Chapter 1

KARNATAKA POWER TRANSMISSION

CORPORATION LIMITED
INTRODUCTION
The Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited, also known as KPTCL, is the sole
electricity transmission and distribution company in state of Karnataka. It’s origin was in
Karnataka Electricity Board. Until 2002, the Karnataka Electricity Board (KEB) handled
electricity transmission and distribution across the state. It was then broken up, with
Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) established to manage the
transmission business. This electricity transmission and distribution entity was corporatized to
provide efficient and reliable electric power supply to the people of Karnataka state. KPTCL
scope of work includes the handling of large projects in the field of energy.
The Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited is a registered company wholly
owned by the government of Karnataka. It was found on 18-1999 by carving out the
transmission and distribution functions of erstwhile Karnataka electricity board (KEB).
KPTCL is mainly wested with the function’s transmission and distribution of power in the
entire state of Karnataka and construction of stations and transmission lines and maintenance
of 400/220/110/66KV Sub-station. It purchases power mainly from Karnataka Power
Corporation Limited and transmits it to Distribution companies enduring minimum loses.

Figure kptcl logo

HISTORY
The erstwhile Mysore State had the enviable and glorious position of establishing the first
major hydro-electric generating station at Shivasamudramas early as 1902 for commercial
operation. The art at that time was still in its infancy, even in the advanced countries. The
longest transmission line, at the highest voltage in the world, was constructed to meet the
power needs of mining operations at Kolar Gold Fields The generating capacity of the
Shivasamudram Power House gradually increased to 42 MW in stages. To meet the
increasing demand for power, the Shimsha Generating Station, with an installed capacity of
17.2 M.W, was commissioned in the year 1938. The power demand was ever on the increase,
for industries and rural electrification, and additions to generating became imperative. The 1st
stage of 48 MW and 2nd stage of 72 MW of the Mahatma Gandhi Hydro-Electric Station
were commissioned during 1948 and 1952, respectively. Subsequently, the Bhadra Project,
with an installed capacity of 33.2 MW, and the Thungabhadra Left Bank Power House, with
an installed capacity of 27MW at Munirabad were commissioned during 1964 and 1965,
respectively. The State of Karnataka, with availability of cheap electric power, and other
infrastructure facilities, was conducive for increased tempo of industrial activity. It became
necessary therefore, to augment power generating capacity by harnessing the entire potential
of the Sharavathi Valley. The first unit of 89.1MW was commissioned in 1964 and completed
in 1977.The demand for power saw a phenomenal increase in the mid-sixties and onwards
with the setting up of many public sector and private industries in the State. As power
generation in the State was entirely dependent on monsoon and was subject to its vagaries,
the State Government set up a coal-based power plant at Raichur. The present installed
capacity of the power plant at Raichur is1260 MWs.To augment the energy resources of the
State, the Kalinadi Project with an installed capacity of 810MW at Nagjhari Power House
and 100 MW at SupaDam Power House, with an energy potential of 4,112 Mkwh, were set
up. The transmission and distribution system in the State was under the control of the
Government of Karnataka (then Mysore) till the year 1957. In the year 1957, Karnataka
Electricity Board was formed and the private distribution companies were amalgamated with
Karnataka Electricity Board. Till the year 1986, KEB.

ABOUT KPTCL
As per now Karnataka has, and counting.
VOLTAGE LEVEL NO OF STATIONS TRANSMISSION LINE
400KV 5 3544
220KV 101 11279
110KV 413 10509
66KV 637 10792
33KV 358 8931
1514 45056

The various Karnataka wings of KPTCL are as follows:

 Corporate Office at kaveri Bhavan,Bangalore
 Six Transmission zones(Bangalore,Mysore,Tumkur,Hassan,Baglkot,Gulburga)
 State load Dispatch centre
 SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquistion)
Annual turnover of the organisation was nearly Rs. 3380crores during the year 2016-2017
To facilitate power from PGCL (Power Grid Cooperation of India).KPTCL isestablishing
765/400/220 Kv substations near Kudgi with associated 765 and400 Kv transmission lines.
Taking cue from failure of grid in 2012 which affected larger part of the northIndia forcing
total blackout for almost two days, KPTCL is planning to improvesecurity of grid at the cost
of 77 46 Crore within end of 2019.
Working together with KPCL and Distribution companies; KPTCL is dedicatedto provide a
quality power to consumers by enduring minimum losses.
Zones of KPTCL in Karnataka
Zone Name Description Logo
MESCOM Mangalore Electricity Supply Company

BESCOM Bangalore Electricity Supply Company

HESCOM Hubali Electricity Supply Company

GESCOM Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company

CESCOM Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply

Company
Chapter 2

SUPERVISIORY CONTROL & DATA ACQUISITIONS

Introduction
A formal definition of SCADA system, as recommended by IEEE is “A collection of
equipment that will provide an operator at a remote location with sufficient information to
determine the status of particular equipment or a process and cause actions to take place
regarding that equipment or process without being physically present”. According to
abbreviation of SCADA, Supervision, Control and Data Acquisition are the main tasks to be
carried out at every substation.

➢Supervision - of the incoming line, Feeders, Control and Relay Panels (C&R panel)

➢Control - Switch gear

➢ Data Acquisition - such as Voltage (phase), current (phase), active and reactive power,
frequency etc.
Supervision, Control and Data Acquisition is done by installing ABB’s RTU560A which
consists of all facilities that is required for automation. In old substation there was need to
acquire data from existing equipment. Renewing all equipment or replacing old equipment by
new equipment will increase cost. Hence to automate the existing substation RTU560A is
integrated. SCADA system comprises of

➢Field instrumentations such as current transformer, potential transformer, transformers,

circuit breakers, relays, Control and Relay panel, and Remote Terminal Unit.

➢Communication infrastructure connecting the supervisory system to the RTUs through

LAN and VSAT

➢Control Centre - Master Control Centre and Area Load Dispatch Centre
 Figure :Components of SCADA system
As shown in the below block diagram, the C & R panels/switchgears housed in electrical sub-
station send all the analog & digital data to remote terminal unit via cables and this in turn is
processed by processors at RTU. These processed electrical data are transmitted to SCADA
control centre through satellite communication. VSAT

It consists of 16 control centres, which includes the Main Control Centres(MCC), a Disaster
Recovery Centre (DRMCC), Area Load Dispatch Centres(ALDC) for the Transmission
Zones and Distribution Control Centres (DCC)for the ESCOMs. All the Transmission RTUs
communicate to MCC-1 & Distribution RTUs communicate to MCC-2. The total system is

Existing
SCADA Mater Control
Substation
RTU 560A Center MCC
110/11kV
configured with 72 servers and 115operator workstations. Communication is on an owned
VSAT HUB and leased lines for Inter control centre communication.
BLOCK DIAGRAM:

Figure : General Block diagram of Implementation SCADA at 110/11Kv

According to abbreviation of SCADA, Supervision, Control And Data acquisition are the
main tasks to be carried out at every substation. Supervision -of the incoming line, Control
and Relay Panels (C&R panel), Control - Switchgear and data acquisition - such as Voltage
(phase), current (phase), active and reactive power, frequency etc. Table 1 gives information
about parameters, input and output, relation of these with SCADA at 110/11 kV substations
CONTROL AND RELAY PANEL:
Control and Relay Panel is one of the field instrumentation which belong to the conventional
systems which is integrated with the RTU560A for automating the substation. Control and
Relay Panel is mainly for metering, annunciation, mimic/indications and protection purposes.
Major Compartments / Components of Control Relay Panel:
Metering
The metering panel incorporates measuring instruments such as ammeter, voltmeter, KW
meter / kVar meter, energy meter, frequency meter and power factor meter for current,
voltage, energy, frequency or power factor.
Annunciation/Alarms
12 Window annunciators are provided in each control panel by means of visual and audible
alarm to draw attention of the operator to the abnormal operation or operation of the
protective devices or for specific fault indication.
12 Annunciations are:
 Distance protection operated
 Back up OCR protection operated
 Back up distance protection
 CB lockout SF6 protection low
 CB SF6 protection low
 CB TC1 circuit faulty
 Power swing block
 Conductor broken
 Weak end infeed
 VT fuse fail
  Distance relay healthy
 CB circuit faulty
Mimic diagram/indications
It is a Coloured graphic character presenting one line diagrams of electric circuits with
dynamic representation of ON/OFF indication for circuit breakers, relative position of
isolator switches etc. with LED position indicators at appropriate location. Indications such
as, Isolator open/close, circuit breaker auto trip, circuit breaker open/close, circuit breaker
spring charged and earths witch open/close are located in the mimic one line diagram. Non-
discrepancy type T-N-C (Trip-Neutral-Close) switch is mounted for remote operation of
circuit breaker. The switch shall be mounted in the mimic diagram such that the stay-put ('N')
position will render the continuity of the mimic.
Protection relays
Over current relay, Earth fault relay, Distance protection relay, Differential relay, REF
protection relay are equipped for fault protection of system operation. They are designed and
applied to provide maximum discrimination between faulty and healthy circuits. System
equipment will remain inoperative during transient phenomena which may arise during
switching or other disturbance to the system.
Optocoupler
It is basically an interface between two circuits i.e. RTU and instruments in C &R Panel
which operate at different voltage levels. This is necessary for the coupling between high
voltage information gathering C & R Panel and low-voltage digital logic RTU.

Figure :Optocoupler

All the metering, annunciation, status indication data from 110V DC analog Control and
Relay Panel is converted, voltage isolated and transmitted to 48Vdigital RTU. All the
required circuits are connected to the 8 inputs of the Optocoupler and one output from
Optocoupler is connected to RTU560A DI card. It only allows signal flow in one direction,
responds to dc levels, and offer an extremely large resistance between the input and output
circuits.
Terminal blocks (TBs)
Required number of disconnecting type TBs are used to terminate all the internal wiring to be
connected to the external equipment. All TBs are arranged for easy identification of its
usages such as CT circuits, PT circuits, analog inputs, status inputs, control outputs, auxiliary
power supply circuits etc. All equipment on and inside the panels are mounted and
completely wired to the terminal blocks ready for external connection. All the data from
Control and Relay Panel will be transferred to RTU via cables from TB.

SCADA EQUIPMENT:
 At 110/11kV city substation, consists of the following SCADA equipments.They are :
1. RTU 560A along with IF panel.
2. VSAT
 Antenna
 IDU
 8 port switch
 telephone3. 2 kVA UPS (Power One make) along with
 8 No of 100Ah, 12V cells
 Battery stand
 ACDB
RTU 560A
RTU 560A of make A.B.B. Private Limited is used in SCADA system to automate the
conventional substations. It is a multi-processor architecture combined with the support of the
full software functionality of the RTUtil560 provide the perfect solution for application in
transmission substation. It is ahigh speed microprocessor controlled electronic device that are
installed at remote sites such as primary/secondary substations that interfaces substation
standalone data acquisition and control unit which continuously transmits data derived from
various field devices for any changes such as alarms, status of circuit breakers and isolators to
the control centre and controls the addressed device within the substation on the basis of
commands received from Master control centre. So, it can be called as two-way equipment
with the SCADA system. It is a hardware of SCADA systems and acts as a communication
device that keeps updating the status of the field equipment continuously and simultaneously
executing the commands from the Master Control centre. The RTU connects to physical
equipment. Typically, an RTU converts the electrical signals from the equipment to digital
values such as the open/closed status from a switch or a value, or measurements such as
pressure, flow, voltage or current. By converting and sending these electrical signals out to
equipment the RTU can control equipment Transmission and distribution networks are
frequently being expanded, often resulting in more complex networks. The task of monitoring
and controlling the energy transportation in order to achieve an economical operation, ABB’s
solution for transmission and distribution application requirement is Remote.

Terminal Unit system RTU560. Within the RTU560 family the communication unit and the
I/O board family is a hardware system based on standard European format cards. To meet the
requirements for typical medium stations with only some communication links on one side
and large or modern stations with a higher number of IEDs on the other side, the RTU560,
based on European format cards, is available in two versions.

RTU 560A for configurations with higher demands on communications links. The parallel
wired process interface is still part of the configuration.
 Basic Rack

EX.rack-1

EX.rack-2

MIC Annunciation

AC/DC
converters

MCB’s

Figure RTU

RTU 560C for typical stations with a parallel wired process interface and some
communication links only.
Features of RTU 560A
 4 serial communication interfaces for host communication
 32 MB Flash Memory
 8 MB RAM
 Web Server
 PC104 module with CPU 486/66MHz
 PLC capable
The SCADA RTU560A small ruggedized computer, which provides intelligence in the field.
It allows the central SCADA master to communicate with the field instruments. It is stand-
alone data acquisition and control unit. Its function is to control process equipment at the
remote site such as to open or close the circuit breakers. It acquires data from the equipment
and transfers the data back to the central SCAD system. It consists of Basic rack (top rack)
with CPU and communication ports, Extension rack 1 (2nd rack) with Digital Input card (DI)
Analog Input card (AI)and Analog Output card (AO). Digital Output card (DO) at Extension
rack 2(3rd rack) and each rack is supported by separate power supply cards. For load alarm
annunciation, there is rack called SCADA annunciation panel.
Basic rack:
Basic Rack or the Communication Sub Rack houses the brain of the RTU. It consists of a
number of slots into which a set of “Cards” are mounted as shown in the figure. The Cards
are the CPUs of the RTU. They help in coordinating the flow of data from and into the RTU.
These CPUs are of two types: 3 no. of CMU (Communication unit) Card -560SLI 01 or
560CMU 04 and 2 no. of ETH (Ethernet) Cards - 560ETH01

Communication unit (CMU) Card acts as an interface between the RTU and the IEDs
(Intelligent Electronic Devices) like protection relays, multifunction meters and battery
charger. It consecutively reads data in and out of the IEDs such as Numerical Relays present
on the C&R Panel or MFTs placed on the MFT panel of the RTU. It communicates with the
IEDs through four ports I i.e A, B, 1 and 2 which are RS485 type and RS232. Each CPU
communication board has an additional serial interface for MMI to a PC which are RS232
type. The MMI is used for diagnostics, up and download of configuration files, etc.

Figure :Basic Rack consisting of 3 CMU and 2 Ethernet cards

The Ethernet card controls the process events and communications with the Control Centre. It
continually reads the data from the Extension Racks, the CMU cards and sends it to the
control centre. The ETH card has a port marked by “E” used by the RTU to communicate to
the Master control centre. The ETH is connected to the Extension Rack through port A or B,
called COM A and COM B. It also has an MMI port similar to the one present in the CMU
card.The ETH and the CMU cards communicate with each other through a dedicated
communication channel present on the back plane of the Basic Rack. It has the ability to
manage and control the input/output boards through RS232/485interfaces, reads process
events from input boards, send commands to output boards and communicates with control
centres via integrated serial line interface and Ethernet LAN interface.
Extension rack 1 and 2:
It is a place, where Input/output Modules are placed. Similar to the structure of the Basic
Rack, the Extension rack 1 has 12 slots into which 8 numbers of DI cards, 3 numbers of AI
cards and 1 number of AO card are inserted. In Extension rack 2 only 5 numbers of DO cards
and 1 MIC card are inserted. It communicates only with the ETH card of the Basic Rack. The
communication ports of both the extension racks are looped with the one succeeding it. As
mentioned before, the extension rack is connected to the ETH Card through port A or B. The
function of the input modules is to send the status of the equipment present in the station to
the MCC. The function of the output modules is to control the status of the equipment from
the MCC.
Digital input card (DI card):

Figure: Digital input cards

Status indication from control & relay panel are given to 8 binary input Digital card (DI) card
- 23BE23 located in extension rack 1. Scanning and processing of the inputs are executed
with the high time resolution of 1ms. One DI card have 16 channels, which can be used for
connecting the status of field devices as an indication to MCC. The board has sixteen light
emitting diodes to indicate the signal-state, Each LED indicates ON/OFF status of an input
connected to particular channel of the DI card. It has a buffer which allows the temporary
storage of 50 time-stamped event messages in chronological order designated for
transmission to the communication unit.

The DI card shall accept two types of status inputs i.e. Single point status input sand Double
point status inputs. Single point status input will be from normally-open (NO) or normally-
closed (NC) contact which is represented by1bit in the protocol message. The Double point
status input will be from two complementary contacts (one NO and one NC) which is
represented by 2-bits in the protocol message. A switching device status is valid only when
one contact is closed and the other contact is open.
 Figure: Connection of DI card to C&R Panel
Analog input card (AI card):

Figure: AI Card
At substation 3 numbers of analog input card 23AE23 located in extension rack1of RTU is
interfaced to station battery and transformers tap positions of the field, to continuously
monitor battery voltage and tap positions. The 23AE23 board records up to eight analog
measured values. It gives the Analog value of the signal. It has 8 channels on which eight
signals can be configured. The input to a channel in the AI card is a 4-20ma dc current, which
is proportional output from DC transducer required to measure DC voltages of station battery
and status indications of transformer tap position in a RTCC panel, which in turn are sent to
CMU cards for further processing.

Analog output card (AO card):

Via the Analog output board 23AA21 of extension rack 1, Analog control outputs for
sequential or closed loop control, display instruments, measured recorders are connected to
the RTU560Atohaveacontinuousplotof Analog values. Each output has a digital to Analog
converter (DAC) which converts the digital value present in the output memory into an
Analog signal. A received output value is stored until a new value is received. At substation
they are used for measurement of transformer temperature etc.AO card is an optional card,
which is used during maintenance of field equipment to know the Analog values of the
equipment.
Digital output card (D0 card):
Connection from switch gear is connected to 5 binary Output DO card - 23BA20of extension
rack 2 through relay contacts. Resistive loads of up to 60 W can be switched with output
voltages between 24 and 60 V DC. The process relays to be switched have to be equipped
with zero voltage diodes. Operating status and faults are displayed by light emitting diodes on
the front panel of the 23BA20.ST: Common malfunction information of the board, PST:
Command output fault condition display when the monitoring system responds, CO:
Command output display during output time.DO card is used to execute commands that are
sent from the MCC. As soon as the DO card gets a command, it sends a pulse of 48v dc to the
exciting terminals of the relay contactor which in turn operates the TNC switch. The control
points from TNC switch are terminated to circuit breaker or any field devices through
disconnecting terminal blocks. These control outputs are used for close/trip operation of
circuit breakers and isolator switches. Each control output consist of one set of potential free
NO contact. The output contacts shall be rated for atleast0.2 Amp at 48V dc.

Figure: DO Card Figure :Connection from DO card to field equipment

Meter interface card (MIC card):
It is an add-on functional module, as a part of SCADA system that enables to fetch daily
consumption of all interface points i.e. inter Escom lines. These interface points meter data,
of 15 minutes block are transmitted to Master Control Centre in real time. This data is
primarily used for billing purposes.
MIC are specifically used for collecting ABT information from Energy Meters over a RS485
multi drop network. MIC is just a flash memory. Following parameters are uploaded from
meter for ABT: Voltage, Current, Frequency, Reactive energy in, Reactive energy out, Active
energy in and Active energyout.

Figure MIC CARD

Annunciation Panel
If operator at MCC operates any of circuit breaker or any other equipment remotely, to
indicate this information for local operator at substation SCADA Control Annunciator is
provided in RTU 560A, which alarms operator regarding that particular operation.
AC-DC Converter:
All racks of RTU560A consists of power supply unit 560PSU01 which require DC supply of
48V, thus AC-DC converter is used. This unit supplies required DC power to all racks of
RTU panel
Multifunction Transducer Panel (MFT)

Figure: Multi-Functional Transducer

It is an IED that can calculate real time Analog values such as line voltage, phase current,
frequency, active power, apparent power (MVA), reactive power(MVAr) and power factor
when inputs from secondary of the CTs and PTs are given. It can measure 96 electrical
parameters from single transducer. This output is transmitted in MODBUS or IEC104
protocol to RTU unit, which in turn processes and sends across to MCC. There is a
communication port available for each MFT with RS 485 connection scheme. The
communication ports of 8 MFTs are looped through RS485 interface and assigned to the
ports of CMU card through a cable. Baud rate of data transfer between MFTs and RTU is
19.2 Kbps.

RS-485port
 Figure: Connections of PT and CT in MFT and interfacing

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM: VSAT

The conveying of data from RTU to MCC and vice-versa is done over a satellite
communication system called VSAT-Very Small Aperture Terminal. A geostationary satellite
INSAT3A maintained by ISRO with 17thtransponder11.5MHz C band frequency bandwidth
is used. VSAT refers to receive/transmit terminals installed at every dispersed remote
substation housed with 1.8 M diameter antenna of parabolic reflector, connecting via satellite
toa central hub MCC housed with 9M diameter antenna. Components of VSAT are antenna,
Indoor unit-modem (IDU) and Outdoor Unit(ODU). To avoid communication problem
separate SCADA phones (Voice Over Internet Protocol) are provided at each substation. 8
port switch is used for separate connection for MIC, IDU, Voice Over Internet Protocol
(VOIP), CMU etc. CMU card and IDU are connected to the 8port-switch using LAN cable.
Finally,
IDU is connected to VSAT antenna using RF cable. The entire data acquisitionuses Multi
Frequency Time Division Multiple Axis technology (MFTDMA) on IEC 104
communication protocol which manages the data traffic over the network and allows
understanding between two communicating devices. Start opology is used so that data can be
received individually from every substation and un healthiness of one node (station) does not
affect the data transmission of another node (station). VSAT networks offer value-added
satellite-based services capable of supporting the Internet, data, LAN, voice/fax
communications and provides powerful, dependable private and public network
communications solutions.
 Figure: VSAT communication

Figure :VSAT Components and connections

MASTER CONTROL CENTER (MCC)

Master Control Centre is a centralized hub consisting of large computer consoles that serve as
the central processor for the SCADA system where real time data from all substations are
acquired securely through VSAT communication for storage, scrutinizing, control and
alarming purpose. The main strategy of MCC is to balance the generation and demand load,
monitor flow and observe system limits, coordinating maintenance limits and protecting
equipment from various kinds of damage. It performs centralized monitoring and control for
field remote sites over long-distance communications networks, including monitoring alarms
and processing status data. Based on information received from remote stations, automated or
operator-driven supervisory commands are pushed to remote station control device RTU
which in turn operates a particular equipment. Operator can access real time data such
asFeeder ON OFF indication, Circuit Breaker status, tap change of transformer, station load,
station battery voltage, current, frequency, active & reactive load, isolator status, faults
events, alarms etc. Basically, electrical operators in SCADA master station can be able to
remotely monitor and control electrical substation/ switch gears. By combining the electronic,
telecommunication and signal processing technology, SCADA automation has upgraded and
optimized the conventional substation. By interfacing SCADA to the conventional systems, it
has helped automating the substation by performing automatic remote monitoring and
controlling of field equipments, automatic real time data acquisition, data sharing and data
analysis, automatic protection of field equipments, smart load demand management and
reduced man power is achieved. Combining the benefits with the ability to extract
information automatically leads to the monitoring and controlling capabilities that are faster
and more robust. From this study it can be said that in order to improve the overall system
performance, reliability, stability and security it is necessary to implement the SCADA
system for controlling the whole electricity network. The combination of Automation and
SCADA has not just replaced manual procedures but also permitted the power system to
operate in a most efficient and optimal way, based on accurate information provided in a
timely manner to the decision-making applications and devices. With the introduction of the
SCADA technology, a true redundancy is possible at reasonable cost for all functions of the
substation. Thus, SCADA has delivered the next generation solution in the field of
automation and power system monitoring and controlling. Hence SCADA is the back bone of
effective Load management and is assuming greater importance in the Power Sector and
Automation.

RTU COMPONENTS
Sl No. Components Quantity Function

Multifunction 30 30 no. of bays data can be

1 Transducer (MFT) collected

Digital Input Card (DI 8 Each card supports 16 digital

2 card) inputs

Digital output Card 5 Each card supports 16 digital

3 (DO card) outputs

Analog Input Card 3 Each card supports 8 inputs

4 (AIcard) (DC Voltage, Tap position…)

Analog Output Card 1 2 linear control

5 (AO card)

Digital Output 80 40 breakers can be controlled

6 Relays (One relay for trip, one for
close)
Meter Interface card 1 For acquiring ABT Energy
7 meters located at IF points

Communication Card 2 Each having 4 ports for

8 communication

AC-DC Converter 2 For providing DC power

9 supply to rack (48 V)
 Optocoupler 3 To isolate voltages (110V dc
10 & 48V).

Chapter 3
POWER LINE CARRIER COMMUNICATION (PLCC)
PLCC system uses the same high voltage transmission line connecting the sub-stations for
telecommunication purpose too, here conductor is used as medium of communication. PLCC
is used in all power utilities as a primary communication service to transmit speech, telemetry
and protection tripping commands. This is economic and reliable for inter grid message
transfer as well as low bit rate RTU signals. The voice/data are mixed with radio frequency
carrier (50-500kHz), amplified to a level of 1080W RF power and injected in to high voltage
power line using suitable coupling capacitor. The power line as a rigid long conductor
parallel to ground, guides the carrier waves to travel along the transmission line. Point to
point communication takes place between two SSB transceivers at both ends.
Option for different power utility communication:
 Microwave: Affected by atmospheric conditions, high capital cost.
 UHF/VHF SYSTEMS: Affected by atmospheric conditions, high capitalcost and high
maintenance.
 RADIO link: Congested frequency band.
 FIBER OPTIC: High cost for low traffic.
 Telephone cable: Mechanically weaker, high theft chances.
 Power Line Carrier Communication.
Advantages of Power Line Carrier Communication (PLCC):
 No separate wires are required for communication purpose.
 They are compact.
 Increased reliability.
 It is cost effective from distance point of view.
 They will have higher mechanical strength.
 Since they have higher mechanical strength they are immune from atmospheric
changes.
 Power lines provide the shortest route between the power stations.
 Power lines have large cross-sectional area resulting in very lowresistance per unit
length. Consequently carrier signals suffer much lessattenuation than when they travel
on telephone lines of equal lengths.
 Largest spacing between the conductors reduces capacitance, whichresults In smaller
attenuation at high frequencies. The large spacing alsoreduces the cross talk to a
considerable extent.
 Entirely within power utility control.
PLCC Terminal:
Translate voice and data into a high frequency carrier. Output power=10 to80W.
 Figure :Components of PLCC
Do not allow the transmitted HF carrier to enter inside the sub-station. (L=0.5 to2mH)
without line trap HF carrier get by-passed to some other line on the same bus bar and may
leak to ground ( a earth switch inside the yard provided foreach bay is kept closed during
maintenance. Wave Trap is provided in the line after the CVT. The impedance offered by
inductor Z = wL will be high which will not allow the high frequency carrier signal to enter
into the substation.

Figure : Line trap is a parallel LC circuit.

 Figure : Line Traps Mounting Options
Coupling Capacitor/Capacitor Voltage Transformer:
Coupling capacitors act as a connector between transmission line and carrier equipment.
Couples high frequency carrier with power line (4000 to 10000pF). Coupling capacitor or
Capacitive Voltage Transformer connects the carrier equipment to
the transmission line. The coupling capacitor’s capacitance is of such a value that it offers
low impedance to carrier frequency (1/ωC) but
high impedance to power frequency (50 Hz).Thus, coupling capacitor allows carrier
frequency signal to enter the carrier equipment. To decrease the impedance further and make
the circuit purely resistive so that there is no reactive power in the circuit, low impedance is
connected in series with coupling capacitor to form resonance at carrier frequency.

Figure : Coupling capacitor

Transmitters and Receivers:
The carrier transmitter and receiver are mounted in a cabin in the control house, and the line
tuner are placed in the switchyard. The equipment and the tuner connected using coaxial
cable as there is a large distance between them. The coaxial cable shields the signal from
noise interference. A connection is made
between the coaxial cable and the line tuner mounted in the coupling capacitor’s
base. In case of more than one terminal, before connection to the line tuner, the signal should
pass through an isolation circuit.

Figure Components of transmitter and receiver

LINE TUNER:
The line tuner along with the coupling capacitor provides high impedance path to the power
frequency energy and a path of lower impedance for the carrier energy to the transmission
line. The line tuners and coupling capacitors line by forms a carrier frequency tuned series
resonant circuit providing a path of low impedance to the power line. The capacitor in the
coupling capacitor provides a path of higher impedance to power frequency energy. Though
the coupling capacitors provide high impedance path to power frequencies, they must be
grounded. Grounding is provided by the drain coil placed at coupling
capacitor’s base. As a result of drain coil’s inductance it provides high impedance to carrier
frequency and low impedance to power frequency. The coupling capacitor, line tuner and
drain coil will block the power frequency and couples the carrier energy to the transmission
line. The line tuner also provides impedance matching between the power line having an
impedance of 150 to 500ohms and coaxial cable, usually with 50 to 70ohms.

Figure : Line tuner

Figure :Line tuning unit

Protection and Earthing of Coupling Equipment:

Over voltage caused due to lightning, switching or sudden loss of load may produce stress in
the coupling equipment and line trap unit. Nonlinear resistor in series with protective gap is
connected across line trap unit and indicator of coupling unit. The spark is adjusted to spark
at a set value of over voltage. Coupling unit and PLCC equipment are earth through a
separate and dedicated system so that ground potential rise of station earthing system does
not affect the voltage reference level or power supply common ground of the PLCC
equipment.

Figure: Protection and Earthing of coupling Capacitor

Surge Arrestor and Tuning Device:

Surge arrestor is connected across the main coil and the tuning device to the LT prevent from
being damaged by transient over voltages. Tuning devices-To tune for the required frequency
using suitable capacitor in parallel with the inductance of the coil.
Line Matching Unit (LMU):
For impedance matching between line and co-axial cable, includes high voltage protection
devices like drainage coil (20mH), lightning arrestor (500V) and an earth switch.

LMU functions:
Impedance matching transformer + high voltage protection
 Figure LMU Functions
To match the impedance of PLCC set and transmission Line.

Figure :PLCC Panel ( ABB ETL 41/42)

ABB PLCC terminal ETL-41 system data-complies to IEC 495:

 Operating mode: Single side band suppressed carrier.
 Frequency range: 40-500kHz (programmable in 4kHz steps).
 AF bandwidth: 4kHz (speech band=300-3400Hz).
 Transmitter RF output power: 40W(+46dBm)
 Receiver Selectivity: 70dB(300Hz from band limit)
 Receiver image rejection>=80dB

Factors Affecting Reliability of Power Line Carrier Communication:

 The amount of power out of the transmitter.
 The type and number of hybrids required to parallel the transmitter andreceiver
 The type of line tuner applied
  The capacitance of the coupling capacitors
 The inductance of the line trap used
 The power line voltage and the physical configuration of the power line
 The phases to which the PLC signals are coupled
 The length of the circuit and transpositions in the circuit
 The decoupling equipment at the receiving terminal
 The type of modulation used to transmit the information and the type of demodulation
circuit in the receiver
 The received signal to noise ratio

Applications of Power Line Carrier Communication:

 Power Line Carrier Communication in modern electrical power system substation is
used for the following
 Carrier protection relaying of transmission lines so that
 Inter trip command can be issued by relay due to tripping of circuit breaker at any one
end. To trip the line circuit breaker nearest to the fault. This is done by distance
protection relays, differential comparison method, phase comparison method
 Station to station communication between operating personals.Carrier telemetering:
kW, kVA, kVAR, voltage and power factor are the electrical quantities that are
telemetered. Themethods used for telemetry as well as telecontrol are simplex,duplex,
multiplex and time division multiplex.
SUBSTATION DESIGN, EQUIPMENT AND SWITCH GEAR PROTECTION
Switch Gear:
A switchgear or electrical switchgear is a generic term which includes all the switching
devices associated with mainly power system protection. It also includes all devices
associated with control, metering and regulating of electrical power system. Assembly of
such devices in a logical manner forms switch gear. In other words apparatus used for
switching, controlling and protecting the electrical circuits and equipment is known as
switchgear. This is very basic definition of switch gear.
Switchgear protection plays a vital role in modern power system network, right from
generation through transmission to distribution end. The current interruption device or
switching device is called circuit breaker in switchgear protection system. The circuit breaker
can be operated manually as when required and it is also operated during over current and
short circuit or any other faults in the system by sensing the abnormality of system. The
circuit breaker senses the faulty condition of system through protection relay and this relay is
again actuated by faulty signal normally comes from current transformer or voltage
transformer. The switchgear has to perform the function of carrying, making and breaking the
normal load current like a switch and it has to perform the function of clearing the fault in
addition to that it also has provision of metering and regulating the various parameters of
electrical power system. Thus the switchgear includes circuit breaker, current transformer,
voltage transformer, protection relay, measuring instrument, electrical switch, electrical fuse,
miniature circuit breaker, lightening arrester or surge arrester ,electrical isolator and other
associated equipment.
Faults and Abnormal Conditions:
A fault in an electric power system can be defined as, any abnormal conditionof the system
thatinvolvestheelectricalfailureoftheequipment,suchas,transformers,generators,busbars,etc.
Faults – Types and their Effects
1. Active faults
2. Passive faults
3. Transient faults
4. Permanent faults
5. Symmetrical Faults
6. Unsymmetrical Faults
7. Open circuit faults
8. Short circuit faults
Active Faults:
The “Active” fault is when actual current flows from one phase conductor to
another (phase-to-phase) or alternatively from one phase conductor to earth(phase-to-
earth).This type of fault can also be further classified into two areas,
namely the “solid” fault and the “incipient” fault. The solid fault occurs as a
result of an immediate complete breakdown of insulation as would happen if,say, a pick
struck an underground cable, bridging conductors etc. or the cablewas dug up by a bulldozer.
In mining, a rock fall could crush a cable as would ashuttle car. In these circumstances the
fault current would be very high,resulting in an electrical explosion. This type off fault must
be cleared asquickly as possible otherwise there will be:
 Greatly increased damage at the fault location. (Fault energy = 1² Rf t
where ‘t’ is time).
 Danger to operating personnel(Flashproducts).
 Danger of igniting combustible gas such as methane in hazardous areasgiving rise to a
disaster of horrendous proportions.
 Increased probability of earth faults spreading to other phases.
 Higher mechanical and thermal stressing of all items of plant carrying thecurrent
fault. (Particularly transformers whose windings suffer progressive and cumulative
deterioration because of the enormouselectromechanical forces caused by multi-phase
faults proportional to thecurrent squared)
 Sustained voltage dips resulting in motor (and generator) instabilityleading to
extensiveshut-down at the plant concerned and possibly othernear by plants.
The “incipient” fault, on the other hand, is a fault that starts from very small beginnings, from
say some partial discharge (excessive electronic activity oftenreferred to as Corona) in a void
in the insulation, increasing and developingover an extended period, until such time as it
burns away adjacent insulation ,eventually running away and developing into a“solid”fault.
Passive Faults:
Passive faults are not real faults in the true sense of the word but are ratherconditions that are
stressing the system beyond its design capacity, so thatultimately active faults will occur.
Typical examples are:
 Overloading – leading to overheating of insulation (deteriorating quality, reduced life
andultimate failure).
 Overvoltage – stressing the insulation beyond its limits.
 Under frequency – causing plant to behave incorrectly.