Power System Protection

in an Electric Utility

2011 - March - 22

Daniel Wong
Self Introduction:

Daniel C.H. Wong, P.Eng., SMIEEE

Principal Engineer, Protection & Control
AltaLink Management Ltd.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Tel: (403) 267-2133

Email: daniel.wong@altalink.ca
Scope of Lecture

• Power System and Electric Load

• Power System Protection Objectives
• Protective Relay Technology
• Power System Faults
• Power System Protection Basic
• Protective Relay Requirements
• Protective Relay Functions
• Power System Protection Practice
• Power System Protection in Utility
• Protection and SCADA
• Future Outlook
• Q and A
Talking about …

Electricity
Event in Electrical History

1752
Benjamin
Franklin flew a kite
(with a metal key
attached) during a
lightning storm to
investigate the
relationship between
lightning and electricity
Event in Electrical History

1882
Thomas Edison
started the operation of
his Pearl Street
generating station in
New York
He promoted the dc
(direct current) system
Event in Electrical History

1886
George
Westinghouse
started the first commercial
power system in Great
Barrington, Massachusetts
He promoted the ac
(alternating current) system
Event in Electrical History

1886
George Westinghouse
founded the
Westinghouse Electric Company

1890
Thomas Edison
founded the
General Electric Company
Talking about …

Power System
Electric Power System

Generation System (Genco)

Transmission System (Transco)

Distribution System (Disco)

Electric Power System

Generation Transmission Distribution

Talking about …

Electric Load
Electric Power

• Real Power
W, kW, MW

• Reactive (or Imaginary) Power

VAR, kVAR, MVAR

• Total Power
VA, kVA, MVA A
M V MVAR
θ
MW
Electric Load

• Residential
• Commercial
• Industrial
Electric Load

Residential Load
• Lighting
• Space Heating & Ventilation
• Appliances
• Air Conditioning
Electric Load

Commercial Load
• Lighting
• Air Conditioning
• Space Heating & Ventilation
• Refrigeration, Water Supply
Electric Load

Industrial Load
• Lighting & Heating
• Pumps, Fans & Compressors
• Material Handling
• Material Processing
Electric Load

In North America
• 70% of the Electric Load is Motor Load

• Majority of the motors are induction

motors with poor power factor

A
MV MVAR
θ
MW
Talking about …

Power System
Protection
Objectives
What is Power System Protection ???

• Protect Life & Property

• Black Art, not an Exact Science

• Serve as Insurance Policy

Objectives of Power System Protection

To protect personnel from electrical hazards by

removing equipment from service in the event of
failure (i.e. to maintain safety to personnel and
public).

To de-energize equipment quickly in the event of

failure, in order to minimize damage to the
equipment and/or property.

To prevent equipment damage from overloads.

To allow quick restoration back into service

following removal of transient or temporary faults
(i.e. to restore full capacity).
Objectives of Power System Protection

To isolate faulted equipment so that service can be

restored to the remainder of the system.

To minimize disturbances or interference to the

normal operation of the power system by clearing
faults promptly.

To provide incipient type detection in order to

prevent more serious failure (e.g. transformer gas
and thermal protection).

To provide alarms such that corrective actions can

be taken in order to prevent system troubles.
Simplest Form of Protection

Overcurrent Protection: Fuses

Simplest Form of Protection

Overcurrent Protection: Single

Phase Distribution Transformer with Fuse
Simplest Form of Protection

Overcurrent
Protection:

Time Current
Curves
(TCC) for a
10K Fuse Link
Talking about …

Protective
Relay
Technology
Protective Relay

ELECTRICAL RELAY
A device designed to produce sudden predetermined
changes in one or more electrical circuits AFTER the
appearance of certain conditions in the electrical circuit or
circuits controlling it

PROTECTIVE RELAY
A relay designed to initiate disconnection of a part of an
electrical installation or to operate a warning signal, in the
case of a fault or other abnormal condition in the
installation
(A protective relay may include more than one electrical relay
and accessories.)
Evolution of Relay Technology

Early 1900 - Electromechanical Relays

Mid 1960 - Discrete Solid State Relays

Mid 1970 - Integrated (Analog) Electronic Relays

Early 1980 - Microprocessor Based (Digital) Relays

Mid 1980 - Numeric (Digital Computer Based) Relays

Electromechanical Relay

GE
Over-
Current
Relay
Discrete Solid State Relay

Westinghouse Overcurrent Relay SCO

Integrated (Analog) Electronic Relay
GEC Distance Relay PYTS
Microprocessor Based (Digital) Relay

GEC
Distance
Relay
MicroMho
Numeric (Digital Computer Based) Relay

GE PM Feeder Protection

F60

760 F35
Talking about …

Power System
Faults
(Short Circuits)
Power System Faults:

For a Three-Phase Power System,

Fault Types are as follows:

• Single Line to Ground Fault

• Line to Line Fault

• Double Line to Ground Fault

• Three Phase Fault

Power System Faults:

For Overhead Power Lines,

Fault Occurrences are as follows:

• L - G Fault 85 %

• L - L Fault 8%

• L - L - G Fault 5%

• L - L - L Fault 2 % or less
Power System Faults:

Mid-1950 Utility-wide Survey on

Distribution Circuit Faults:
Cause of Fault % Fault Location %
Wind and trees 46.0 In span 77.0
Lightning 19.0 Pole top 23.0
Equipment/wiring failures 11.0
Human error 9.0 Nature of Fault %
Contamination or glaze 6.0 Temporary (Non-persistent) 61.0
Snow 1.5 Permanent (Persistent) 39.0
Foreign objects 1.5 (Note: 1/3 of permanent faults
Other causes 6.0 were initially temporary)

Average Fault Rate: 16.4 faults / 100 circuit miles / year

Talking about …

Power System
Protection
Basics
Power System Protection Basic

Power System Protection:

• Under/Over Frequency
• Under/Over Voltage
• Power Swing Blocking/Tripping
• Wide Area Protection
• Etc …

Power System Element Protection:

• Generator Protection
• Transformer Protection
• Bus Protection
• Line Protection
• Etc ...
Zones of Protection

PROTECTED ZONE
The portion of a power system
protected by a given protective
relaying system
Zones of Protection
Protected Zones:

Generator &
Unit Transformer

Bus

Transmission
Line

Station
Transformer

Bus

Line/Feeder
Fault Clearing Zone

FAULT Clearing Zone

• The portion of a power system
de-energized by the opening of a
fault interrupting device which
has been operated by a protective
relay output

• Fault clearing zone may not be

the same as the protected zone
depending on the location of the
fault interrupting device
Fault Isolation

FAULT Isolation
• To isolate a portion of a power
system by the opening of a
switching device which has been
operated by a protective relay
output

• Fault isolating zone may not be

the same as the Fault clearing
zone depending on the location of
the fault isolating device
Protected Zone, Fault Clearing & Isolation

138 kV Transmission Lines

Fault Clearing

96 96 96

21B 21B 21B

79 79 79

21A 21A 21A

87
138 kV
Fault Isolation M

50
51

Protected Zone 138 kV

87

25 kV
(Transformer Differential)

25 kV

50 79 50 79 50 79
51 51 51
Unit Protection VS Non Unit Protection

Unit Protection:
• Protection with a definite protected zone (usually
defined by the locations of CT’s)
• Operates for faults within the protected zone
• Does not operate for faults outside the protected
zone
• Does not provide Back Up for other protections
• Example: Differential Protection

Non Unit Protection:

• No definite protected zone
• Protective coverage depends on settings
• Usually provides Back Up for other protections
• Examples: Overcurrent and Distance Protections
Talking about …

Protective
Relay
Requirements
Basic Requirements of Protective Relay

1. Dependability
2. Security
3. Speed
4. Selectivity
5. Sensitivity
6. Maintenance
7. Simplicity
8. Economy
Relay Requirement: Dependability

Dependability

A measure of the certainty

that a required operation is
completed correctly.
Relay Requirement: Security

Security

A degree of certainty that a

false operation does not
occur when no operation is
required.
Relay Requirement: Speed

Speed

• How fast does the device operate

• To avoid loss of stability
• To prevent prolonged disturbances
• To reduce amount of damage
caused by fault
Relay Requirement: Selectivity

Selectivity

Always detects and operates for

faults within its operating zone and
does not operate for faults outside
this zone
Relay Requirement: Sensitivity

Sensitivity

How sensitive is the device?

What is the minimum input level
required to operate the device?
Relay Requirement: Maintenance

Maintenance

• To facilitate testing and maintenance

• To allow easy access for trouble-
shooting
Relay Requirement: Simplicity

Simplicity

• To use minimum equipment and

circuitry
• Ease of application, installation,
testing and maintenance
• Minimize risk of equipment failure
or human errors
Relay Requirement: Economy

Economy

Best and most reliable

device at minimum cost
(especially Life Cycle cost)
Talking about …

Protective
Relay
Functions
Protective Relay: Device Numbers

21 = Distance Relay

50 = Instantaneous Overcurrent Relay

51 = Time Overcurrent Relay

79 = Auto-Reclosing Relay

87 = Differential Relay

96 = Breaker Failure Protection Relay

(Some Utilities use 95)
Protective Relay: Device Number List

No. Definition No. Definition

1 Master Element 26 Apparatus thermal device
2 Time-delay starting, or closing relay 27 Undervoltage relay
3 Checking or interlocking relay 28 Flame detector
4 Master contactor 29 Isolating contactor
5 Stopping device 30 Annunciator relay
6 Starting circuit breaker 31 Separate excitation device
7 Anode circuit breaker 32 Directional power relay
8 Control power disconnecting device 33 Position switch
9 Reversing device 34 Master sequence device
10 Unit sequence switch 35 Brush-operating, or slip-ring-short-circuiting, device
11 Future application 36 Polarity or polarizing voltage device
12 Over-speed device 37 Undercurrent or underpower relay
13 Synchronous-speed device 38 Bearing protective device
14 Under-speed device 39 Mechanical condition monitor
15 Speed or frequency, matching device 40 Field relay
16 Future application 41 Field circuit breaker
17 Shunting or discharge switch 42 Running circuit breaker
18 Accelerating or decelerating device 43 Manual transfer or selector device
19 Starting-to-running transition contactor 44 Unit sequence starting relay
20 Electrically operated valve 45 Atmospheric condition monitor
21 Distance relay 46 Reverse-phase, or phase-balance, current relay
22 Equalizer circuit breaker 47 Phase-sequence voltage relay
23 Temperature control device 48 Incomplete sequence relay
24 Future application 49 Machine, or transformer, thermal relay
25 Synchronizing or synchronism-check device 50 Instantaneous overcurrent, or rate-of-rise relay
Protective Relay: Device Number List

No. Definition No. Definition

51 Ac time overcurrent relay 76 Dc overcurrent relay
52 Ac circuit breaker 77 Pulse transmitter
53 Exciter or dc generator relay 78 Phase angle measuring, or out-of-step protective relay
54 High-speed dc circuit breaker 79 Ac reclosing relay
55 Power factor relay 80 Flow Switch
56 Field application relay 81 Frequency relay
57 Short-circuiting or grounding device 82 Dc reclosing relay
58 Rectification failure relay 83 Automatic selective control or transfer relay
59 Overvoltage relay 84 Operating mechanism
60 Voltage or Current balance relay 85 Carrier or pilot-wire receiver relay
61 Current balance relay (old standard) 86 Locking-out relay
62 Time-delay stopping or opening relay 87 Differential protective relay
63 Pressure switch 88 Auxiliary motor or motor generator
64 Ground protective relay 89 Line switch
65 Governor 90 Regulating device
66 Notching or jogging device 91 Voltage directional relay
67 Ac directional overcurrent relay 92 Voltage and power directional relay
68 Blocking relay 93 Field changing contactor
69 Permissive control device 94 Tripping or trip-free relay
70 Rheostat 95 Specific application
71 Level switch 96 Specific application
72 Dc circuit breaker 97 Specific application
73 Load-resistor contactor 98 Specific application
74 Alarm relay 99 Specific application
75 Position changing mechanism
Protective Relay: Most Used Protective Functions

Overcurrent (50/51):
• Required Inputs: Current

Differential (87):
• Required Inputs: Current

Impedance or Distance (21):

• Required Inputs: Current, Voltage
Talking about …

Power System
Protection
Practice
Requirements of Protection System
• Fault Clearing Speed
• Fault Interrupting Capability
• Redundancy
Current Transformer, Voltage Transformer
Protective Relays, Tele-protection Channels
• Local Backup
• Remote Backup
• Protection Coordination
• Robustness
System Designs, Trip/Close Circuits
DC Supply, Grounding, Shielding
(Also refers to the abilities to perform correctly over
a full range of expected steady-state and dynamic
system conditions)
Protection Application: Criteria/Guidelines

NEED STATEMENT (Why are Criteria/Guidelines required?):

• To provide some uniform approach to apply Protective Relaying

PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS ARE DETERMINED BY:

• Nature of the Power System
• Power System Stresses caused by faults/failures
• Likelihood of faults
• Types of faults
• Effects of faults

PROTECTION CRITERIA/GUIDELINES ARE BASED UPON:

• Years of Utilities Operating Experience
• Protective Relay failure rate
• Consequences of Protective Relay failure
• Economic justification
Protection Application: Criteria/Guidelines

Definition:
‘A’ or ‘B’ Primary Protection:

• Relay (or group of relays) which

function as a unit

• Protect a Power System Element

Completely
Protection Application: Criteria/Guidelines

Definition:
‘S’ Secondary Protection:
• Relay (or group of relays) which function as a
unit
• Protect a Power System Element
• Do not perform ALL Primary Protection
Functions
• Must coordinate with Primary Protection
• Operate ONLY when Primary Protection has
failed
Protective Relay: Overcurrent Protection

138 kV Transmission Lines

Overcurrent Protection: 96 96 96

87B 21B 21B

• Current Input 87A

79

21A
79

21A
79

• Non Unit Protection 87

138 kV
• No Definite Protected Zone M

• Require Protection Coordination 50

51

• Provide Back Up for Others

138 kV
87

• Application: 25 kV

- Transformer Overcurrent
- Feeder Overcurrent 25 kV

50 50 50
51 79 51 79 51 79

25 kV Distribution Feeders
Protective Relay: Differential Protection

138 kV Transmission Lines

Differential Protection: 96 96 96

87B 21B 21B

• Current Input 87A

79

21A
79

21A
79

• Unit Protection 87
138 kV
• Definite Protected Zone M

• No Coordination Required 50
51

• No Back Up Provided for Others

138 kV
87

• Application: 25 kV

- Transformer Differential
- Bus Differential 25 kV

- Line Differential 50
51 79
50
51 79
50
51 79

25 kV Distribution Feeders
Protective Relay: Distance Protection

138 kV Transmission Lines

Distance Protection: 96 96 96

87B 21B 21B

• Current Input 87A

79

21A
79

21A
79

• Voltage Input 87
138 kV
• Directional M

• Non Unit Protection 50

51

• No Definite Protected Zone

138 kV
87

• Require Protection Coordination 25 kV

• Provide Back Up for Others

• Application:
25 kV

50 50 50
51 79 51 79 51 79

- Line Distance
25 kV Distribution Feeders
Protective Relay: Distance Protection

138 kV Transmission Lines

Distance Protection: 96 96 96

87B 21B 21B

• Also Known As Impedance Protection 87A

79

21A
79

21A
79

• Current Input 87
138 kV
• Voltage Input M

• Impedance = Voltage/Current, (Z=V/I) 50

51

• Line Impedance:
138 kV
Proportional to Line Distance 25 kV
87

25 kV

50 50 50
51 79 51 79 51 79

25 kV Distribution Feeders
Talking about …

Power System
Protection
in Utility
4 Aspects of System Protection

Protection Setting
Protection Design
Protection Performance
Protection Application
4 Aspects of System Protection

Protection Setting:
• Fault Calculations
• Power System (Model) Base Cases
• Protective Device Settings
• Protection Coordination
• Protective Device Data Base
4 Aspects of System Protection

Protection Design:
• Design Standards (e.g. Device Numbers)
• AC Control Single Line Diagram
• DC Control Single Line Diagram
• Panel Layout (including Drilling Details)
• Protection & Control Logic Diagram
• Protection & Control Circuit Design
• DC Supply &Test Switches Design
4 Aspects of System Protection

Protection Performance:
• Device Maintenance & Testing Requirements
• Device Maintenance & Testing Procedures
• Device Maintenance & Testing Tools
• Maintenance & Test Records
• Device Operating Records
• Device Defect Reports (Interaction with suppliers)
• Device Performance Records
• Device Parts & Spares Requirements/Records
4 Aspects of System Protection

Protection Application:
• Protection & Control Philosophies
• Standard Utilities P & C Practices
• Protection Application Guidelines (Corporate)
• Protection Scheme Requirements
• Tele-protection Requirements
• Protective Device Acceptance & Approval
• Influence to Protection Settings, Design &
Performance
• Protection & Control Planning (with cost
considerations)
Protection: Development Progression

Protection Protection
Setting Design

Protection
Performance

Protection
Application
Internal working relationships …

Protection & Control (P&C) Team

need to interface and collaborate
with:
• System Planning
• Project Engineering
• Field Operations
• System Operations
• Information Technology
• Safety and Health
• Purchasing and Inventory Control
External working relationships …

Protection & Control (P&C) Team

need to interface and collaborate
with:
• Utility Regulators
• Independent System Operator (AESO)
• Interconnected Utilities
• Equipment Vendors
• Consultants and Contractors
• Learning Institutes
Talking about …

Protection
and
SCADA
Protection VS Control

Protection: Control (SCADA):

I/O: Stable I/O: Various, Changes

Speed: msec (sub-cycle) Speed: sec, 10’s, 100’s sec

Execution Time: constant & Execution Time: can vary from

repeatable operation to operation

Scheme: Stable for a long Scheme: Logic & Hardware

time until system change change over time

First Detection: Critical First Detection: Less Critical,

Second Scan is acceptable
Talking about …

Future
Outlook
SMART GRID
 SMART GRID
Essentials:
• Smart people, Smart Technologies, Smart Policies

Smart Transmission:
• Reliable, Efficient, Intelligent, Cost Effective, Sustainable

Smart Grid Applications in Transmission:

• Timely detection and response to system trouble
• Optimal power flow and power transfer
• Reduction in power system losses
• Just-in-time maintenance
• Clever interconnection for renewable sources
• Large scale energy storage
Open for
Questions
Daniel Wong