Power Systems

for the
Non Power Engineer
W.O. (Bill) Kennedy, P.Eng., FEIC
Copyright 2004 W.O. (Bill) Kennedy
Purpose
Give a basic understanding of how
power systems are put together
and how they work
Concepts will be emphasized
Mathematics will be kept to a
minimum
Mathematics only when necessary
Introduction
Two parts
First part covers power system
components
Second part covers how the
components fit together and work
along with some measures of
power system performance
A little bit of Physics
Hans Christian Oerstead discovered the
relationship between magnetism and
electricity
Michael Faraday discovered that a
voltage is induced on a wire when its
moved in or through a magnetic field
James Clerk Maxwell developed the
mathematics of electromagnetics
Real and Reactive Power
Real power does the work
Reactive power helps real power
do the work
Power systems need both or they
wont work
What is reactive power?
Reactive power
Quarterback can
throw a bullet, but
not very far
For long distances,
throws in an arc
Real power is the
bullet
Reactive power is
the height of the arc
Reactive Power
Capacitors store energy equal
to CV
2
Capacitor banks are used to
boost or raise voltage
Reactors use energy equal to
LI
2
Motors and fluorescent lights
require reactive power
Part 1 - Equipment
Generators
Transformers
Transmission Lines
Loads
Generators
Generators
Fundamental Law
E = N d/dt
Where is the flux
Magnetic example
High school physics
Faraday's discovery motion
Maxwell mathematical theory
Generators
Rotor turns inside of the generator
satisfying Faradays Law
Voltage induced on the stator follows
a sine wave
Take advantage of space and put three
coils equally spaced, 120
o
apart
Generators
Three Phase
-1.5
-1.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360
Degrees
M
a
g
n
i
t
u
d
e
Phase A
Phase B
Phase C
Motion of rotor induces a voltage on the stator
Stator doesnt move and waveform reflects effect of
rotor field as it moves inside the machine
Generators
Control
Terminal voltage
Speed
Terminal voltage controlled by varying
the voltage applied to the dc field of the
rotor
Speed controlled by governor, as load
increases, fuel supply increases
Generators
Speed and frequency (60 Hz)
Frequency (f) = n/60 * p/2
Poles are in pairs, hence divide by 2
Speed in revolutions per minute, whereas
frequency in cycles per second, hence
divide by 60
Steam sets high speed, small rotors
Hydro sets low speed, big rotors
Generators
Generation by Fuel Type (Alberta)
44%
39%
9%
8%
coal
gas
renewables
import
Fuel sources in
Alberta
Coal plants west
of Edmonton
Gas various
locations
Renewables include
water and wind
Import from BC and
SK
Generators
Capability curve
Limits
Stator heating
Rotor heating
Stability
Whats required
Whats used
Generator Capability Curve
-1
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
Real Power
R
e
a
c
t
i
v
e

P
o
w
e
r
Generator Capability Curve
-1
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
Real Power
R
e
a
c
t
i
v
e

P
o
w
e
r
Transformers
Follow Faradays Law
E
1
=N
1
d/dt & E
2
=N
2
d/dt
Flux (d/dt) is constant
Therefore voltage change depends on
number of turns, and basic equations
can be equated with the result:
E
1
/N
1
= E
2
/N
2
Transformers
Since conservation
of energy must be
preserved and
voltage varies
inversely, current
must vary directly
I
1
N
1
= I
2
N
2
Transformers
Usual connection for the transmission system
is WYE grounded at the high voltage
Generators connected DELTA
Loads can be both
Transmission lines
Transmission lines are the highways on
which power travels
Losses are proportional to the current
squared on the line times the resistance
Want highest practical voltage to
minimize losses
As we will see, SIL is an important
property of transmission lines
Surge Impedance Loading
(SIL)
Transmission line
consists of:
Shunt capacitance
Series resistance and
inductance
Distributed along length
of line
Treat as distributed
lumped elements
Can ignore resistance
Surge Impedance Loading
(SIL)
Close the breaker at
sending end
Shunt capacitance
charges to CV
2
Close the breaker at
receiving end and feed
the load
Series inductance uses
energy at LI
2
Load
Load
Surge Impedance Loading
(SIL)
Equating shunt and series energies
CV
2
= LI
2
Performing the math yields
SIL (power) = V
2
/SI
Properties of Surge Impedance (SI)
Remains fairly constant over a wide range of
voltages
Starts around 400 at lower voltages and
decreases with bundling to around 225 at
1500 kV
Capacitance and inductance also remain
constant
Using this we can construct the following
table
Properties of Transmission Lines
Voltage (kV) SI () R (/km) X (/km) Charging
(kVAr/km)
SIL
(MW)
X/R
69/72 370 0.4 0.5 15 13/14 1.2
138/144 370 0.2 0.5 70 50/55 2.5
230/240
single
340 0.07 0.45 225 170 6
230/240
bundled
300 0.07 0.4 290 180/195 6
345 bundled 285 0.026 0.365 525 415 14
500 bundled 250 0.018 0.345 1340 990 20

0.00
0.25
0.50
0.75
1.00
1.25
1.50
1.75
2.00
2.25
2.50
2.75
3.00
1
0
0
2
0
0
3
0
0
4
0
0
5
0
0
6
0
0
7
0
0
8
0
0
9
0
0
1
0
0
0
Length (km)
L
i
n
e

L
o
a
d
i
n
g

(
S
I
L
)
St. Clair Curve
3.25
Loads
Three types of load models
Constant MVA motors
Constant current resistive loads
Constant impedance reactor & capacitor
banks
For power flow use constant MVA
For transient studies need a combination and
may require frequency
Summary Part 1
Generators make the product
Transformers raise and lower voltage
to allow efficient transport of product
Transmission lines are the highways
Loads are the end user of the product
Dinner Break
Dinner Break
Part 2 how the power system works
Fundamental rules
Maintain reactive power balance and
voltages will be in required range
typically +/- 5% of nominal
Maintain load/generation balance and
frequency or speed remains constant
typically 60 Hz +/- 0.02 Hz
Characteristics of power systems
Generation is usually remote from loads
Transmission needed to connect generation
to load
Transformers needed to raise/lower voltage
Want as high a voltage as practical for
transmission minimizes losses
Use load size, generator size and line SIL to
get line voltage
In Alberta, lines are typically 150 km long
At that distance loading 2 times SIL
Putting it all together
Generators produce real power (P)
Generators produce/consume
reactive power (Q)
Generator Q for underexcited
operation is around half overexcited
ability
Putting it all together
Transmission lines consume P in form of
losses, typically 5% to 7% of generation
Lines produce/consume Q depending on
power flow on the line as a fraction of SIL
< SIL VArs flow out of line
> SIL VArs flow into line
Half from each end, if voltages are equal
Putting it all together
Loads consume P & Q
P required for resistive loads
Q required for reactive loads induction motors
Synchronous motors can produce/consume Q
Switching and/or load stations
Use shunt reactor/capacitor banks to
produce/absorb Q
Primarily for voltage control
Breakers
Breakers used to
connect/disconnect
equipment
Breakers must be
capable of picking
up and dropping
loads
Breakers
Breakers must be
capable of switching
unloaded
transmission lines
Breakers must be
capable of
interrupting the
symmetrical fault
plus any dc offset
Power flow
Need a model of the system
Per unit system is best
Must have consistent voltage ratios
Base impedances on voltage level
Most models involve some lumping, i.e.
not practical to model every detail
However, this depends on the type of
study
Power flow
To solve a power flow need to solve for four
variables at each bus
Bus voltage V
Bus angle
Real power P
Reactive power Q
However, some variables already known
Load P & Q
Generator bus V
Solution methods
Four solution methods
Gauss-Siedel solves phasor equations
Newton-Raphson solve for P & Q by
separation of variables
dc solves circuit as a dc circuit by
treating jX as a resistance
Decoupled load flow variant of Newton-
Raphson. Separates V &
Solution methods
Solution results
Balance generation with load and losses
Keep all bus voltages within tolerance +/-
5%
Require a slack or swing bus. Can be a
fictitious generator to supply/absorb P & Q
Solution achieved when swing bus P & Q
equal zero
Not practical, therefore minimize swing bus
P & Q
Types of studies
Steady state studies
Operations study effect today and
tomorrow, usually short time, e.g. up to
one month
Planning study effect of load and
generation three or more years in future
Fault study what happened yesterday
Types of studies
Dynamic studies
All of the above: Operations, Planning &
Fault
Transients what happens as power
system moves from one steady state to
another
Additional studies determine equipment
ratings, e.g. breaker duty
Contingencies
Contingencies test the system for
robustness
Contingency loss of one or more
components at a time
Costs escalate if system designed for
more than two contingencies
Example loss of a generator and line or
transformer N-G-1
Power system example
Go to example
Power System Performance
Losses weve ignored losses up
to this point
Measuring outages
Lines & Stations
Delivery Point measures
Transmission Losses
Transmission Losses
0
100
200
300
400
500
4750 5000 5250 5500 5750 6000 6250 6500 6750 7000 7250 7500 7750
Net Generation to Supply Alberta Load (MW)
L
o
s
s
e
s

(
M
W
)
Losses are
stochastic
Simple system
losses vary as a
square of current
Complex system
losses display a
linear variance
Transmission Losses
Transmission Losses Histogram
0
100
200
300
400
500
1
9
7
2
1
0
2
2
3
2
3
6
2
4
9
2
6
2
2
7
5
2
8
8
3
0
1
3
1
4
3
2
7
3
4
0
3
5
3
3
6
6
3
7
9
3
9
2
4
0
5
4
1
8
4
3
1
Losses (MW)
C
o
u
n
t
Histogram demonstrates a normal
distribution pattern for losses
Transmission losses
Transmission Generation, Load and Losses by Day
4000
4500
5000
5500
6000
6500
7000
7500
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Hour
G
e
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n
r
a
t
i
o
n

&

L
o
a
d

(
M
W
)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
L
o
s
s
e
s

(
M
W
)
Net Gen
Net Load
Losses
+3-sigma
-3-sigma
Ave Losses
Losses on AIES are very linear
Power system performance
Need measure system performance
Measure frequency and duration of
outages
Reason outages occur infrequently
Measures of performance look at all
components and causes
Usually stated as an average of whole
system
Performance
For Alberta, AESO publishes data to its
website on line and terminal outages as
an overall average for the voltage class
For Delivery Points frequency and
duration data also published as a
system average
For comparison, all Canada data is
included for Delivery Points
Performance
Two types of duration are measured
Momentary < 1 minute
Sustained > 1 minute
Following are examples of charts
published on the AESO website
http://www.aeso.ca/transmission/5548.html
Transmission - line
1.72 1,701 0.05% 6.07 4,598 0.76 757 98,997 Total
5.96 95 0.03% 2.64 37 0.88 14 1,595 500
0.94 320 0.04% 4.93 1,159 0.69 235 33,968 240
1.26 685 0.05% 7.06 2,272 0.59 322 54,417 138/144
6.67 601 0.14% 6.08 1,130 2.06 186 9,017
69/72
Frequency
per 100 km.a
(faults/100
km.a)
Number of
Momentary
Faults
Unavailability
per 100 km.a
(%)
Average
Outage
Duration
(hrs/fault)
Total
Outage
Duration
(hours)
Frequency
per 100 km.a
(faults100
km.a)
Number of
Sustained
Faults
Kilometer
Years
(km.a)
Voltage
Class (kV)
For the Period From 1997 - 2001
Summary for Line Related Forced Outages
Transmission Outage Statistics
Alberta Interconnected Electric System
System Average Interruption Frequency
SAIFI-MI
0.0
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Year
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
Alberta
Canada
Ice Storm
Removed
System Average Interruption Duration
SAIDI
0
100
200
300
400
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Year
D
u
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
i
n
u
t
e
s
)
Alberta
Canada
Ice Storm
Removed
Summary Part 2
Power flow studies model and test
the system for robustness
yesterday, today and tomorrow
N-G-1 is used to test the system for
operation today and into the future
Summary Part 2
Losses are an important part of
power system design and operation
Higher voltage lines reduce losses
However, losses are fixed when the
conductor is chosen
For a system like Albertas, losses
are fairly flat
Summary Part 2
Outages are measured using
frequency and duration techniques
Presented as system average
numbers
Albertas performance not bad
when compared to rest of Canada
Thats all folks!
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