Types of meters

Mechanism of electromechanical induction meter. 1 - Voltage coil - many turns of fine wire encased in plastic, connected in parallel with load. 2 - Current coil - three turns of thick wire, connected in series with load. 3 - Stator - concentrates and confines magnetic field. 4 - Aluminum rotor disc. 5 - rotor brake magnets. 6 - spindle with worm gear. 7 - display dials - note that the 1/10, 10 and 1000 dials rotate clockwise while the 1, 100 and 10000 dials rotate counter-clockwise. Electricity meters operate by continuously measuring the instantaneous voltage (volts) and current (amperes) and finding the product of these to give instantaneous electrical power (watts) which is then integrated against time to give energy used (joules, kilowatt-hours etc.). Meters for smaller services (such as small residential customers) can be connected directly in-line between source and customer. For larger loads, more than about 200 ampere of load, current transformers are used, so that the meter can be located other than in line with the service conductors. The meters fall into two basic categories, electromechanical and electronic.

Electromechanical meters
The most common type of electricity meter is the electromechanical induction watt-hour meter.[15][16] The electromechanical induction meter operates by counting the revolutions of an aluminium disc which is made to rotate at a speed proportional to the power. The number of revolutions is thus proportional to the energy usage. It consumes a small amount of power, typically around 2 watts. The metallic disc is acted upon by two coils. One coil is connected in such a way that it produces a magnetic flux in proportion to the voltage and the other produces a magnetic flux in proportion

to the current. The field of the voltage coil is delayed by 90 degrees using a lag coil.[17] This produces eddy currents in the disc and the effect is such that a force is exerted on the disc in proportion to the product of the instantaneous current and voltage. A permanent magnet exerts an opposing force proportional to the speed of rotation of the disc. The equilibrium between these two opposing forces results in the disc rotating at a speed proportional to the power being used. The disc drives a register mechanism which integrates the speed of the disc over time by counting revolutions, much like the odometer in a car, in order to render a measurement of the total energy used over a period of time. The type of meter described above is used on a single-phase AC supply. Different phase configurations use additional voltage and current coils. The aluminum disc is supported by a spindle which has a worm gear which drives the register. The register is a series of dials which record the amount of energy used. The dials may be of the cyclometer type, an odometer-like display that is easy to read where for each dial a single digit is shown through a window in the face of the meter, or of the pointer type where a pointer indicates each digit. With the dial pointer type, adjacent pointers generally rotate in opposite directions due to the gearing mechanism. The amount of energy represented by one revolution of the disc is denoted by the symbol Kh which is given in units of watt-hours per revolution. The value 7.2 is commonly seen. Using the value of Kh, one can determine their power consumption at any given time by timing the disc with a stopwatch. If the time in seconds taken by the disc to complete one revolution is t, then the power in watts is . For example, if Kh = 7.2, as above, and one revolution took place in 14.4 seconds, the power is 1800 watts. This method can be used to determine the power consumption of household devices by switching them on one by one. Most domestic electricity meters must be read manually, whether by a representative of the power company or by the customer. Where the customer reads the meter, the reading may be supplied to the power company by telephone, post or over the internet. The electricity company will normally require a visit by a company representative at least annually in order to verify customer-supplied readings and to make a basic safety check of the meter. In an induction type meter, creep is a phenomenon that can adversely affect accuracy, that occurs when the meter disc rotates continuously with potential applied and the load terminals open circuited. A test for error due to creep is called a creep test. Two standards govern meter accuracy, ANSI C12.20 for North America and IEC 62053.

Electronic meters
Electronic meters display the energy used on an LCD or LED display, and can also transmit readings to remote places. In addition to measuring energy used, electronic meters can also record other parameters of the load and supply such as maximum demand, power factor and

reactive power used etc. They can also support time-of-day billing, for example, recording the amount of energy used during on-peak and off-peak hours. Communication Remote meter reading is a practical example of telemetry. It saves the cost of a human meter reader and the resulting mistakes, but it also allows more measurements, and remote provisioning. Many smart meters now include a switch to interrupt or restore service. Historically, rotating meters could report their power information remotely, using a pair of contact closures attached to a KYZ line. In a KYZ interface, the Y and Z wires are switch contacts, shorted to K for half of a rotor's circumference. To measure the rotor direction, the Z signal is offset by 90 degrees from the Y. When the rotor rotates in the opposite direction, showing export of power, the sequence reverses. The time between pulses measures the demand. The number of pulses is total power usage.[18] KYZ outputs were historically attached to "totalizer relays" feeding a "totalizer" so that many meters could be read all at once in one place. KYZ outputs are also the classic way of attaching electric meters to programmable logic controllers, HVACs or other control systems. Some modern meters also supply a contact closure that warns when the meter detects a demand near a higher tariff. Some meters have an open collector output that gives 32-100 ms pulses for a constant amount of used electrical energy. Usually 1000-10000 pulses per kWh. Output is limited to max 27 V DC and 27 mA DC. The output usually follows the DIN 43864 standard. Often, meters designed for semi-automated reading have a serial port on that communicates by infrared LED through the faceplate of the meter. In some apartment buildings, a similar protocol is used, but in a wired bus using a serial current loop to connect all the meters to a single plug. The plug is often near the mailboxes. In the European Union, the most common infrared and protocol is "FLAG", a simplified subset of mode C of IEC 61107. In the U.S. and Canada, the favoured infrared protocol is ANSI C12.18. Some industrial meters use a protocol for programmable logic controllers (Modbus). The most modern protocol proposed for this purpose is DLM/COSEM which can operate over any medium, including serial ports. The data can be transmitted by Zigbee, WiFi, telephone lines or over the power lines themselves. Some meters can be read over the internet. Electronic meters now use Low Power Radio, GSM, GPRS, Bluetooth, IrDA, as well as RS-485 wired link. The meters can now store the entire usage profiles with time stamps and relay them at a click of a button. The demand readings stored with the profiles accurately indicate the load requirements of the customer. This load profile data is processed at the utilities for billing and planning purposes.

AMR (Automatic Meter Reading) and RMR (Remote Meter Reading) describe various systems that allow meters to be checked without the need to send a meter reader out. An electronic meter can transmit its readings by telephone line or radio to a central billing office. Automatic meter reading can be done with GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) modems, one is attached to each meter and the other is placed at the central utility office. Solid-state design As in the block diagram, the meter has a power supply, a metering engine, a processing and communication engine (i.e. a microcontroller), and other add-on modules such as RTC, LCD display, communication ports/modules and so on. The metering engine is given the voltage and current inputs and has a voltage reference, samplers and quantisers followed by an ADC section to yield the digitised equivalents of all the inputs. These inputs are then processed using a Digital Signal Processor to calculate the various metering parameters such as powers, energies etc. The largest source of long-term errors in the meter is drift in the preamp, followed by the precision of the voltage reference. Both of these vary with temperature as well, and vary wildly because most meters are outdoors. Characterizing and compensating for these is a major part of meter design. The processing and communication section has the responsibility of calculating the various derived quantities from the digital values generated by the metering engine. This also has the responsibility of communication using various protocols and interface with other addon modules connected as slaves to it. RTC and other add-on modules are attached as slaves to the processing and communication section for various input/output functions. On a modern meter most if not all of this will be implemented inside the microprocessor, such as the Real Time Clock (RTC), LCD controller, temperature sensor, memory and analog to digital converters.

Multiple tariff (variable rate) meters

Electricity retailers may wish to charge customers different tariffs at different times of the day to better reflect the costs of generation and transmission. Since it is typically not cost effective to store significant amounts of electricity during a period of low demand for use during a period of high demand, costs will vary significantly depending on the time of day. Low cost generation capacity (baseload) such as nuclear can take many hours to start, meaning a surplus in times of low demand, whereas high cost but flexible generating capacity (such as gas turbines) must be kept available to respond at a moment's notice (spinning reserve) to peak demand, perhaps being used for a few minutes per day, which is very expensive. Some multiple tariff meters use different tariffs for different amounts of demand. These are usually industrial meters.

Location

Current transformers used as part of metering equipment for three-phase 400 A electricity supply. The fourth neutral wire does not require a current transformer because current cannot flow in this wire without also flowing in one of the three phase wires

The location of an electricity meter varies with each installation. Possible locations include on a power pylon serving the property, in a street-side cabinet (meter box) or inside the premises adjacent to the consumer unit / distribution board. Electricity companies may prefer external locations as the meter can be read without gaining access to the premises but external meters may be more prone to vandalism. Current transformers permit the meter to be located remotely from the current-carrying conductors. This is common in large installations. For example a substation serving a single large customer may have metering equipment installed in a cabinet, without bringing heavy cables into the cabinet.

Smart meter
A smart meter is usually an electrical meter that records consumption of electric energy in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that information at least daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing purposes.[7] Smart meters enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system. Unlike home energy monitors, smart meters can gather data for remote reporting. Such an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) differs from traditional automatic meter reading (AMR) in that it enables two-way communications with the meter. Smart Meters usually involve real-time or near real-time sensors, power outage notification, and power quality monitoring. These additional features are more than simple automated meter reading (AMR). They are similar in many respects to Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters. Smart meters are also believed to be a less costly alternative to traditional interval or time-of-use meters and are intended to be used on a wide scale with all customer classes, including residential customers.[citation needed] (Interval and time-of-use meters are more of a legacy technology that historically have been installed to measure commercial and industrial customers, but typically provide no AMR functionality.)

Data management

The other critical technology for Smart Meter systems is the information technology at the utility that integrates the Smart Meter networks with the utility applications such as billing and CIS. This includes the Meter Data Management system. It is also important for Smart Grid implementations that powerline communications (PLC) technologies used within the home over a Home Area Network (HAN) are standardized and compatible. The HAN allows HVAC systems and other household appliances to communicate with the smart meter, and from there to the utility. Currently there are several broadband or narrowband standards in place or being developed that are not yet compatible.

Advanced metering infrastructure

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) are systems that measure, collect and analyse energy usage, and communicate with metering devices such as electricity meters, gas meters, heat meters, and water meters, either on request or on a schedule. These systems include hardware, software, communications, consumer energy displays and controllers, customer associated systems, Meter Data Management (MDM) software, and supplier business systems. The network between the measurement devices and business systems allows collection and distribution of information to customers, suppliers, utility companies and service providers. This enables these businesses to participate in demand response services. Consumers can use information provided by the system to change their normal consumption patterns to take advantage of lower prices. Pricing can be used to curb growth of peak consumption. AMI differs from traditional automatic meter reading (AMR) in that it enables two-way communications with the meter.

LOAD FORECASTING
Abstract Load forecasting is vitally important for the electric industry in the deregulated economy. It has many applications including energy purchasing and generation, load switching, contract evaluation, and infrastructure development. A large variety of mathematical methods have been developed for load forecasting. Abstract Load forecasting is vitally important for the electric industry in the deregulated economy. It has many applications including energy purchasing and generation, load switching, contract evaluation, and infrastructure development. A large variety of mathematical methods have been developed for load forecasting.

Important Factors for Forecasts

For short-term load forecasting several factors should be considered, such as time factors, weather data, and possible customers classes. The medium- and long-term forecasts take into account the historical load and weather data, the number of customers in different categories, the appliances in the area and their characteristics including age, the economic and demographic data and their forecasts, the appliance sales data, and other factors.

Feeders

=> Conductors which connects the Main Substations to the various distribution substations. There is no

tapping from the feeders. In other words, the current loading of a feeder is the same along its entire length. => Conductors that radiate out from distribution substations to their allotted consumer areas. Various tappings are taken from the Distributors. Hence, a distributor has distributed current loading along its entire length. Service Mains => The connecting links between the distributor and the consumer terminals. Distributors

Pole Mounted Sub-Stations

A Pole Mounted Sub-station is a large, free standing, outdoor electrical equipment that is mostly located in residential places. Its main purpose is to step-down the lethal 11kV to 415/240V for light, commercial and residential loads (consumers)... The 11kV line is connected to the Step-Down Transformer (11kV/415V) though a gang isolator and fuses. The lighting arrestors are installed on the H.T side to protect the Sub-Station from lightening strokes. The transformer steps down the 11kV to 415V, 3phase, 4-wire supply. The voltage between any two lines is 415V, and between any line and a phase is 240V. The Oil Circuit Breaker (O.C.B), installed on the L.T side automatically isolates the transformer from the consumers in case of any fault. The Pole Mounted Sub-stations are generally used for transformer capacity up to 200kVA They should be periodically checked for dielectric strength of oil in the transformer and (OCB) In case of repair the transformer or (O.C.B) both the Gang Isolators and (O.C.B) should be shut off. This equipment is very expensive leading to the reason why people vandalize them. The Step-Down Transformer is oil cooled and its this oil that people steal. This costs the distribution company millions of Shillings annually. Please be warned that the current flowing through the transformer is deadly, it would kill you in seconds. Stealing that oil means that the transformer will overheat, reduce its efficiency and possible explode under normal circumstances.

Earthing of electrical networks and installations is important to ensure correct operation and serves a vital role. These facts are amply reinforced in legislation and codes of practice, as you will find out later in the course. By earthing, we generally mean an electrical connection to the general mass of earth, the latter being a volume of soil/rock etc., whose dimensions are very large in comparison to the electricity system being considered.

Functions of an Earthing System

The most often quoted reasons for having an earthed system is: 1 To provide sufficiently low impedance to facilitate satisfactory protection operation under fault

4 5

conditions. To ensure that living beings in the vicinity of substations are not exposed to unsafe potentials under steady state or fault conditions. To retain system voltages within reasonable limits under fault conditions (such as lightning, switching surges or inadvertent contact with higher voltage systems), and ensure that insulation breakdown voltages are not exceeded, i.e. insulation coordination. To limit the voltage to earth on conductive materials which enclose electrical conductors or equipment. Graded insulation can be used in power transformers.

Less often quoted reasons include: 6 To stabilise the phase to earth voltages on electricity lines under steady state conditions, e.g. by dissipating electrostatic charges which have built up due to clouds, dust, sleet, etc. 7 A means of monitoring the insulation of the power delivery system. 8 To eliminate persistent arcing ground faults. 9 To ensure that a fault which develops between the high and low voltage windings of a transformer can be detected by primary protection. 10 To provide an alternative path for induced current and thereby minimise the electrical noise' in communication and signalling cables. 11 Provide an equipotential platform on which electronic equipment can operate. To perform adequately in fulfilling any of the above functions, the earthing system must generally have low impedance such that in dispersing or collecting current to/from the ground, an excessive voltage rise does not occur. Within installations an earth connection is also necessary to ensure the correct operation of some equipment - for example electronic devices, where an earthed shield may be required. It is essential to consider the earthing within a whole installation as one complete system and for this to be designed and installed accordingly. The earthing system is normally designed to provide two safety functions... The first, to prevent a shock due to different potentials on exposed metalwork, is achieved by bonding. Most electrical equipment is housed inside metal enclosures and if a live conductor

comes into contact with this, the enclosure will temporarily also become live. Any parts of exposed conductive metalwork, which can be touched, are connected together via bonding conductors. This ensures that, should such an electrical fault develop, the potential on all exposed conductive metalwork is virtually the same. An equipotential 'platform' is created and a person who is in contact simultaneously with two different pieces of exposed metalwork should not receive a shock.
The second function of the earthing system is to ensure that, in the event of an earth fault, any fault current occurring can return to source in a controlled manner. By a controlled manner, we mean that the return path is predetermined such that damage to equipment or injury to individuals is avoided. The impedance of the earthing system should be low enough that sufficient earth fault current can flow to operate protective devices correctly, which will in turn initiate the operation of circuit breakers or fuses to successfully interrupt the flow of current.

Substation Design and Layout

The First Step in designing a Substation is to design an Earthing and Bonding System.

Earthing and Bonding

The function of an earthing and bonding system is to provide an earthing system connection to which transformer neutrals or earthing impedances may be connected in order to pass the maximum fault current. The earthing system also ensures that no thermal or mechanical damage occurs on the equipment within the substation, thereby resulting in safety to operation and maintenance personnel. The earthing system also guarantees eqipotential bonding such that there are no dangerous potential gradients developed in the substation. In designing the substation, three voltage have to be considered. 1. Touch Voltage: This is the difference in potential between the surface potential and the potential at an earthed equipment whilst a man is standing and touching the earthed structure. 2. Step Voltage: This is the potential difference developed when a man bridges a distance of 1m with his feet while not touching any other earthed equipment. 3. Mesh Voltage: This is the maximum touch voltage that is developed in the mesh of the earthing grid.

Substation Earthing Calculation Methodology

Calculations for earth impedances and touch and step potentials are based on site measurements of ground resistivity and system fault levels. A grid layout with particular conductors is then

analysed to determine the effective substation earthing resistance, from which the earthing voltage is calculated. In practice, it is normal to take the highest fault level for substation earth grid calculation purposes. Additionally, it is necessary to ensure a sufficient margin such that expansion of the system is catered for. To determine the earth resistivity, probe tests are carried out on the site. These tests are best performed in dry weather such that conservative resistivity readings are obtained. Earthing Materials 1. Conductors: Bare copper conductor is usually used for the substation earthing grid. The copper bars themselves usually have a cross-sectional area of 95 square millimetres, and they are laid at a shallow depth of 0.25-0.5m, in 3-7m squares. In addition to the buried potential earth grid, a separate above ground earthing ring is usually provided, to which all metallic substation plant is bonded. 2. Connections: Connections to the grid and other earthing joints should not be soldered because the heat generated during fault conditions could cause a soldered joint to fail. Joints are usually bolted, and in this case, the face of the joints should be tinned. 3. Earthing Rods: The earthing grid must be supplemented by earthing rods to assist in the dissipation of earth fault currents and further reduce the overall substation earthing resistance. These rods are usually made of solid copper, or copper clad steel. 4. Switchyard Fence Earthing: The switchyard fence earthing practices are possible and are used by different utilities. These are: (i) Extend the substation earth grid 0.5m-1.5m beyond the fence perimeter. The fence is then bonded to the grid at regular intervals. (ii) Place the fence beyond the perimeter of the switchyard earthing grid and bond the fence to its own earthing rod system. This earthing rod system is not coupled to the main substation earthing grid.

Layout of Substation
The layout of the substation is very important since there should be a Security of Supply. In an ideal substation all circuits and equipment would be duplicated such that following a fault, or during maintenance, a connection remains available. Practically this is not feasible since the cost of implementing such a design is very high. Methods have been adopted to achieve a compromise between complete security of supply and capital investment. There are four categories of substation that give varying securities of supply:

Category 1: No outage is necessary within the substation for either maintenance or fault conditions. Category 2: Short outage is necessary to transfer the load to an alternative circuit for maintenance or fault conditions. Category 3: Loss of a circuit or section of the substation due to fault or maintenance. Category 4: Loss of the entire substation due to fault or maintenance.

Different Layouts for Substations

Single Busbar The general schematic for such a substation is shown in the figure below.

With this design, there is an ease of operation of the substation. This design also places minimum reliance on signalling for satisfactory operation of protection. Additionally there is the facility to support the economical operation of future feeder bays. Such a substation has the following characteristics.

Each circuit is protected by its own circuit breaker and hence plant outage does not necessarily result in loss of supply. A fault on the feeder or transformer circuit breaker causes loss of the transformer and feeder circuit, one of which may be restored after isolating the faulty circuit breaker.

A fault on the bus section circuit breaker causes complete shutdown of the substation. All circuits may be restored after isolating the faulty circuit breaker. A busbar fault causes loss of one transformer and one feeder. Maintenance of one busbar section or isolator will cause the temporary outage of two circuits. Maintenance of a feeder or transformer circuit breaker involves loss of the circuit. Introduction of bypass isolators between busbar and circuit isolator allows circuit breaker maintenance facilities without loss of that circuit.

Mesh Substation The general layout for a full mesh substation is shown in the schematic below.

The characteristics of such a substation are as follows.

Operation of two circuit breakers is required to connect or disconnect a circuit, and disconnection involves opening of a mesh. Circuit breakers may be maintained without loss of supply or protection, and no additional bypass facilities are required. Busbar faults will only cause the loss of one circuit breaker. Breaker faults will involve the loss of a maximum of two circuits. generally, not more than twice as many outgoing circuits as infeeds are used in order to rationalise circuit equipment load capabilities and ratings.

One and a half Circuit Breaker layout

The layout of a 1 1/2 circuit breaker substation is shown in the schematic below.

The reason that such a layout is known as a 1 1/2 circuit breaker is due to the fact that in the design, there are 9 circuit breakers that are used to protect the 6 feeders. Thus, 1 1/2 circuit breakers protect 1 feeder. Some characteristics of this design are:

There is the additional cost of the circuit breakers together with the complex arrangement. It is possible to operate any one pair of circuits, or groups of pairs of circuits. There is a very high security against the loss of supply.

Principle of Substation Layouts

Substation layout consists essentially in arranging a number of switchgear components in an ordered pattern governed by their function and rules of spatial separation. Spatial Separation

Earth Clearance: this is the clearance between live parts and earthed structures, walls, screens and ground. Phase Clearance: this is the clearance between live parts of different phases. Isolating Distance: this is the clearance between the terminals of an isolator and the connections thereto. Section Clearance: this is the clearance between live parts and the terminals of a work section. The limits of this work section, or maintenance zone, may be the ground or a platform from which the man works.

Separation of maintenance zones Two methods are available for separating equipment in a maintenance zone that has been isolated and made dead. 1. The provision of a section clearance 2. Use of an intervening earthed barrier

The choice between the two methods depends on the voltage and whether horizontal or vertical clearances are involved.

A section clearance is composed of a the reach of a man, taken as 8 feet, plus an earth clearance. For the voltage at which the earth clearance is 8 feet, the space required will be the same whether a section clearance or an earthed barrier is used.

HENCE: Separation by earthed barrier = Earth Clearance + 50mm for barrier + Earth Clearance Separation by section clearance = 2.44m + Earth clearance

For vertical clearances it is necessary to take into account the space occupied by the equipment and the need for an access platform at higher voltages. The height of the platform is taken as 1.37m below the highest point of work.

Establishing Maintenance Zones Some maintenance zones are easily defined and the need for them is self evident as is the case of a circuit breaker. There should be a means of isolation on each side of the circuit breaker, and to separate it from adjacent live parts, when isolated, either by section clearances or earth barriers.

Electrical Separations

Together with maintenance zoning, the separation, by isolating distance and phase clearances, of the substation components and of the conductors interconnecting them constitute the main basis of substation layouts.

There are at least three such electrical separations per phase that are needed in a circuit: 1. Between the terminals of the busbar isolator and their connections. 2. Between the terminals of the circuit breaker and their connections. 3. Between the terminals of the feeder isolator and their connections.

Components of a Substation
The substation components will only be considered to the extent where they influence substation layout. Circuit Breakers

There are two forms of open circuit breakers: 1. Dead Tank - circuit breaker compartment is at earth potential. 2. Live Tank - circuit breaker compartment is at line potential. The form of circuit breaker influences the way in which the circuit breaker is accommodated. This may be one of four ways.

Ground Mounting and Plinth Mounting: the main advantages of this type of mounting are its simplicity, ease of erection, ease of maintenance and elimination of support structures. An added advantage is that in indoor substations, there is the reduction in the height of the building. A disadvantage however is that to prevent danger to personnel, the circuit breaker has to be surrounded by an earthed barrier, which increases the area required. Retractable Circuit Breakers: these have the advantage of being space saving due to the fact that isolators can be accommodated in the same area of clearance that has to be allowed between the retractable circuit breaker and the live fixed contacts. Another advantage is that there is the ease and safety of maintenance. Additionally such a mounting is economical since at least two insulators per phase are still needed to support the fixed circuit breaker plug contacts. Suspended Circuit Breakers: at higher voltages tension insulators are cheaper than post or pedestal insulators. With this type of mounting the live tank circuit breaker is suspended by tension insulators from overhead structures, and held in a stable position by similar insulators tensioned to the ground. There is the claimed advantage of reduced costs and simplified foundations, and the structures used to suspend the circuit breakers may be used for other purposes.

Current Transformers CT's may be accommodated in one of six manners:

Over Circuit Breaker bushings or in pedestals. In separate post type housings. Over moving bushings of some types of insulators. Over power transformers of reactor bushings. Over wall or roof bushings. Over cables.

In all except the second of the list, the CT's occupy incidental space and do not affect the size of the layout. The CT's become more remote from the circuit breaker in the order listed above. Accommodation of CT's over isolator bushings, or bushings through walls or roofs, is usually confined to indoor substations.

Isolators

These are essentially off load devices although they are capable of dealing with small charging currents of busbars and connections. The design of isolators is closely related to the design of substations. Isolator design is considered in the following aspects:

Space Factor Insulation Security Standardisation Ease of Maintenance Cost

Some types of isolators include:

Horizontal Isolation types Vertical Isolation types Moving Bushing types

Conductor Systems An ideal conductor should fulfil the following requirements:

Should be capable of carrying the specified load currents and short time currents. Should be able to withstand forces on it due to its situation. These forces comprise self weight, and weight of other conductors and equipment, short circuit forces and atmospheric forces such as wind and ice loading. Should be corona free at rated voltage. Should have the minimum number of joints. Should need the minimum number of supporting insulators. Should be economical.

The most suitable material for the conductor system is copper or aluminium. Steel may be used but has limitations of poor conductivity and high susceptibility to corrosion. In an effort to make the conductor ideal, three different types have been utilized, and these include:

Flat surfaced Conductors Stranded Conductors Tubular Conductors

Insulation Insulation security has been rated very highly among the aims of good substation design. Extensive research is done on improving flashover characteristics as well as combating pollution. Increased creepage length, resistance glazing, insulation greasing and line washing have been used with varying degrees of success.

Power Transformers EHV power transformers are usually oil immersed with all three phases in one tank. Auto transformers can offer advantage of smaller physical size and reduced losses. The different classes of power transformers are:

o.n.: Oil immersed, natural cooling o.b.: Oil immersed, air blast cooling o.f.n.: Oil immersed, oil circulation forced o.f.b.: Oil immersed, oil circulation forced, air blast cooling

Power transformers are usually the largest single item in a substation. For economy of service roads, transformers are located on one side of a substation, and the connection to switchgear is by bare conductors. Because of the large quantity of oil, it is essential to take precaution against the spread of fire. Hence, the transformer is usually located around a sump used to collect the excess oil. Transformers that are located and a cell should be enclosed in a blast proof room. Overhead Line Terminations Two methods are used to terminate overhead lines at a substation.

Tensioning conductors to substation structures or buildings Tensioning conductors to ground winches.

The choice is influenced by the height of towers and the proximity to the substation. The following clearances should be observed: MINIMUM GROUND CLEARANCE VOLTAGE LEVEL less than 66kV 6.1m 66kV - 110kV 6.4m 110kV - 165kV 6.7m greater than 165kV 7.0m

EARTHING PRACTICE AT SUBSTATION

Earthing practices adopted at Generating Stations, Substations, Distribution structures and lines are of great importance. It is however observed that this item is most often neglected. The codes of practice, Technical Reference books, Handbooks contain a chapter on this subject but they are often skipped considering them as too elementary or even as unimportant. Many reference books on this subject are referred to and such of those points which are most important are compiled in the following paragraphs. These are of importance of every practicing Engineer in charge of Substations. OBJECTIVE OF EARTHING Prime Objective of Earthing is to provide a Zero potential surface in and around and under the

area where the electrical equipment is installed or erected. To achieve this objective the non-current carrying parts of the electrical equipment is connected to the general mass of the earth which prevents the appearance of dangerous voltage on the enclosures and helps to provide safety to working staff and public. Importance of Earthing & Practices The earthing is provided for a) Safety of Personnel b) Prevent or atleast minimise damage to equipment as a result of flow of heavy fault currents. c) Improve reliability of Power supply The earthing is broadly divided as a) System earthing (Connection between part of plant in an operating system like LV neutral of a Power Transformer winding and earth). b) Equipment earthing (Safety grouding) Connecting frames of equipment (like motor body, Transformer tank, Switch gear box, Operating rods of Air break switches, etc) to earth. The system earthing and safety earthing are interconnected and therefore fault current flowing through system ground raises the potential of the safety ground and also causes steep potential gradient in and around the Substation. But separating the two earthing systems have disadvantages like higher short circuit current, low current flows through relays and long distance to be covered to separate the two earths. After weighing the merits and demerits in each case, the common practice of common and solid (direct) grounding system designed for effective earthing and safe potential gradients is being adopted. Factors that change the requirement of earth electrode a) If an electrical facility can expand in system, it creates different routes in the electrode. What was formerly a suitable low earth resistance can become obsolete standard. b) More number of metallic pipes, which were buried underground become less and less dependable as effective low resistance ground connection. c) Most of the location, the water table gradually falling. In a year or two, area end up with dry earth of high resistance. d) These factors emphasize the importance of a continuous, periodic program of earth resistance testing. The earth resistance shall be as low as possible and shall not exceed the following limits: Power Stations - 0.5 Ohms EHT Substations - 1.0 Ohms 33KV Stations - 2.0 Ohms D/t Structures - 5.0 Ohms Tower foot resistance - 10.0 Ohms

Step Potential Step Potential is the difference in the voltage between two points which are one metre apart along the earth when ground currents flowing. Touch Potential Touch Potential is the difference in voltage between the object touched and the ground point just below the person touching the object when ground currents are flowing. Specification of Earthing Depending on soil resistivity, the earth conductor (flats) shall be buried at the following depths. Soil Resistivity in ohms/metre Economical depth of Burial in metres 1) 50 100 0.5 2) 100 400 1.0 3) 400 1000 1.5 To keep the earth resistance as low as possible in order to achieve safe step and touch voltages, an earth mat shall be buried at the above depths below ground and the mat shall be provided with grounding rods at suitable points. All non-current carrying parts at the Substation shall be connected to this grid so as to ensure that under fault conditions, none of these part are at a higher potential than the grounding grid. Plate Earths Taking all parameters into consideration, the size of plate earths are decided as Power Stations & EHT Station - Main - 100 x 16mm Auxiliary - 50 x 8mm Small Stations - 75 x 8mm The complete specifications for providing earth mats at EHT & 33KV Substations, Distribution transformers & Consumers premises are reproduced below. Specification for Earthing System I) EHT Substation Earthing of equipments in the sub-stations is taken of as discussed below: 1. Power transformers: i. The transformer body or tank is directly connected to earth grid. In addition, there should be direct connection from the tank to the earth side of the lightning arresters. ii) The transformer track rail should be earthed separately. iii) The neutral bushing is earthed by a separate connection to the earth grid. 2. Potential and current transformers :

The bases of the CTs and Pts. are to be earthed. All bolted cover plates of the bushing are also to be connected the earth grid. 3. Lightning arresters : The bases of the L.As. are to be earthed with conductors as short and straight as Possible (for reducing impedance). The earth side of the L.As. are to be connected directly frolJ1 the equipment to be protected. Each L.A. should have individual earth rods, which are in turn connected to earth grid. 4. Circuit breakers: The supporting structures, C.T. chambers, P.T. tanks, Cable glands etc., are to be connected to earth. 5. Other equipments: All equipments, structures, and metallic frames of switches and isolators are to be earthed separately. 6. Fences: Providing separate earth or connecting to the station earth depends upon the distance of the fence the station earth. If the distance is within feet, an inter-connection made to the station earth. If not, the metallic fences are earthed by means of earth rods spaced at not more than 200 feet. The gates and support pans may be earthed through an earth rod. The cable wires passing under metallic fence are to be buried below at a depth qf 26 or are to bc enclosed in a insulating pipe (P. V.C or asbestos cement) for a distance of not less than 5 feet on each side of the fence. 7. Ground wires : The ground wires over the station arc connected to the station earth. In order that the station earth potentials during fault condition5 arc not applied to transmission line ground wires and towers, all ground wires coming to the stations shall be broken !It an insulated on the fir5t tower external to station by means of strain disc. insulators. The followings are the important features in earthing: 1. The earth mat shall be as per the approved layout. The earth mat shall be formed with the steel flats buried in the ground at a depth of 750mm on edge. 2. The earth mat shall extend over the entire switchyard as per the layout. 3. All the junctions of the steel flats while forming the earth mat and taking risers from the earth mat for giving earth connections to equipment, steel structures, conduits cable sheaths shall be properly welded. All joints shall be provided with suitable angle pieces for proper contact between flats. 4. Provisions shall be made for thermal expansion of the steel flats by giving smooth circular bends. Bending shall not cause any fatigue in the material at bends. 5. The earth mat shall be formed by welding 50x8 mm steel flat to the 100 x 16mm peripheral

earth conductor. The grounding grid shall be spaced about 5 meters i.e in longitude and about 5 meters in the transverse directions. After the completion of earth mat, the earth resistance shall be measured. In case the earth resistance is more than one ohm the earth mat shall be extended by installing extra electrodes, so that the earth resistance is less than one ohm. 6. All fence corner posts and gate posts shall be connected to the ground by providing 32mm dia M.S rods of 3 metre length near the posts and connected to the main grounding mat. 7. All paint enamel and scale shall be removed from surface of contact on metal surface before making ground connection. 8. The risers taken along the main switchyard structures and equipment structures (upto their top) shall be clamped to the structures at an interval of not more than one metre. 9. 50 x 8mm ground conductor shall be run in cable routes and shall be connected to the ground mat at an interval of 10 metres. 10. Grounding electrodes of 32mm dia 3mtr. long MS rods shall be provided at the peripheral corners of the earth mat. The grounding rods shall be driven into the ground and their tops shall be welded to clamp and the clamp together with the grounding rods shall be welded to the ground mat. 11. Lightening arrestors shall be provided with earth pits near them for earthing. 12. Cast iron pipes 125mm dia and 2.75 metres long and 9.5mm thick shall be buried vertically in the pits and a mixture of Bentonite compound with Black cotton soil a ratio of 1:6 is to be filled 300 mm dia and the pipe for the entire depth. The plates shall be atleast 15 metres apart. These earth pits in turn shall be connected to the earth mat.