ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION

A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system.

Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other
important functions. Between the generating station and consumer, electric power may flow
through several substations at different voltage levels. A substation may include transformers to
change voltage levels between high transmission voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at
the interconnection of two different transmission voltages.
The word substation comes from the days before the distribution system became a grid. As
central generation stations became larger, smaller generating plants were converted to
distribution stations, receiving their energy supply from a larger plant instead of using their own
generators. The first substations were connected to only one power station, where the
generators were housed, and were subsidiaries of that power station.
A sub-station is convenient place for installing synchronous condensers at the end of the
transmission line for purpose of improving power factor and make measurements to
check the operation of the various parts of the power system street lighting equipment as well
as switching controls for street lights can be installed in a sub-station.

FUNCTIONS OF A SUB-STATION:
An electricity supply undertaking generally aims at the following:
 Supply of required electrical power to all the consumers continuously at all times.
 Maximum possible coverage of the supply network over the given geographical area.
 Maximum security of supply.
 Shortest possible fault duration.
 Optimum efficiency of plants and the network.
 Supply of electrical power within targeted frequency limits.
 Supply of electrical power within specified voltage limits.
 Supply of electrical energy to the consumers at the lowest cost.

As a result of these objectives, there are various tasks which are closely associated with the
generation, transmission, distribution and utilization of the electrical energy. These tasks are
performed by various, manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic devices located in
generating stations and substations.
The tasks associated with a major substation in the transmission system include the following:

 Controlling the exchange of energy.

 Protection of transmission system.
 Ensuring steady state and transient stability.
 Load shedding and prevention of loss of synchronism.
 Maintaining the system frequency within targeted limits.
 Voltage control, reducing the reactive power flow by compensation of reactive power, tap-
changing.
 Securing the supply by providing adequate line capacity and facility for changing the
transmission paths.
 Data transmission via power line carrier for the purpose of network monitoring, control and
protection.
 Determining the energy transfer through transmission lines and tie-lines.
 Fault analysis and pin-pointing the cause and subsequent improvements.
 Securing supply by feeding the network at various points.

All these tasks are performed by the team work of load-control centre and control rooms of
substations.

TYPES OF SUBSTATION
Substations may be described by their voltage class, their applications within the power system,
the method used to insulate most connections, and by the style and materials of the structures
used. These categories are not disjointed; for example, to solve a particular problem, a
transmission substation may include significant distribution functions.

Transmission Substation
A transmission substation connects two or more transmission lines. The simplest case is where
all transmission lines have the same voltage. In such cases, substation contains high-voltage
switches that allow lines to be connected or isolated for fault clearance or maintenance. A
transmission station may have transformers to convert between two transmission
voltages, voltage control/power factor correction devices such as capacitors, reactors or static
VAR compensators and equipment such as phase shifting transformers to control power flow
between two adjacent power systems.
Transmission substations can range from simple to complex. A small "switching station" may be
little more than a bus plus some circuit breakers. The largest transmission substations can
cover a large area (several acres/hectares) with multiple voltage levels, many circuit breakers,
and a large amount of protection and control equipment (voltage and current
transformers, relays and SCADA systems). Modern substations may be implemented using
international standards such as IEC Standard 61850.

Distribution Substation
A distribution substation transfers power from the transmission system to the distribution
system of an area. It is uneconomical to directly connect electricity consumers to the main
transmission network, unless they use large amounts of power, so the distribution station
reduces voltage to a level suitable for local distribution.
The input for a distribution substation is typically at least two transmission or sub-transmission
lines. Input voltage may be, for example, 115 kV, or whatever is common in the area. The
output is a number of feeders. Distribution voltages are typically medium voltage, between
2.4 kV and 33 kV, depending on the size of the area served and the practices of the local utility.
The feeders run along streets overhead (or underground, in some cases) and power the
distribution transformers at or near the customer premises.
In addition to transforming voltage, distribution substations also isolate faults in either the
transmission or distribution systems. Distribution substations are typically the points of voltage
regulation, although on long distribution circuits (of several miles/kilometers), voltage regulation
equipment may also be installed along the line.
The downtown areas of large cities feature complicated distribution substations, with high-
voltage switching, and switching and backup systems on the low-voltage side. More typical
distribution substations have a switch, one transformer, and minimal facilities on the low-voltage
side.

Collector Substation
In distributed generation projects such as a wind farm, a collector substation may be required. It
resembles a distribution substation although power flow is in the opposite direction, from
many wind turbines up into the transmission grid. Usually for economy of construction the
collector system operates around 35 kV, and the collector substation steps up voltage to a
transmission voltage for the grid. The collector substation can also provide power factor
correction if it is needed, metering, and control of the wind farm. In some special cases a
collector substation can also contain an HVDC converter station.
Collector substations also exist where multiple thermal or hydroelectric power plants of
comparable output power are in proximity. Examples for such substations are Brauweiler in
Germany and Hradec in the Czech Republic, where power is collected from nearby lignite-fired
power plants. If no transformers are required for increasing the voltage to transmission level,
the substation is a switching station.

Converter Substations
Converter substations may be associated with HVDC converter plants, traction current, or
interconnected non-synchronous networks. These stations contain power electronic devices to
change the frequency of current, or else convert from alternating to direct current or the
reverse. Formerly rotary converters changed frequency to interconnect two systems; nowadays
such substations are rare.
 Switching Station
A switching station is a substation without transformers and operating only at a single voltage
level. Switching stations are sometimes used as collector and distribution stations. Sometimes
they are used for switching the current to back-up lines or for parallelizing circuits in case of
failure. An example is the switching stations for the HVDC Inga–Shabatransmission line.
A switching station may also be known as a switchyard, and these are commonly located
directly adjacent to or nearby a power station. In this case the generators from the power
station supply their power into the yard onto the Generator Bus on one side of the yard, and the
transmission lines take their power from a Feeder Bus on the other side of the yard.
An important function performed by a substation is switching, which is the connecting and
disconnecting of transmission lines or other components to and from the system. Switching
events may be planned or unplanned. A transmission line or other component may need to be
de-energized for maintenance or for new construction, for example, adding or removing a
transmission line or a transformer. To maintain reliability of supply, companies aim at keeping
the system up and running while performing maintenance. All work to be performed, from
routine testing to adding entirely new substations, should be done while keeping the whole
system running.
Unplanned switching events are caused by a fault in a transmission line or any other
component, for example:

 a line is hit by lightning and develops an arc,

 a tower is blown down by high wind.
The function of the switching station is to isolate the faulty portion of the system in the shortest
possible time. De-energizing faulty equipment protects it from further damage, and isolating a
fault helps keep the rest of the electrical grid operating with stability.

LOCATION SELECTION
Selection of the location of a substation must consider many factors. Sufficient land area is
required for installation of equipment with necessary clearances for electrical safety, and for
access to maintain large apparatus such as transformers.
Where land is costly, such as in urban areas, gas insulated switchgear may save money
overall. Substations located in coastal areas affected by flooding and tropical storms may often
require an elevated structure to keep equipment sensitive to surges hardened against these
elements. The site must have room for expansion due to load growth or planned transmission
additions. Environmental effects of the substation must be considered, such as drainage, noise
and road traffic effects.
 The substation site must be reasonably central to the distribution area to be served. The site
must be secure from intrusion by passers-by, both to protect people from injury by electric
shock or arcs, and to protect the electrical system from misoperation due to vandalism.

The aspects necessary to be considered for site selection are:

 Fairly level ground.
 Right of way around the substation yard for incoming & outgoing transmission & distribution
lines.
 Preferably of soil strata having low earth resistance values.
 Easy approach & accessibility from main roads for Heavy equipment transportation and
routine O & M of substation.
 Economy / Cost.

SUBSTATION SINGLE LINE DIAGRAM (SLD)

A Single Line Diagram (SLD) of an electrical system is the line diagram of the concerned
electrical system which includes all the required electrical equipment connection sequence
wise from the point of entrance of power up to the end of the scope of the mentioned work.

The single line diagram (SLD) is the most basic of the set of diagrams that are used to
document the electrical functionality of the substation. Its emphasis is on communicating the
functions of the power equipment and the associated protection and control system.

 SUBSTATION PARTS AND EQUIPMENT
OUTDOOR SWITCHYARD

 Bus bars
 Incoming & outgoing lines
 Transformers
 Insulators
 Substation Equipment such as Circuit breakers, Isolators, Earthing, Switches, Surge
Arresters, CTs, VTs/CVTs
 Neutral Grounding Equipment
 Station Earthing system comprising ground mat, risers, earthing strips, earthing spikes.
 Overhead earthwire shielding against lightning strokes, or, lightning masts.
 Galvanised steel structures for towers, gantries, equipment supports.
 PLCC Equipment including line trap, tuning unit, coupling capacitor, etc.
 Power cables
 Control cables for protection and control
 Roads, Railway track, cable trenches
 Station lighting system

11/ 33 KV SWITCHGEAR

 11 kV Indoor Switchgear
 33 kV Outdoor Switchgear

LT PANELS

 Low voltage AC. Switchgear

 Control Panels
 Protection Panels.

BATTERY ROOM

 DC Battery system
 Charging equipment distribution system.

MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL
 Fire fighting system
 Oil purification system
 Cooling water system
 Telephone system
 Workshop; stores etc.

PROTECTION SYSTEM

 CTs, CVTs
 Protective Relays
 Circuit breakers

SUBSTATION PROTECTION

Substation Grounding/ Earthing

The sole purpose of substation grounding/earthing is to protect the equipment from surges and
lightning strikes and to protect the operating persons in the substation. Hence intentional
earthing system is created by laying earthing rod of mild steel in the soil of substation area. All
equipments/structures which are not meant to carry the currents for normal operating system
are connected with main earth mat .The substation earthing system is necessary for connecting
neutral points of transformers and generators to ground and also for connecting the non current
carrying metal parts such as structures, overhead shielding wires, tanks, frames, etc to earth.
Earthing of surge arresters is through the earthing system. The function of substation earthing
system is to provide a grounding mat below the earth surface in and around the substation
which will have uniformly zero potential with respect to ground and low earth resistance.

The earthing system in a substation :

 Protects the life and property from over-voltage.
 To limit step & touch potential to the working staff in substation.
 Provides low impedance path to fault currents to ensure prompt and consistent operation of
protective device.
 Stabilizes the circuit potentials with respect to ground and limit the overall potential rise.
 Keeps the maximum voltage gradients within safe limit during ground fault condition inside
and around substation.

Earth Resistance:
 Earth Resistance is the resistance offered by the earth electrode to the flow of current in to the
ground. To provide a sufficiently low resistance path to the earth to minimize the rise in earth
potential with respect to a remote earth fault. Persons touching any of the non current carrying
grounded parts shall not receive a dangerous shock during an earth fault. Each structure,
transformer tank, body of equipment, etc, should be connected to earthing mat by their own
earth connection.
Generally lower earth resistance is preferable but for certain applications following earth
resistance are satisfactory
Large Power Stations – 0.5 Ohm
Major Power Stations - 1.0 Ohm
Small Substation – 2.0 Ohm
In all Other Cases – 8.0 Ohm

Step Potential and Touch Potential

Grounding system in a electrical system is designed to achieve low earth resistance and also to
achieve safe ‘Step Potential ‘and ‘Touch Potential’.

Step Potential:
Step potential is the potential difference between the feet of a person standing on the floor of
the substation, with 0.5 m spacing between the feet (one step), through the flow of earth fault
current through the grounding system.

Touch Potential:
Touch potential is a potential difference between the fingers of raised hand touching the faulted
structure and the feet of the person standing on the substation floor. The person should not get
a shock even if the grounded structure is carrying fault current, i.e, The Touch Potential should
be very small.

Usually, In a substation a surface layer of 150 mm of rock (Gravel) of 15 mm to 20 mm size

shall be used for the following reasons:
 To provide high resistivity for working personnel.
 To minimize hazards from reptiles.
 To discourage growth of weed.
 To maintain the resistivity of soil at lower value by retaining moisture in the under laying soil.
 To prevent substation surface muddy and water logged.

Earth wire

Overhead power lines are often equipped with a ground conductor (shield wire or overhead
earth wire). A ground conductor is a conductor that is usually grounded (earthed) at the top of
the supporting structure to minimize the likelihood of direct lightning strikes to the phase
 conductors. The ground wire is also a parallel path with the earth for fault currents in earthed
neutral circuits. Very high-voltage transmission lines may have two ground conductors. These
are either at the outermost ends of the highest cross beam, at two V-shaped mast points, or at
a separate cross arm. By protecting the line from lightning, the design of apparatus in
substations is simplified due to lower stress on insulation. Shield wires on transmission lines
may include optical fibers (OPGW), used for communication and control of the power system.
7/3.66 mm wire is used for providing earthing in lightning mast and towers.
The main function of Earthwire/ Groundwire is to provide protection against direct lightening
strokes to the line conductors or towers. In addition Groundwire reduces the induced voltage on
parallel telecom lines under fault condition

Groundwire must meet the following requirements:

 It must be able to carry the maximum lightening current without undue overheating.
 It must be strong mechanically.
 It must be high enough to afford protection to all the line conductors. This function is called
shielding.
 It must have enough clearance above the line conductors at mid-span to prevent a side
flashover to a line conductor.

Tower footing resistance should be low.

Earth Wire protection from Lightning

 COMPONENTS OF SUBSTATION

1.TRANSFORMER:

A transformer is a static machine used for transforming power from one circuit to another
without changing frequency. This is a very basic definition of transformer. Since there is no
rotating or moving part so transformer is a static device. Transformer operates on ac supply.
Transformer works on the principle of mutual induction. Transformers come in a range of sizes
from a thumbnail-sized coupling transformer hidden inside a stage microphone to huge units
weighing hundreds of tons used to interconnect portions of national power grids. All operate
with the same basic principles, although the range of designs is wide. While new technologies
have eliminated the need for transformers in some electronic circuits, transformers are still
found in nearly all electronic devices designed for household ("mains") voltage. Transformers
are essential for high voltage power transmission, which makes long distance transmission
economically practical.
 Basic Principle:
The transformer is based on two principles:
a) An electric current can produce a magnetic field (electromagnetism).
b) A changing magnetic field within a coil of wire induces a voltage across the ends of the coil
(electromagnetic induction).

Changing the current in the primary coil changes the magnetic flux that is developed. The
changing magnetic flux induces a voltage in the secondary coil.
 B a s i c P a r t s o f a T ra n s f o r m e r
These are the basic components of a transformer.

1. Laminated core
2. Windings
3. Insulating materials
4. Transformer oil
5. Tap changer
6. Oil Conservator
7. Breather
8. Cooling tubes
9. Buchholz Relay
10. Explosion vent
Of the above, laminated soft iron core, windings and insulating material are the primary parts
and are present in all transformers, whereas the rest can be seen only in transformers having a
capacity of more than 100KVA.

Core
The core acts as support to the winding in the transformer. It also provides a low reluctance
path to the flow of magnetic flux. It is made of laminated soft iron core in order to reduce eddy
current loss and Hysteresis loss. The composition of a transformer core depends on such as
factors voltage, current, and frequency. The diameter of the transformer core is directly
proportional to copper loss and is inversely proportional to iron loss. If the diameter of the core
is decreased, the weight of the steel in the core is reduced, which leads to less core loss of the
transformer and the copper loss increase. When the diameter of the core is increased, the vise
versa occurs.
 Winding
Two sets of winding are made over the transformer core and are insulated from each other.
Winding consists of several turns of copper conductors bundled together, and connected
connected in series.

Winding can be classified in two different ways:

1. Based on the input and output supply

2. Based on the voltage range
Within the input/output supply classification, winding are further categorized:

1. Primary winding - These are the winding to which the input voltage is applied.
2. Secondary winding - These are the winding to which the output voltage is applied.
Within the voltage range classification, winding are further categorized:

1. High voltage winding - It is made of copper conductor. The number of turns made shall
be the multiple of the number of turns in the low voltage winding. The conductor used will be
thinner than that of the low voltage winding.

2. Low voltage winding - It consists of fewer number of turns than the high voltage
winding. It is made of thick copper conductors. This is because the current in the low voltage
winding is higher than that of high voltage winding.
Input supply to the transformers can be applied from either low voltage (LV) or high voltage
(HV) winding based on the requirement.

Insulating Materials
Insulating paper and cardboard are used in transformers to isolate primary and secondary
winding from each other and from the transformer core.

Transformer oil is another insulating material. Transformer oil performs two important functions:
in addition to insulating function, it can also cool the core and coil assembly. The transformer's
core and winding must be completely immersed in the oil. Normally, hydrocarbon mineral oils
are used as transformer oil. Oil contamination is a serious problem because contamination robs
the oil of its dielectric properties and renders it useless as an insulating medium.
Parts of the Transformer

Conservator
The conservator conserves the transformer oil. It is an airtight, metallic, cylindrical drum that is
fitted above the transformer. The conservator tank is vented to the atmosphere at the top, and
the normal oil level is approximately in the middle of the conservator to allow the oil to expand
and contract as the temperature varies. The conservator is connected to the main tank inside
the transformer, which is completely filled with transformer oil through a pipeline.

Breather
The breather controls the moisture level in the transformer. Moisture can arise when
temperature variations cause expansion and contraction of the insulating oil, which then causes
the pressure to change inside the conservator. Pressure changes are balanced by a flow of
atmospheric air in and out of the conservator, which is how moisture can enter the system.
If the insulating oil encounters moisture, it can affect the paper insulation or may even lead to
internal faults. Therefore, it is necessary that the air entering the tank is moisture-free.

The transformer's breather is a cylindrical container that is filled with silica gel. When the
atmospheric air passes through the silica gel of the breather, the air's moisture is absorbed by
the silica crystals. The breather acts like an air filter for the transformer and controls the
moisture level inside a transformer. It is connected to the end of breather pipe.

Tap Changer

The output voltage of transformers vary according to its input voltage and the load. During
loaded conditions, the voltage on the output terminal decreases, whereas during off-load
conditions the output voltage increases. In order to balance the voltage variations, tap changers
are used. Tap changers can be either on-load tap changers or off-load tap changers. In an on-
load tap changer, the tapping can be changed without isolating the transformer from the supply.
In an off-load tap changer, it is done after disconnecting the transformer. Automatic tap
changers are also available.

Cooling Tubes
Cooling tubes are used to cool the transformer oil. The transformer oil is circulated through the
cooling tubes. The circulation of the oil may either be natural or forced. In natural circulation,
when the temperature of the oil rises the hot oil naturally rises to the top and the cold oil sinks
downward. Thus the oil naturally circulates through the tubes. In forced circulation, an external
pump is used to circulate the oil.

Buchholz Relay
The Buchholz Relay is a protective device container housed over the connecting pipe from the
main tank to the conservator tank. It is used to sense the faults occurring inside the transformer.
It is a simple relay that is operated by the gases emitted during the decomposition of
transformer oil during internal faults. It helps in sensing and protecting the transformer from
internal faults.

Explosion Vent
The explosion vent is used to expel boiling oil in the transformer during heavy internal faults in
order to avoid the explosion of the transformer. During heavy faults, the oil rushes out of the
vent. The level of the explosion vent is normally maintained above the level of the conservatory
tank.

2. CURRENT TRANSFORMERS
Definition
A current transformer is an instrument transformer, used along with measuring or protective
devices, in which the secondary current is proportional to the primary current (under normal
conditions of operation) and differs from it by an angle that is approximately zero.

Functions
Current transformers perform the following functions:

 Current transformers supply the protective relays with currents of magnitude

proportional to those of power circuit but sufficiently reduced in magnitude.
 The measuring devices cannot be directly connected to the high magnitude supplies.
Hence current transformers are used to supply those devices with currents of
magnitude proportional to those of power.
 A current transformer also isolates the measuring instruments from high voltage
circuits.
Principle
The basic principle of the current transformer is the same as that of the power transformer. Like
the power transformer, the current transformer also contains a primary and a secondary
winding. Whenever an alternating current flows through the primary winding, alternating
magnetic flux is produced, which then induces alternating current in the secondary winding. In
the case of current transformers, the load impedance or “burden” is very small. Therefore the
current transformer operates under short circuit conditions. Also the current in the secondary
winding does not depend on load impedance but instead depends on the current flowing in the
primary winding.

The ratio of primary current to the secondary current is known as the current transformation
ratio of the CT. Usually the current transformation ratio of the CT is high. Normally the
secondary ratings are of the order 5 A, 1 A, 0.1 A, whereas the primary ratings vary from 10 A
to 3000 A or more.

The CT handles much less power. Rated burden can be defined as the product of current and
voltage at the secondary side of the CT. It is measured in volt ampere (VA).

The secondary of a current transformer should not be disconnected from its rated burden while
current is flowing in the primary. As the primary current is independent of the secondary current,
the entire primary current acts as a magnetizing current when secondary is opened. This results
in deep saturation of the core, which cannot return to normal state and so the CT is no longer
usable.

Current transformer is a current measuring device used to measure the currents in high voltage
lines directly by stepping down the currents to measurable values by means of electromagnetic
circuit.
 SF6 Gas Insulated Current Transformer

Loose connections should not be allowed in the electrical circuit. It increases the contact
resistance which in turn the rises the temperature in that area due to load current. It damages
the oil seals in CTs and transformers bushings causing oil leak and in term entry of moisture in
to the equipment causing falling of IR values and damages ‘O’ rings in circuit breaker causing
SF6 gas leakage. Entry of moisture in to the VCB insulator chamber cause vacuum interrupter
failure and pull rod failure due to electrical break down. Hence loose connections should not be
allowed.

3. POTENTIAL TRANSFORMERS
It is not an easy way to measure the high voltage and currents associated with power
transmission and distribution systems, hence instrument transformers are often used to step-
down these values to a safer level to measure. This is because measuring meters or
instruments and protective relays are low voltage devices, thereby cannot be connected directly
to high voltage circuit for the purpose of measurement and protection of the system.

In addition to the reduction of voltage and current levels, these transformers isolate the
measuring or protective circuit from the main circuit which is operating at high power levels.

The current transformers reduce the level of current to the instrument or relay operating range,
whereas potential transformers transforms the high voltage to a circuit operating low voltage.
Types of Voltage or Potential Transformers

Majorly these are classified into outdoor and indoor potential transformers.

 Outdoor Potential Transformers

These can be single or three phase voltage transformers available for different range of
operating voltages that are used for outdoor relaying and metering applications. Up to 33KV,
these are of electromagnetic type single and three phase voltage transformers. Above 33KV
single phase outdoor potential transformers can be two types electromagnetic type and
capacitive voltage transformer (CVT).

Electromagnetic or Wound Type Conventional Potential Transformer

These are similar to the conventional oil filled wire wound transformers. The figure below shows
the electromagnetic type of PT wherein tap tank is connected to the line terminal. A plug is
provided on the tank to fill the oil and this tank is mounted on an insulator support.

At the base, ground terminal and oil drain plug is provided. In this, primary is connected
between the two phases or between one phase and ground. So one end of the primary is
connected to main line at the top and the other end is brought out at the bottom and is
grounded with other ground terminals.

The secondary terminals including earth terminal are located in the terminal box at the bottom,
further these are connected to the metering and relay circuits. These are used up to or below
132 KV operating voltages due to insulation aspects.

PotentialTransformer
Capacitive Voltage Transformers (CVTs)

It is a capacitive potential divider connected between the phase of main line and ground. These
can be coupling capacitor or bushing type CVTs. These two types are electrically less or more
similar, but the difference is that the formation of capacitance which further decides their rated
burden (or load).

A coupling capacitor type consists of a stack of series connected capacitors which are made up
of oil-impregnated paper and aluminium foil. For desired primary and secondary voltages,
primary and secondary terminals are connected across the capacitors.

The bushing type CVT uses condenser type bushings provided with tapping. CVTs are also
used for power line carrier communication and hence more economical.

Capacitive Voltage Transformers

 Indoor Potential Transformers

These are also available as single or three phase PTs which are of moulded, magnetic type.
The mounting mechanism can be fixed or drawout type. In this type of PTs, all parts of primary
winding are insulated from earth at its rated insulation capacity. These are designed to operate
relays, measuring instruments, and other control devices in indoor service with high accuracy.

Indoor Potential Transformers

Based on the function, PT or voltage transformers are classified into metering voltage
transformers and protection voltage transformers.

4. LIGTHNING ARRESTER

It is the first equipment in a substation. Substation design involves more than one installing
apparatus, protective devices and equipment. The significant momentary investment and
required reliable continuous operation of the facility requires detailed attention to preventing
surges from entering the substation facility. The effects of disturbances with limiting in a power
system, which if allowed to persist, may damage plant and interrupt the supply of electrical
energy. Lightning is one of the most serious causes of over voltage. If the power equipment
especially at outdoor substation is not protected, the over-voltage will cause burning of
insulation. Thus it results into complete shutdown of the power and the loss may run into cores
of kyat. Electrical equipment can be damaged due to over-voltage such as switching surge
over-voltage, Lightning surge over-voltage, transient recovery voltage and power frequency
temporary over-voltage in transmission line and receiving end of substation. It is important to
protect power equipment against them wherever possible. Lightning Arrester can protect the
damages of electrical equipments. So, Lightning Arrester must be installed at the terminal end
of the transmission line, substation, high voltage transformers and low voltage transformer. The
analysis of electromagnetic transient is depended on operating voltage, lengths of the lines and
contactor configuration. So, it can be chosen correctly the technical specifications of the
apparatus of Lightning Arrester base on the amounts of receiving overvoltage. Generally
arresters are connected in parallel with the equipment to be protected, typically between phase
and earth for three phase installations.
Lightning arresters are the most effective means of protecting an electrical apparatus against
traveling voltage waves caused by lightning and switching.
Lightning arresters are connected across and apparatus to provide a Low resistance path to
ground, thus limiting the transient voltages below the Basic Impulse Level of the apparatus.
There are four different classes of arrester.
1. Station
2. Intermediate
3. Distribution, and
4. Secondary

Earth Wire protection from Lightning

Functions of a Lightning Arrester

 To act like an open circuit during the normal operation of the system i.e., to hold off the
system voltage.
 To limit the transient voltage to a safe level with the minimum delay and fitter.
 To bring the system back to its normal operation mode as soon as the transient voltage is
suppressed, i.e., to interrupt the power-follow current and to reseal itself.

The normal operation or operational mode includes the system under faulted condition. Under
several types of system faults, such as the single line-to-ground faults, the voltage to ground
across the healthy phases will rise above the normal voltage level. The arrester must not go
into conduction during this fault condition. It should also be able to interrupt the power-follow
current and reseal itself under system fault conditions when the power-frequency voltage
across it rises.

The active elements (blocks) of surge arresters are manufactured using a highly non-linear
ceramic resistor material composed for the most part of ZnO mixed with other metal oxide. The
resistor blocks in the surge arrester offers low resistance to high voltage surge to ground. Surge
Arrester discharges current impulse surge to earth and dissipates energy in the form of heat.
After discharging the impulse wave to earth, the resistor blocks in the surge arrester offers a
very high resistance to the normal power frequency voltage and acts as open circuit.

An Electric Transmission Network

There are 2 types of designs available for EHV Surge-Arrester. These are Conventional gapped
Surge-Arrester (Value Type) and Metal Oxide Surge-Arrester.

5. WAVE TRAP

It is also called "LINE trap". It is connected in series with the power line. It blocks the high
frequency carrier waves (24 kHz to 500 kHz) and Wave trap is an instrument using for trapping
of the wave. The function of this wave trap is that it traps the unwanted waves. Its shape is like
a drum. It is connected to the main incoming feeder so that it can trap the waves which may be
dangerous to the instruments in the substation. Generally it is used to exclude unwanted
frequency components, such as noise or other interference, of a wave. It traps the high
frequency communication signals sent on the line from the remote substation and diverting
them to the telecom/tele protection panel in the substation control room through coupling
capacitor.

Wave Trap

This is relevant in Power Line Carrier Communication (PLCC) systems for communication
among various substations without dependence on the telecom

company network. The signals are primarily tele protection signals and in addition, voice and
data communication signals. The Line trap offers high impedance to the high frequency
communication signals thus obstructs the flow of these signals in to the substation bus bars. If
these are not present in the substation, then signal loss is more and communication will be
ineffective/probably impossible.

6. ISOLATOR

Isolators are the no load switches and used to isolate the equipment. (Either line equipment,
power transformer equipment or power transformer). With the isolators, we are able to see the
isolation of the equipment with our naked eye. The line isolators are used to isolate the high
voltage from flow through the line into the bus. This isolator prevents the instruments to get
damaged. It also allows the only needed voltage and rest is earthed by itself. Isolator is a type
of switching device. It has non control devices. Isolator are operated after the circuit breaker is
opened. While closing the circuit, first close the isolator and after the circuit breaker is closed.
Strictly speaking Isolators are operated under no current condition. In the following cases it is
permissible to use isolator for making and breaking of the circuits.

Air break isolators or disconnecting switches are not intended to break load though these are
meant for transfer of load from one bus to another and also to isolate equipment for
maintenance. These are available mainly in two types vertical break type and horizontal break
type. The later type requires larger width. However the space requirement can be reduced in
the horizontal break isolators by having double break with a centre rotating pillar.
 220 kV Isolators without Earth

Pantograph and semi-pantograph disconnects involve vertical movements of contact arm and
therefore require less separation between phases and thereby require less separation between
phases and thereby help in reducing the substation area to a larger extent. The isolators could
be operated mechanically or hydraulically or pneumatically or by electric motor. Earthing facility
shall be provided wherever required.

7. CIRCUIT BREAKER

The circuit breakers are used to break the circuit if any fault occurs in any of the instrument.
These circuit breaker breaks for a fault which can damage other instrument in the station. For
any unwanted fault over the station we need to break the line current. This is only done
automatically by the circuit breaker. These are load switches. It is able to make or break the
normal load current as well as the fault currents. The basic construction of any circuit breaker
requires the separation of contacts in an insulating fluid, which serves two functions. It
extinguishes the arc drawn between contacts when the CB opens and it provides adequate
insulation between the contacts and from each contact to earth.
For successful operation of the circuit breaker, two functions are to be performed. a) Operating
mechanism function, b) Arc quenching function. There are various operating mechanisms:
Spring charge mechanism, Pneumatic mechanism, Hydraulic Mechanism .

Arc quenching medium:

 Bulk oil (called bulk oil circuit breakers-BOCB)

 Minimum oil (called minimum oil circuit breakers-MOCB)
 Natural air (called air circuit breakers-ACB) (415v)
 Forced air (called air blast circuit breaker-ABCB)
 Vacuum (called vacuum circuit breaker-VCB)
 SF6 gas (called Sulphur Hexafluoride-SF6 gas CB)

The present trend is up to 33KV, VCBs are preferred and beyond 33KV, SF6 gas circuit
breakers are preferred.
 VCB is to be meggered periodically to know the healthiness of the vacuum interrupter and
the insulating pull rod. Vacuum integrity test is the correct test to know the healthiness of the
vacuum interrupter.
 SF6 gas pressure is to be noted in log sheets at least twice in a day. If it is reaching to SF6
gas pressure low alarm stage, it is to be brought to the notice of the maintenance
personnel.SF6 gas circuit breaker goes to lockout conditions after falling to lockout pressure
close and trip circuits will be blocked and circuit breaker operation can’t be performed N<0
contacts of 63GLX were used in close and trip circuits of the CB and 63GLX contactor is in
picked up conditions when the gas pressure is sufficient. Some of the SF6 gas circuit breaker
automatically trips while going to lockout stage N<C contacts of 63GLX contactor were used in
close and trip circuits and 63GLX is in drop off condition when the gas pressure is sufficient.

There are mainly two types of circuit breakers used for any substations. They are (a) SF6 circuit
breakers
(b) Vacuum circuit breakers.

SF6 Circuit Breakers:

Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) is an inert, heavy gas having good dielectric and arc extinguishing
properties. The dielectric strength of the gas increases with pressure and is more than the
dielectric strength of oil at 3 kg/cm2. SF6 is now being widely used in electrical equipment like
high voltage metal enclosed cables; high voltage metal clad switchgear, capacitors, circuit
breakers, current transformers, bushings, etc. The gas is liquefied at certain low temperature,
liquidification temperature increases with the pressure.
Sulphur hexafluoride gas is prepared by burning coarsely crushed roll sulphur in the fluorine
gas, in a steel box, provided with staggered horizontal shelves, each bearing about 4 kg of
sulphur. The steel box is made gas tight.
The use of SF6 circuit breaker is mainly in the substations which are having high input KV, say
above 220KV and more. The gas is put inside the circuit breaker by force i.e. under high
pressure. When if the gas gets decreases there is a motor connected to the circuit breaker. The
motor starts operating if the gas went lower than 20.8 bar. There is a meter connected to the
breaker so that it can be manually seen if the gas goes low. The circuit breaker uses the SF6
gas to reduce the torque produce in it due to any fault in the line. The circuit breaker has a
direct link with the instruments in the station, when any fault occur alarm bell rings.
 SF6 Circuit Breaker

Some of the properties of SF6

 Very high dielectric strength
 High thermal and chemical inertia
 Superior arc extinguishing capability
 Low decomposition by arcing

Vacuum circuit breakers:

Vacuum type of circuit breakers is used for small KV rated stations below 33KV. They are only
used in low distribution side.
A vacuum circuit breaker is a kind of circuit breaker where the arc quenching takes place in
vacuum medium. The operation of switching on and closing of current carrying contacts and
interrelated arc interruption takes place in a vacuum chamber in the breaker which is called
vacuum interrupter.
From the figure shown above, the Vacuum circuit breaker consists of a fixed contact, a moving
contact and a vacuum interrupter. The moving contact is connected to the control mechanism
by stainless steel bellow. The arc shields are supported o the insulating housing such that they
cover on these shields and is prevented from condensing on the insulating enclosure. The
possibility of a leak is eliminated due to permanent sealing of vacuum chamber for that a glass
vessel or ceramic vessel is used as the outer insulating body.

Working of  Vacuum Circuit Breaker

when the contacts are separated due to some abnormal conditions, an arc is struck between
the contacts, the arc is produced due to ionization of metal ions and depends very much on the
material of contacts.

e arc interruption in vacuum interrupters is different from other types of circuit breakers. The
separation of contacts causes the release of vapor which is filled in the contact space. It
consists positive ions liberated from contact material. The vapor density depends on the current
in the arc. When the current decreases, the rate of vapor release decreases and after current
zero, the medium regain its dielectric strength if the vapor density is reduced.
When current to be interrupted is very small in a vacuum, the arc has several parallel paths.
The total current is divided into many parallel arcs which repel each other and spread over the
contact surface. This is called diffused arc which can be interrupted easily.
 Advantages of VCB
Vacuum offers the utmost insulating strength. So it has extreme superior arc quenching
properties than any other medium.

 The vacuum circuit breaker has a long life.

 Unlike Oil Circuit Breaker (OCB) or air blast Circuit Breaker (ABCB), the explosion of
VCB is avoided. This enhances the safety of the operating personnel.
 No fire hazard
 The vacuum CB is fast in operation so ideal for fault clearing. VCB is suitable for
repeated operation.
 Vacuum circuit breakers are almost maintenance free.
 No exhaust of gas to the atmosphere and Noiseless operation.

Disadvantages of VCB

 The main disadvantage of VCB is that it is uneconomical at voltages exceeding 38

kVolts.
 The cost of the breaker becomes excessive at higher voltages. This is due to the fact
that at high voltages (above 38 kV) more than two numbers of the circuit breaker are required to
be connected in series.
 Moreover, the VCBs production is uneconomical if produced in small quantities.

Control Circuit of Circuit Breakers:-

 In closing circuit of the Circuit Breaker there are no. of series inter locks we can say that it is
an AND Gate and tripping circuit there are no.of parallel paths it is an OR Gate.

 For ‘closing’ the Circuit Breaker following conditions are to be met:

a) Local/Remote selector shall be in ‘Remote’ for closing the CB from remote and it shall be in
‘Local’ for closing the CB from Local.
b) Spring is in charged condition in spring type CBs, Air pressure shall be sufficient in
kinematic CBs and Hydraulic Pressure is sufficient in Aero shell fluid CBs.
c) SF6 Gas pressure is sufficient.
d) Master Trip is resettled.

 For tripping the circuit breaker

a) Local/Remote selector Switch shall be in ‘Remote’ for tripping the CB from Remote and it
shall be in ‘Local’ for tripping the CB from Local.
 b) SF6 Gas pressure is sufficient.
c) Air Pressure is sufficient/Hydraulic Pressure is sufficient.
d) Protection trip bypasses the local/Remote selector switch.

 Trip circuit healthiness is to be ensured immediately after closing the circuit breaker. It is to
be ensured at regular intervals at least once shift, as there is no trip circuit supervision relay
and annunciation relay for 33KV feeders and in case of old panels of 132KV feeders If any
deviation is found it is to be brought to the notice of maintenance personnel.


8. BUS BARS

In electric power distribution, a  busbar is a metallic strip or bar, typically housed

inside switchgear, panel boards, and busway enclosures for local high current power
distribution. They are also used to connect high voltage equipment at electrical switchyards,
and low voltage equipment in battery banks. They are generally uninsulated, and have sufficient
stiffness to be supported in air by insulated pillars. These features allow sufficient cooling of the
conductors, and the ability to tap in at various points without creating a new joint.

 The bus is a line in which the incoming feeders come into and get into the instruments for
further step up or step down. The first bus is used for putting the incoming feeders in a single
line.
 There may be double line in the bus so that if any fault occurs in the one the other can still
have the current and the supply will not stop. The two lines in the bus are separated by a little
distance by a conductor having a connector between them. This is so that one can work at a
time and the other works only if the first is having any fault.

9. INSULATORS
The metal which does not allow free movement of electrons or electric charge is called as an
insulator. Hence, insulators resist electricity with their high resisting property. There are different
types of insulators such as suspension type, strain type, stray type, shackle, pin type and so on.
A few types of insulators are shown in the above figure. Insulators are used for insulation
purpose while erecting electric poles with conductors to avoid short circuit and for other
insulation requirements.

Insulators

There are mainly three types of insulator used as overhead insulator likewise
1. Pin Insulator
2. Suspension Insulator
3. Strain Insulator

In addition to that there are other two types of electrical insulator available mainly for low
voltage application, i.e. Stay Insulator and Shackle Insulator.

P I N I N S U L AT O R
Pin Insulator is earliest developed overhead insulator, but still popularly used in power
network up to 33 KV system. Pin type insulator can be one part, two parts or three parts type,
depending upon application voltage. In 11 KV system we generally use one part type insulator
where whole pin insulator is one piece of properly shaped porcelain or glass.

POST INSULATOR

Post insulator is more or less similar to Pin insulator, but former is suitable for higher voltage
application. Post insulator has higher numbers of petticoats and has greater height. We can
mount this type of insulator on supporting structure horizontally as well as vertically. The
insulator is made of one piece of porcelain and it has clamp arrangement are in both top and
bottom end for fixing.

SUSPENSION INSULATOR

In higher voltage, beyond 33KV, it becomes uneconomical to use pin insulator because size,
weight of the insulator become more. Handling and replacing bigger size single unit insulator
are quite difficult task. For overcoming these difficulties, suspension insulator was developed.
In suspension insulator numbers of insulators are connected in series to form a string and the
line conductor is carried by the bottom most insulator. Each insulator of a suspension string is
called disc insulator because of their disc like shape.
STRAIN INSULATOR

When suspension string is used to sustain extraordinary tensile load of conductor it is referred
as string insulator. When there is a dead end or there is a sharp corner in transmission line,
the line has to sustain a great tensile load of conductor or strain. A strain insulator must have
considerable mechanical strength as well as the necessary electrical insulating properties.

10. RELAY
A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to mechanically
operate a switch, but other operating principles are also used, such as solid-state relays.
Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a separate low-power signal, or
where several circuits must be controlled by one signal. The first relays were used in long
distance telegraph circuits as amplifiers: they repeated the signal coming in from one circuit and
re-transmitted it on another circuit. Relays were used extensively in telephone exchanges and
early computers to perform logical operations.

TYPES OF REAY:
The relays used in power system protection are of different types:

DIFFERENTIAL RELAY

Differential relay is very commonly used relay for protecting transformers and generators from
localized faults.
 DIFFERENTIAL RELAY

Differential relays are very sensitive to the faults occurred within the zone of protection but
they are least sensitive to the faults that occur outside the protected zone. Most of the relays
operate when any quantity exceeds beyond a predetermined value for example over current
relay operates when current through it exceeds predetermined value. But the principle of
differential relay is somewhat different. It operates depending upon the difference between two
or more similar electrical quantities.
Hence a differential relay is one that operates when vector difference of the two or more
electrical quantities exceeds a predetermined value. If this differential quantity is equal or
greater than the pickup value, the relay will operate and open the circuit breaker to isolate the
fault section.

OVER CURRENT RELAY

In an over current relay, there would be essentially a current coil. When normal current flows
through this coil, the magnetic effect generated by the coil is not sufficient to move the moving
element of the relay, as in this condition the restraining force is greater than deflecting force.
But when the current through the coil increases, the magnetic effect increases, and after a
certain level of current, the deflecting force generated by the magnetic effect of the coil, crosses
the restraining force. As a result, the moving element starts moving to change the contact
position in the relay. Although there are different types of over current relays but basic working
principle of over current relay is more or less same for all.
 OVER CURRENT RELAY

This type of relay works when current in the circuit exceeds the predetermined value. The
actuating source is the current in the circuit supplied to the relay from a current transformer.
These relay are used on A.C. circuit only and can operate for fault flow in the either direction.
This relay operates when phase to phase fault occurs.

DIRECTIONAL RELAY
 DIRECTIONAL RELAY

This relay operates during earth faults. If one face touch the earth due to any fault. A directional
power relay is so designed that it obtains its operating torque by the interaction of magnetic field
derived from both voltage and current source of the circuit it protects. The direction of torque
depends upon the current relative to the voltage.

DIRECTIONAL RELAY
TRIPPING RELAY

This type of relay is in the conjunction with main relay. When main relay sense any faultin the
system, it immediately operates the trip relay to disconnect the faulty section from the section.

AUXILIARY RELAY

An auxiliary relay is used to indicate the fault by glowing bulb alert the employee.The
VAA/CAA type auxiliary relays are applied for control alarm, indication and other
auxiliary duties in AC or DC systems. CAA is a current operated and VAA is a voltage
operated relay.. it is attracted armature type.

11. FUSE
In electrical distribution, a fuse cutout or cut-out fuse is a combination of a fuse and a switch,
used in primary overhead feeder lines and taps to protect distribution
transformers from current surges and overloads. An over current caused by a fault in the
transformer or customer circuit will cause the fuse to melt, disconnecting the transformer from
the line. It can also be opened manually by utility linemen standing on the ground and using a
long insulating stick called a "hot stick".

A fuse is nothing more than a short length of wire designed to melt and separate in the event of
excessive current. Fuses are always connected in series with the component(s) to be protected
from over current, so that when the fuse blows (opens) it will open the entire circuit and stop
current through the component(s). A fuse connected in one branch of a parallel circuit, of
course, would not affect current through any of the other branches.
 FUSE

12. BUS COUPLER

The bus coupler consist of circuit breaker and isolator. Each generator and feeder may be
connected to either main bus bar or spar bus bar with the help of bus coupler. Repairing
maintenance and testing of feeder circuit or other section can be done by putting them on spar
bus bar,thus keeping the main bus bar undisturbed. Bus coupler is a device which is used to
switch from one bus to the other without any interruption in power supply and without creating
hazardous arcs. It is achieved with the help of ciruit breaker and isolator.
 BUS COUPLER

CONCLUSION

Now from this report one can conclude that electricity plays an important role in our life. At the
end of training, I came to know about the various parts of substation and how they are
operated. Also I learnt about how transmission is done in various part of the agra zone.
The training at Grid Substation is improve my understanding of electrical power transmission
and distribution. During the training period, I came to know that there is much difference in
theoretical understanding and practical approach to the subject.

As evident from the report a substation place a very important role in transmission system.
That’s why various protective measure are taken to protect the substation from various faults
and it’s smooth functioning. Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (DVVNL) takes such
steps so that a uniform and stable supply of electricity can reach in every part of agra zone.

INTRODUCTION
Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (DVVNL) is the company responsible for electricity
transmission and distribution within the Agra zone of state of Uttar Pradesh. For the
transmission various substations are made at different areas to distribute the required power
according to the demand customers. From DVVNL I allotted at 33/11KV site C Sikandra
substation, where I learnt about the functions and operations of a substation in power
transmission.

About 33/11 KV SIKANDRA SITE ‘C’ SUBSTATION

Sikandra 230 KV substation supplies 33 KV to the site C Sikandra substation which is
converted to 11 KV and supplied to the customers. There are two transformers of 10 MVA and
8 MVA are connected at the substation. The 10 MVA transformer has the three outgoings No. 1
, No. 2 and No. 3 and one is connected in spare and 8 MVA transformer has two outgoing No. 4
and No.5 and one extra remain in spare.
The main bus 33 KV is connected to grid. The transmission line first parallel connected with
lighting arrester, two diverge surge followed by CT & PT.
Switch gear equipment is provided which is the combination of circuit breaker having in isolator
at each end. The main bus is subdivided into two and parallel connected to two transformers of
10 MVA plus 8 MVA. At both ends of the transformers lighting arrester, current transformer and
switch gear equipment provided. Transformers steps down voltage from 33 KV to 11 KV. The
main bus is provided with switch gear equipment. The main bus is connected to protection
panels. This gives way to five feeders which further transmit power to the consumers in different
areas.
33 KV

10 MVA Transformer 8 MVA Transformer

11KV 11KV

FD1 FD2 FD3 SPARE FD4 FD5 SPARE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Practical knowledge is very important to develop and apply engineering

skills. It gives me a great pleasure to have an opportunity to acknowledge
and to express gratitude to those who were associated with me during my
training at Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (DVVNL) .

Special thanks to Mr. N.K. Verma Sir (JE/DVVNL) and Mr. S.K. Baghel
Sir for providing me with an opportunity to undergo training under his able
guidance and offering me a very deep knowledge of practical aspects of
industrial work culture.

I express my sincere thanks and gratitude to DVVNL authorities for

allowing me to undergo the training in this prestigious organization. I will
always remain indebted to them for their constant interest and excellent
guidance in my training work.

ANJALI SHARMA

CONTENTS

 INTRODUCTION
 ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION
 Functions
 Types
 Location Selection
 SINGLE LINE DIAGRAM OF SUBSTATION
 SUBSTATION PARTS & EQUIPMENTS
 SUBSTATION PROTECTION
 Substation Grounding/Earthing
 Earth Resistence
 Earth Wire
 COMPONENTS OF SUBSTATION
 Transformer & It’s Parts
 Current Transformer
 Potential Transformer
 Lightning Arrester
 Wave Trap
 Isolator
 Circuit Breaker
 Bus Bars
 Insulator
 Relay
 Fuse
 Bus Coupler
 CONCLUSION

DAYALBAGH EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE, DAYALBAGH, AGRA

(Deemed University)

At
 33/11 KV SITE C SIKANDRA SUBSTATION,

DAKSHINANCHAL VIDYUT VITARAN NIGAM LIMITED

(DVVNL)
Session: 2018-19

Submitted By:
ANJALI SHARMA
B.TECH. 3 rd Year
Electrical
Roll.No. 164083