What is an electric substation?

Substations are a familiar sight alongside highways and in cities. Substations take the electricity from power plants and from the transmission lines and transform it from high to lower voltage. They distribute electricity to consumers and supervise and protect the distribution network to keep it working safely and efficiently, for example by using circuitbreakers (the industrial strength equivalent of the humble fuse) to cut power in case of a problem. Substations are often classed according to the switchgear used to protect their circuits. !ir"insulated switchgear (!#S ) used to be the most common design, but this requires a lot of space and for higher voltages is only feasible outdoors. $ven then, !#S may be unsuitable or undesirable in certain locations, such as residential areas. %as"insulated switchgear (%#S ) may be more expensive if only the unit cost is compared, but is safer and needs less maintenance. The fact that %#S units are five times smaller than !#S means cost savings and smaller, less intrusive buildings. $lectrical lines can be overhead or underground. The construction of overhead lines costs less, but outages are more common than on underground lines (due to bad weather, lightning strikes or accidents).

What do we find in a substation?

&ower transformers, switching devices such as circuit breakers and disconnectors to cut power in case of a problem, and measurement, protection and control devices needed to ensure its safe and efficient operation.

SWITCHGEAR:
Switchgear is the combination of electrical disconnect switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to control, protect and isolate electrical equipment. Switchgear is used both to de"energi'e equipment to allow work to be done and to clear faults downstream. This type of equipment is important because it is directly linked to the reliability of the electricity supply.

Circuit breaker
! circuit breaker is a manually or automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit.

Basic

unction:

#ts basic function is to detect a fault condition and interrupt current flow.

What Is the Definition of AIC Rating?

AIC stands for A!"ere Interru"ting Ca"acit#. !#( )ating refers to the maximum fault or short circuit current that a circuit breaker can withstand and interrupt to be able to protect the circuit. #f the current goes beyond this rating, the circuit and the switch gear will be damaged.