315

IMPACT OF DISTRIBUTED GENERATION ON THE PROTECTION OF DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS

K Kauhaniemi, L Knmpnlained
University of Vaasa, Finland, *VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finland

INTRODUCTION
Traditionally distribution networks have been designed
to operate radially so that the power flows from upper
voltage levels down-to customers situated along the
radial feeders. This has enabled also quite
straightforward protection concept. Especially when
applying overcurrent protection it bas been possible to
assume that the fault current can have only one
direction. This is not always true if there are distributed
generation (DG) units in the network. As the share of
distributed generation increases, distribution networks
are becoming more like transmission networks where
generation and load nodes are mixed, and more complex
protection system design is unavoidable.

In order to analyze thoroughly the effects of distributed

generation on the requirements for the protection of
distribution networks, detailed simulation studies are
necessary. Dynamic modeling of various types of DG
technologies is required.
This paper is based on simulation studies carried out by
VTT Processes and University of Vaasa. In these
studies PSCADEMTDC transient simulation software
has been applied. One of the key issues has been to
verify that normal network protection schemes and
settings are not adequate when there are DG units
connected to the network. The protection coordination
between network protection and the protection of the
distributed generation units has also been studied. The
results will be used to focus further research and
development of protection concepts on the essential
areas.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS TO PROTECTION

Previous studies have shown that distributed generation
causes several challenges to the protection of
distribution networks. The most commonly mentioned
problems are the following:
False tripping of feeders (sympathetic hipping)
Nuisance tripping of production units
Blinding of protection
Increased or decreased fault levels
Unwanted islanding
Prohibition of automatic reclosing
Unsynchronized reclosing

The appearance of these kinds of problems depends on

both the characteristics of the network and DG. Often
the existing protection arrangements of the network
must be changed as well. The DG interconnection
procedure can be complicated since the best solution
requires engineering studies covering the whole system
including the network and the DG. An idealistic vision
for a plug and play solution seems to be still rather far
away.
In short-circuit faults DG generates fault current that
depends strongly both on the generator type and the
network configuration. Synchronous generators are able
to feed rather large sustained fault current while inverter
based systems may be controlled so that their output is
limited to the rated current. From the point of view of
protection coordination the location of the fault in
relation to generator and protection devices dictates the
outcome of the fault situation.
Two serious problems, blinding of protection and false
tripping, are studied with more details in the following
chapters. Loss-of-mains protection is an interesting
issue that cannot be omitted when discussing about DG
and protection. It is closely related to the automatic
reclosing and thus both of these topics will be briefly
covered also in this paper.

PREVENTING OVERCURRENT RELAY

OPERATION
When a large production unit or several small ones are
connected to medium voltage network, the fault current
seen by the feeder protection relay may be reduced,
which can lead to prevention of the operation of
overcurrent relays. This is also called protection underreach.

Basic Theory
Theoretically the problem can be explained as follows.
A situation, where a production unit is connected in a
medium voltage (MV) feeder close to a primary
substation, is studied. When a fault occurs at the end of
the feeder the fault current consists of contributions both
from the grid (I,) and from the generator (I,) as shown

0 2004 T h e Institution of Electrical Engineers.

Printed a n d published by t h e IEE, Michael Faraday House, Six Hills Way, S t e v e n a g e , SGI 2AY

316

in Figure 1. The impedances involved in this situation

are:
2, = impedance of the grid and primary transformer
Z,= impedance of the generator
ZL = impedance of the feeder (line)

I1

ZL

Fault
Figure 1. Short-circuit fault in MV network and the
corresponding single phase Thtvenin equivalent circuit.
Lets assume that the feeder relay sees a current Ik when
there is no production unit. For the ratio between the
feeder relay current 1, in the situation shown in Figure I
and the current 1, the following formula can he derived

The short-circuit impedance of the generator can he

expressed using the short-circuit impedance of the
feeding network Z, = aZr Analogically the impedance
of the line (to the fault location) can he expressed as
ZL = bZ,.
The ratio of the currents with and without generator can
then be simplified:

0 0

Figure 2. The ratio of the currents seen by the relay

with and without generator.
Simulation Results
Figure 3 presents simulation results of the current seen
by the feeder overcurrent relay, when a diesel power
plant is connected to different locations (0 km, 12 km,
20 km and 34 km) on the feeder, and a three-phase fault
occurs at the end of the feeder. The relay pickup current
is 300 A, and the time delay is 0.5 s. The fault current
without the power plant would be ca. 420 A. The fault
occurs at time 10.1 s. In three of the above mentioned
cases the power plant reduces the current seen by the
protection so much that the relay will not start until the
power plant trips, which in theses cases takes several
seconds.
xOkm

1 2 k m o 2 0 km

0.5 I
Figure 2 presents the impact of the coefficients a and b
on the ratio l,llk.In all practical cases the impact is such
that the ratio is less than one, which means that the
contribution from the generator reduces the current seen
by the feeder relay. We can also conclude that the
impact of the production unit increases with the size of
the unit (larger unit 3 lower coefficient a ) and with the
length of the line section between the production unit
and the fault (larger coefficient b).
If the production unit is not located at the beginning of
the feeder but along the feeder, Figure 1 can be changed
so that the impedance of the feeder, ZL, is divided into
two parts,
, , ,Z
ja Zlend. When Z,,
is combined with
Z,: Z, = Z,+ Z
,
,
, we can write Z, = aZ, and ZL.,~
= bZ, and repeat the procedure above to find out the
ratio of the feeder relay currents.

* 24 km
I

Ik

Current

(W

12

15

18

21

t /Time (s)

Figure 3. Current seen by feeder overcurrent relay

when power plant distance from the substation is varied.

317

FALSE TRIPPINGS
The basic principle of false tripping is shown in Figure
4. The short-circuit fault occurs on feeder 2, but also
feeder 1 is tripped because of overcunent fed by the DG
unit. False tripping (sympathetic tripping) is typically
caused by synchronous generators, which are capable of
feeding sustained short-circuit current.

DG may also cause false operation of series protection

devices. This may happen, e.g., in LV systems applying
fuses. In USA reclosers are applied together with fuses
at medium voltage. The coordination of this kind of
system when there is DG involved is discussed in
Brahma and Girgis (1).

LOSS-OF-MAINS PROTECTION

4
Figure 4. Principle of false tripping.
False tripping of healthy feeder was verified by
simulations with a diesel power plant model. Figure 5
presents an example, where a 3-phase short-circuit fault
on adjacent feeder causes false tripping of feeder 1,
because the diesel power plant on feeder 1 feeds shortcircuit current to the fault.
x Feeder 1 0 Feeder 2

4.2 I

HI, if2
Current

t / Time

False tripping of healthy feeders can probably be solved

by directional overcurrent relays, but with the following
considerations:
Protection against the bus faults may have to be
changed. There should be a transfer trip from the
main infeed relays (overcurrent relays at secondary
side of the primary transformer) and the arc
protection rclays to the feeder relays for the feeders
having significant amount of DG connected.
Directional relays are slower than non-directional
relays. In most cases they also cause extra costs~and
lead to solutions that differ from practices favored
by the network companies.

(s)

Figure 5. Example of false tripping caused by a shortcircuit fault on adjacent feeder.

In the case of sudden loss of grid connection a part of

the network may keep on operating as an island. In most
cases this is not desirable for the following reasons:
e
Reconnection of the islanded part becomes
complicated, especially when automatic reclosing is
used. This can lead to damage of equipment and
decrease of reliability of the network
Network operator is unable to guarantee the power
quality in the island. There could he abnormal
voltage or frequency, and the fault level may be too
low, so that the overcurrent protection will not
work the way it is designed.
Safety problems to maintenance personnel arise
when de-energized circuits are backfed.
In order to achieve adequate safety and reliability level
of the distribution system, loss-of-main protection is
usually considered necessary. LOM protection is even
specifically required in many of the relating rules. The
rules and guidelines vary from country to country but
requirements similar to the following are often given:
DG should be disconnected from the network in the
case of abnormality in voltage or frequency
If one or more phases is disconnected from the grid
supply the DG should be rapidly disconnected from
the network
If autoreclosing is applied, the DG units must
disconnect clearly before the reclosing, so that there
will be enough time for the fault arc to extinguish.
The loss-of-mains protection is very hard to accomplish
by traditional means. E.g., the hasic under-lovervoltage
and under-loverfrequency relays may fail to operate if

318

the power mismatch in the island to be created in the

loss-of-main situation is close to zero.
There are several methods developed for loss-of-mains
protection. One of the standard solutions seems to be the
rate of change of frequency (ROCOF) protection
method as pointed out by Guillot et al (2). Another
common protection method applied is the vector shift
method presented, e.g., in Jenkins et al (3).
Redfern et al (4) have proposed monitoring of the
fluctuation of the power output from the generator. This
method is suitable only for synchronous generators.
Positive sequence undervoltage method has been found
effecti e in Denmark by DEFU (5). However, totally
satisfy ng LOM protection solutions are still missing.

AUTORECLOSING
In overhead medium voltage networks, automatic
reclosing is a very effective mean to clear faults. E.g. in
Finland, ca. 80% of faults can be cleared with highspeed autoreclosing and 15% with time-delayed
autoreclosing. The impact of autoreclosing is based on
extinction of arc during the dead time of the reclosing
sequence. In the Nordic countries, dead time is typically
only 0.3 s.
Distributed generation seems to be rather incompatible
with current reclosing practices as noted, e.g., in Dugan
and McDermott (6). In suitable conditions DG may
prevent the arc extinction and the momentary fault
becomes permanent. During the dead time of the
reclosing sequence the generators in the network usually
tend to drift away from the synchronism with respect to
the grid. Thus the reconnection made without any
synchronization, which is the usual way, may cause
serious damages to the generators, as well as high
currents and voltages in the neighboring network.
Simulation studies have confirmed the high risk of outof-phase reclosing. As a conclusion to this it can be
stated that rapid and reliable loss-of-mains protection is
needed. DG units must be disconnected very fast during
the dead time of autoreclosing sequence.

Primary results of these studies have given a clear

indication of the potential protection problems that need
to be solved either by suitable recommendations relating
to protection design or possibly some new protection
algorithms. Solutions are urgently needed since the
share of distributed generation is expected to increase
quite rapidly.
One of the areas where further studies are needed is the
application of autoreclosing with DG. From the network
reliability point of view this is a very important issue
since today autoreclosings are able to handle a major
part of the faults.
This paper has focused on the medium voltage
networks. However similar problems may arise in the
low voltage networks where mainly fuses are applied
for the network protection. Another group of problems
that has not been covered is the earth faults related
problems. Further studies are going on with the aim of
new protection concepts for distribution networks
having distributed generation.

REFERENCES
1. Brahma, S.M., Girgis, A.A., 2002, IEEE PES Winter

Meetinr, Vol. I , Microprocessor-Based Reclosing

to Coordinate Fuse and Recloser in a System with
High Penetration of Distributed Generation, 453 458

2. Guillot, M., Collombet, C., Bertrand, P., Gotzig, B.,

2001, CIRED, IEE Conf, Pub. No. 482, Protection
of Embedded Generation Connected to a
Distribution Network and Loss of Mains Detection

3. Jenkins, N., Allan, R., Crossley, P., Kirschen, D.,

Strbac, G., 2000, Embedded Generation, IEE
4. Redfern, M.A., Usta, O., Bmett, J.I., Fielding, G.,
1993, 5th Int. Conf. on Developments in Power
System Protection, A new digital relay for loss of
grid to protect embedded generation, 127 -130

5. D E W , 1995, Relaebeskvttelse

ved decentrale
produktionsanlaeg
med
synkrongeneratorer.
Teknisk rapport 293,2. udgave

CONCLUSIONS
6. Dugan, R.C., McDermott, T.E., 2002, IEEE Ind.
Appl. Mag., MadApr. 2002, 19 - 25
According to the simulation studies proper coordination
of the protection of network and DG units is important
in order to avoid false tripping. In certain cases also
directional protection is necessary to guarantee
selectivity. DG units that are capable of providing large
short-circuit current may prevent the operation of feeder
relays. On the other hand, overcurrent relays cannot be
applied with inverter based DG units that do not feed
any significant short-circuit current.