation part of Transmission system
 Substation part of Distribution system
The Electric Utility

Power Evacuation Substation

Transmission Substation

Switching Substation

Distribution Substation
Power Evacuation Substation
 Located adjacent to the Power Plant
 Preferred voltage level
– 420 kV
– 245 kV
– 123,145 kV
– 72.5, 66 kV
 Evacuation voltage level depends on
– Quantum of power to be evacuated (size of power plant)
– Distance of Transmission
– Gird network voltage of surrounding transmission system
 Normally built by
– Utilities (e.g. NTPC, NHPC, Captive Power Plant by industries)
– Independent Power Producer (IPP)
Transmission Substation
 Location is decided based on Transmission Grid Network
 Preferred voltage level
– 420kV
– 245kV
– 145kV
 Transmission voltage depends on
– Quantum of power to be received / transmitted
– Length of transmission line
 Normally built by
– Utilities (e.g. Power Grid, State Electricity Boards)
Distribution Substation
 Location is near the load
 Preferred voltage level
– 245kV
– 145kV
– 72.5/36 kV
 Station voltage level depends on
– Demand of power
– Utility norms of distribution
 Normally built by
– Utilities (e.g. State Electricity Broads)
– Industries
What does a substation contains..

Substation

Main Auxiliary Auxiliary

Equipment Equipment System
Main Equipment
 Circuit Breaker
 Instrument Transformer (CT/CVT)
 Surge Arrester
 Isolator
 Transformer & Reactor
 Bus Support Insulator
What does a substation contains..

Substation

Main Auxiliary Auxiliary

Equipment Equipment System
Auxiliary Equipment
 AC Distribution board
 Battery & Battery Charger
 DC Distribution board
 Lighting Transformer
 Main Lighting Distribution board
 Emergency Lighting Distribution board
 UPS
What does a substation contains..

Substation

Main Auxiliary Auxiliary

Equipment Equipment System
Auxiliary System
 Illumination system
– Indoor (Control Room Building, DG, FFPH Building.)
– Outdoor switchyard
 Fire fighting and fire detection system
 Air conditioning and ventilation system
A typical substation content wise cost structure.
A B C D E F G H
6% 13% 4%

16%
27%

5%
7%
22%
A > Transformer / Reactor----------------------------------------- 27 %
B > EHV Circuit Breaker, CT, CVT, LA, Isolator, BPI------- 22 %
C > Control, Protection & PLCC---------------------------------- 7%
D > Medium Voltage Switchgear--------------------------------- 5%
E > Cables, AC/DC Aux., Lighting, Busbar etc.--------------- 16 %
F > Structures--------------------------------------------------------- 6%
G > Civil----------------------------------------------------------------- 13 %
H > Erection----------------------------------------------------------- 4%
 Types of Fault
a
a b
Ø/E
OPEN c
b
CIRCUIT
c e
+ Ø/E

e a
b
Ø/Ø/E
c
FAULT
BETWEEN e
ADJACENT
PARALLEL a
LINES
Ø/Ø b
c

a a
3Ø b b
c 3Ø/E c

e
Protection - Why Is It Needed?

FAULTS ON POWER SYSTEMS RISK :

Severe damage to the faulted equipment :

 Excessive current may flow;
 Causes burning of conductors or equipment windings;
 Arcing - energy dissipation;
 Risk of explosions for oil - filled switchgear, or when in hazardous environments.

Damage to adjacent plant :

 As the fault evolves, if not cleared quickly;

Danger to staff or the public :

 Risk of shock from direct contact with the faulted equipment;
 Danger of potential (voltage) rises in exposed metalwork – accessible to touch;
 Fumes released by burning insulation;
 Burns etc.
Protection System Analogy

Brain - Relay

Eyes,Ears,Nose & Skin

CTs, CVTs, VTs

Hands & Legs

Circuit Breakers
Protection System Analogy

Fault in the Power System

Sensed by Instrument
Transformers &
communicated to Relay

Relay Issues Trip

Command To Breaker

Breaker Trips
& Clears Fault
Desirable Qualities of Protective Relay

• Reliability It should not fail to operate in the event of fault.

• Selectivity It should identify and isolate the faulty portion of the

system.

• Speed Fault should be cleared as quickly as possible

Total Fault Clearing time = Relay operation time + CB operation time.

• Discrimination It should discriminate between different types of faults.

• Security It should not operate when it is not suppose to operate.

• Sensitivity The smallest value of actuating quantity at which the

protection starts operating in relation with the minimum value of fault
current in the protected zone
Protective Equipment

• CT

• CVT (or PT)

• Relays

• CB (or Fuse)

• Communication Equipment
• CT Current Transformers are used to transform primary currents to safer and
more practical lower values for use in metering and relaying.
Is
P1 P2

Ip

S1 S2

Inst. Current directions :-

P1  P2
S1  S2 Externally
CTs - Live Tank AOK CTs - Dead Tank
Important Specifications

Three types of cores are provided in a CT

> Metering Core
• VA burden - Burden consumed by the Meters
• Accuracy - 1.0, 0.5 or 0.2 (Tariff Metering)

> Protection Core

• VA burden, Accuracy class,
• Accuracy Limit Factor (e.g. 5P20, 10 P 20) - It is the maximum value of
current upto which the accuracy class is guaranteed.

> PS Class

• Knee point Voltage, Magnetizing current, Resistance of secondary

Measuring C.T.s

Measuring C.T.s B
 Require good accuracy up to
approx 120% rated current.
Protection
 Require low saturation level to
protect instruments, thus use C.T.
nickel iron alloy core with low
exciting current and knee point
at low flux density.

Protection C.T.s
 Accuracy not as important as
above.
 Require accuracy up to many Measuring
times rated current, thus use C.T.
grain orientated silicon steel with
high saturation flux density.

H
Voltage Transformers

 Voltage Transformers are used to transform

primary voltages to safer and more practical lower
values for use in metering and relaying

Two main basic types are available:

 Electromechanical VT`s
 Similar to a power transformer
 May not be economical above 132kV

 Capacitor VT`s (CVT)

 Used at high voltages
 Main difference is that CVT has a capacitor divider on the
front end.
 CVTs - General

Primary Voltage
V1

C1

Secondary
voltage V2 Take a tap at a higher
voltage
C2
Connect a step down PT
Step Down
PT
Protective Relaying
 Functions of Protective Equipment

R Y B

CT RELAYS

BREAKER C1 C2 C3
C
AUXILIARY
B
SWITCH
TRIP COIL
+

- BATTERY
SUPPLY
Fault Interruption and Isolating
Action
Fault Interruption and Isolating
 Fault Interruption and Isolating
Current Flow
4000 Amps

Bushing

Relay
25A

Trip

Fault occurs, CT secondary current increases, relay sends a trip

signal to the breaker trip coil.
 Fault Interruption and Isolating
Current Flow

Relay

Trip

Breaker Interrupting Fault Current

Fault Interruption and Isolating

Relay

Breaker Contacts in Open Position

 Types of Protection

Voltage
 Uses voltage to infer fault or abnormal condition
 May also be used for undervoltage load shedding

Frequency
 Uses frequency of voltage to detect power balance condition
 Used for load shedding & machinery under/overspeed protection

Power
 Uses voltage and current to determine power flow magnitude and direction
Zones of Protection
 Power System Protection is typically defined by areas called “Zones of
Protection”.

 The purpose of a zone is to establish which part(s) of the system are

included in a particular protective scheme.

 Each protective zone will ensure that the protection is complete and
appropriate and will not affect other parts of the system that are
functioning properly.

 A correctly designed protective scheme will have “overlapping” zones.

 By having overlapping zones “gaps” in the protection can be avoided.

 The overlap can also provide another layer of protection. An example of

this would be for a fault inside a circuit breaker.
Zones of Protection

TRANSF- BUSBAR
BUSBAR ORMER ZONE
ZONE ZONE
FEEDER
ZONE

GENERATION ZONE

BUSBAR
ZONE FEEDER
ZONE
Electrical faults in the power system

 Transmission lines 85%

 Busbar 12%
 Transformer/ Generator 3%

100%
Possible Faults
Insulation breakdown
- Short circuits phase-to-phase
- Inter-turns
- Ground faults
-- Over temperature

Oil leakage or contamination

- Oil level monitor

Reduced cooling
Transformer protection

• The transformer protection depends on its rating.

• Generally the following protection schemes are used to protect the

transformer:

Differential protection

Buchholz relay

Restricted earth fault relay

Overcurrent protection
Types of Protection

Overcurrent
 Uses current to determine magnitude of fault
 Overcurrent Protection

 Overcurrent protection is employed as main protection against

phase faults for power transformers below about 5 MVA where the
differential protection is not economical.

 For transformers above 5MVA, if differential protection is used as

main protection, overcurrent protection is used in addition, as a
back up for sustained through faults.
Buchholz Relay
 PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE

EXPLOSION VENT

OTI ( OIL TEMPERATURE INDICATOR )

WTI ( WINDING TEMPERATURE INDICATOR )

MOG ( MAGNETIC OIL GAUGE )

 Differential Protection

 The differential protection of transformer is similar to that of generator

differential protection. But it involves some complications, as primary and
secondary currents are not identical.

 The magnetizing current flowing in primary does not get reflected in

secondary side, so large restraining component is required.

 The primary and secondary current magnitudes are related by turns ratio,
and phase angle depends on the vector group of the transformer. This can
be compensated by connecting CTs in corresponding opposite vector
group.

 The protection should be stable against large inrush currents, second

harmonic restrains are used for this purpose.
Differential Protection

ic-ib ic

ib-ia ib

Ia-ic ia
Power Transformer

Operating
ia-ic Coil
ib-ia
Ic-ib

Restraining Coil
Restricted Earth Fault Relay
Earth fault relay connected in residual circuit of line CTs gives protection
against earth fault beyond the transformer.
Restricted earth fault relay is used to protect only the earth faults within
the transformer.

F2
If F1

I1
If
CT I2 Stabilising
Relay
If
Earth Fault Protection by Earth Fault Relay
residually connected Earth
Fault Relay
Fault types

 Transient faults
– are common on transmission lines, approximately 80-
85%
– lightning's are the most common reason
– can also be caused by birds, falling trees, swinging lines
etc.
– will disappear after a short dead interval

 Persistent faults
– can be caused by a broken conductor fallen down
– can be a tree falling on a line
– must be located and repaired before normal service
 Pilot wire differential protection
• Pilot wires can be in soil or on towers.
• The resistance in the wires will limit the use on longer lines.
• The use is mostly restricted to distances up to 10 km.
L1
L2
L3

DL1
DL1
Digital communication with
DL2
optical fibers or by DL2
multiplexed channels
DL3 DL3
Directional Distance Relaying
“Directional Distance” protective relaying is
the preferred method used for transmission
line protection.

In order to provide this type of protection the

protective relay must be provided with Voltage
and Current values.

This is typically accomplished by using current

transformers and voltage transformers.
Directional Distance Relaying
Bus

BKR Relay

VT
CT

Line
Directional Relaying

Fault Tripping Direction

Current
BKR
CT
+
Directional
BUS

Relay
Positive
+
+ Breaker Trip
VT Circuit
+
Contacts
Closed
Directional Relaying

Fault Tripping Direction

Current
BKR
CT +
Directional
BUS

Relay
Positive
+
+ Breaker Trip
VT Circuit
+
Contacts
Open
Directional Distance Relaying

The distance to a fault can be determined

by the protective relay by comparing the
values of voltage and current.

All transmission lines have some

impedance.

The line impedance will increase as the

distance to the fault increases.
The impedance on ohms-per-km of transmission
line is calculated by relay engineers
Fault

Source-to-Bus
Line Impedance
Impedance

Source
Bus

21 Distance Relay
 Distance Relaying

 Distance relays work on the principle that when a fault occurs on a

transmission line, the only restriction to the flow of current is the
impedance of the conductor on the line.

 The farther away a line fault is the smaller the fault current will be due to
the increased line impedance.

Line Impedance
Source-to-Bus
Impedance Fault
Lower Fault Current Due to Greater Line Impedance

Source
Bus

21 Distance Relay
 Distance Relaying

The nearer a line fault is the greater the fault current will
be due to less line impedance.

Line Impedance
Source-to-Bus Greater Fault Current Due to
Impedance Less Line Impedance

Source Fault
Bus

21 Distance Relay
 Distance Relaying

 The Distance Relay monitors the current transformer secondary current.

 The secondary current is a lower proportional value of the primary

current.

Line Impedance
Source-to-Bus
Impedance
Primary Fault Current

Source CT Fault
Secondary Current
Bus

21 Distance Relay
 Distance Relaying
 The Distance Relay will also monitor the voltage transformer
secondary that is a lower proportional value of the primary voltage.

Line Impedance
Source-to-Bus
Impedance

G
Primary Voltage
Bus

21 Distance Relay

VT Secondary
Voltage
 Distance Relaying

 Current flow through the

 Source-to-Bus impedance will cause a “voltage drop” at the Bus.
 The greater the current the greater the voltage drop.
Source

Line Impedance
Source-to-Bus
Impedance
Primary Fault Current

G
Voltage Fault
Drop
Primary Voltage Decreases

21 Distance Relay
Bus

VT Secondary
Voltage Decreases
 Distance Relaying
 The distance to a fault will affect the line current and bus voltage values
that the relay monitors.

 Because of this a distance relay can be programmed to operate for a fault

at any point on the line up to a predetermined distance.

Line Impedance
Source-to-Bus
Impedance

Section of line protected

G
“Zone”
Source CT
Secondary Current
Primary Voltage
Bus

21 Distance Relay

VT Secondary
Voltage
Distance Relays
Zone Relaying

BKR BKR

21Z1
Zone 1
80-90% of Line

Zone 1
No intentional Time Delay
Distance Relays
Zone Relaying

21Z1

BKR BKR
A B

21Z1
Zone 1
80-90% of Line (No time delay)
Distance Relays
Zone Relaying

BKR BKR

Zone 2
120% of Line
21Z2
2Z2
Timer

Zone 2
Requires Time Delay (in absence of a communication scheme)
Distance Relays
Zone Relaying

21Z2
2Z2
Timer
BKR BKR
A B
Timer

2Z2

21Z2
Zone 2
120% of Line
(Timer for Delay)
Pilot Wire Relaying Schemes
Pilot Wire Relaying Schemes

BKR BKR
A B

Prot. Comm. Comm. Prot.

Relay Equip. Equip. Relay

communication link
Pilot Wire Relaying Schemes
BKR BKR
A B

Prot. Comm. Comm. Prot.

Relay Equip. Equip. Relay

Types of Communication:
• Dedicated Telephone Line
• Microwave
• Fiber Optics
• Power Line Carrier
Pilot Wire Relaying
PR-A PR-B

PR-B Guard PR-A Guard

(contact held open) (contact held open)
Trip Trip

BKR BKR
A B

Guard Signal
Prot. Comm. Comm. Prot.
Relay Equip. Equip. Relay
Guard Signal

Under normal conditions a “Guard” signal is transmitted to prevent false

operations.
Pilot Wire Relaying
PR-A PR-B

PR-B PR-A
Permissive Trip Permissive Trip
Trip Trip

BKR BKR
A B

Trip Signal
Prot. Comm. Comm. Prot.
Relay Equip. Equip. Relay
Trip Signal

During fault conditions the “Guard” signal is removed and a “Trip”

signal is transmitted.
Pilot Wire Relaying
PR-A PR-B

PR-B PR-A
Permissive Trip No Permissive
Trip Trip

BKR BKR
A B
Permissive
Trip Signal
Prot. Comm. Comm. Prot.
Relay Equip. Equip. Relay
Guard Signal

If the fault is “behind” the relay the relay will continue to send a Guard
signal.
 Distance Protection

3
B23
B12
4

1 B24
2

Operating
Time R12 (iii)
R12 (ii) R23 (ii)
R12 (i) R23 (i) R34 (ii)
R34 (i)

1 2 3 4
CBIP Guidelines For Line Protection

 Reach settings of distance protection

– Zone-I:
• to be set to cover 80-85% of protected line length

– Zone II:
• to be set to cover minimum 120% of length of principle line
section. However, in case of D/C lines 150% coverage must be
provided to take care of, under reaching due to mutual coupling
effect but, care is to be taken that it does not reach into next lower
voltage level.
CBIP Guidelines For Line Protection

 Time setting of distance protection

– A Zone-II timing of 0.3 second is recommended. If a

long line is followed by a short line, then a higher
setting may be adopted on long line to avoid
indiscriminate tripping through Zone-II operation on
both lines.
– Zone-III timer should be set so as to provide
discrimination with the operating time of relays
provided in subsequent sections with which Zone-III
reach of relay being set overlaps.