4.

Electrical power supply

The ever-increasing use of electric power for domestic, commercial and industrial purpose
necessitates to provide bulk power economically. This is achieved with the help of a suitable
power producing unit known as power generating stations.
Power generating stations
Refers to specialized plants that generates power in large quantities.
A generating station essentially employs a prime mover coupled to an alternator for the
production of electric power. The prime mover (e.g. steam turbine, water turbine etc.) converts
energy from some form into mechanical energy. The alternator converts mechanical energy of
the prime mover into electrical energy.
The electrical energy produced by the generating station is transmitted and distributed with the
help of conductors to various consumers.
It may be emphasized that apart from the prime mover- alternator combination, modern
generating stations employ several auxiliary equipment and instruments to ensure cheap and
reliable and continous service.
Types of generating stations
i. Hydroelectric power station
ii. Diesel power station
iii. Nuclear power station
iv. Thermal (Steam power station)
v. Geothermal power station
vi. Magneto hydro dynamics (MHD) generation
vii. Gas plant station
i). Hydroelectric power (HEP) station
It’s a generating station which utilizes the potential energy of water at a high level for the
generation of electrical energy.
Hydros are generally located on hilly areas where the dams are built conventionally and large
water reservoirs can be obtained. In a hydro water head is created by constructing a dam across a
river or a lake.

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From the dam water is led to a water turbine. The turbine captures the energy in the falling water
and changes the hydraulic energy (product of head & flow of water) into the mechanical energy
at the turbine shaft.
The turbine drives the alternator which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. Hydro’s
are popular because the reserves of fuel (i.e coal and oil) are becoming depleted. Dams
constructed for hydro have added advantage of flood control, storage of water for irrigation and
water for drinking.

Advantages of Hydroelectric
i. It requires no fuel as water is used for the generation of electricity.
ii. Its clean as no smoke or ash is produced
iii. Requires very small running charge because water is a source of energy.
iv. Its comparatively simple in construction & less maintenance
v. It does not require long starting time like steam power station
vi. Such plants serve many purposes in addition to generation of electricity, i.e. in irrigation &
controlling floods.
vii. Requires few experienced persons to run the plant.
Disadvantages
i. It involves high capital cost due to construction of the dam.
ii. Depends on weather condition which is uncertain.
iii. Requires skilled and experienced personnel to build the plant.
iv. It requires high cost of transmission lines as plants are located in hilly areas away from
consumers.
Schematic arrangement of HEP
The dam is constructed across a river or a lake and water from the catchment area collects at the
back of the dam to form a reservoir. A pressure tunnel is taken off from the reservoir and water
brought to the valve house at the start of penstock.
The valve house contains the main sluice valves and automatic isolating valves. The former
control the water flow to the power house and the latter cuts off supply of water when the
penstock busts.

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From the valve house, water is taken to water turbine through huge pipe called penstock. The
turbine drives the alternator which converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Figure: Schematic arrangement of hydroelectric plant

Factors to consider when choosing a site for hydroelectric plant

i. Availability of water- Since the primary requirement of hydroelectric power station is
availability of huge quantity of water.
ii.Storage of water- since water in river fluctuates during the year. It is necessary to store
water in a dam to ensure the generation of power throughout the year.
iii.Cost and type of land- Land for construction of the plant should be available at reasonable
price.
iv.Transportation facilities- Site for construction of hydroelectric should be accessible by rail
and road.
Construction of a HEP Plant
The components of hydro electric plant are;
 Hydraulic structures
 Water turbines
 Electric equipment

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Hydraulic structures- this includes the dam, spillway, headworks, surge tanks, penstock
accessory works
a). dam
Is a barrier which stores water & creates water head. Dams are built of concreate.
b). Spillway
There are times when the river flow exceeds the storage capacity of the reservoir i.e during
heavy rainfall. They are used to discharge surplus water from the storage reservoir into the river
down stream side of the dam.
c) Headwork
Consists of a diversion structures at the head of an intake. They generally booms and racks
for diverting floating debris, sluices for by-passing debris and sediments. Flow of water into
and through headworks
d). penstock
Pipe between surge tank and turbine should be as smooth as possible to avoid head loss.
e) surge tank
Open conduit leading water to the turbine & requires no protection. However, for closed conduits
protection becomes necessary to limit abnormal pressures in the conduit.

2. water turbine
Water turbines are used to convert the energy of falling water into mechanical energy.

3. electrical equipment
This include transformers, alternators, circuit breakers and other switching and protective
devices.

Classification of Hydros based on plant capacity

# Class of hydro Rating

i Micro hydro plants less than 5 MW

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 ii Medium hydros plants 5-10 MW

iii High capacity hydros 101-1000 MW

iv Super capacity hydros above 1000 MW

Examples of Hydro’s power plants in Kenya

-Masinga -Gitaru -Turkwel
-Kindaruma -Sondu miriu -Kiambere

2. Diesel power station

It is a generating station in which a diesel engine is used as a prime mover for the generation of
electrical energy.
In a diesel power station, diesel is used as a prime -mover. The diesel burns inside the engine and
the products of combustion acts a working fluid to produce mechanical energy. The diesel engine
drives the alternator which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. However, such
plants are used to produce small power.
Advantages
i. Design and layout of the plant are simple
ii. Occupies less space
iii. Can be located at any place
iv. There are no standby losses
v. Requires less operating staff
Disadvantages
i. Higher running charges
ii. Does not work satisfactorily under overload conditions
iii. Plant can only generate small power
iv. Cost of lubrication is generally high
v. Maintenance charges are very high
vi. Pollution through emission of gases
Schematic arrangement of diesel power

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 i. Fuel supply system- Consist of storage tank, strainers (filters), fuel transfer pump and all
day fuel tank.
ii. Air intake system- Supplies air for fuel consumption
iii. Exhaust system- This leads the engine exhausts gas outside the building and discharges to
the atmosphere.
iv. Cooling system- in order to keep the temperature of the engine parts within the safe
operating limits
v. Lubricating system- Consists of lubricating oil. This minimizes the wear and tear of rubbing
surfaces of the engine.
vi. Engine starting system- This is an arrangement to rotate the engine initially while starting
firng starts and the unit runs with its own power.

3. Nuclear power station

It’s a generating station in which nuclear energy is converted into electrical energy. In nuclear
power station heavy elements such as Uranium (U235) or Thorium (Th232) are subjected to
nuclear fission in a special apparatus called reactors.
The heat energy thus released is utilized in raising steam at high temperature and pressure. The
steam runs the steam turbines which converts steam energy into mechanical energy. The turbine
drives the alternator which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy.
The most important feature of nuclear power station is that huge amount of electrical energy can
be produced from relatively small amount of nuclear fuel as compared to other conventional
types of power stations.
Advantages
i. Amount of fuel required is small.
ii. Requires less space as compared to other types.
iii. It has low running charges as small amount of fuel is used.
iv. Most economical for producing bulk electrical power.
v. It can be located near load centres. Therefore, reduces cost of distribution.
vi. It ensures reliability of supply as there are large deposits of nuclear fuels all over the world.,

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Disadvantages
i. Fuel is expensive
ii. High capital cost on nuclear plant
iii. Requires greater technical knowledge to install and operate
iv. Emits dangerous emissions of radioactive elements leading to enviromental pollution.
v. Maintenance charges are very high.
vi. Disposal of by products which are radioactive is quite challenging.

4. Thermal plant (Steam power plant)

Is a generating station which converts heat energy of coal combustion into electrical energy. A
stream power station works on Rankine cycle. Steam is expanded in the prime mover (steam
turbine) and is condensed in a condenser to be fed into the boiler again. The steam turbine drives
the alternator which converts mechanical energy of the turbine into electrical energy.

Selection of site for thermal plant

i. Supply of fuel – power station should be located as close as possible to the coal mines.
ii. Ash disposal facility – coal by product as requires a large space for disposal.
iii. Availability of water – huge quantities of water are required for condenser, for ash
disposal and a feed water to the boiler and drinking by the staff.
iv. Land – should be available and affordable e.g. 3-4 acres per MW
v. Transport facility – should be accessible by road and rail.

Plant layout
A typical layout of a thermal power plant is divided into the following sections.
i. Coal and ash handling plant
ii. Steam generating plant
iii. Steam turbine
iv. Alternator
v. Feed water circuit
vi. Cooling water circuit

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Components of a thermal plant
i. Boiler – heat of combustion in the boiler is utilized to convert water into steam at high
temperature and pressure.
ii. Super heater – steam produced in the boiler is wet and is passed through a super heater
it is dried and superheated.
iii. Economiser – extracts part of heat from flue gases to increase feed water temperature.
iv. Air preheater – increases the temperature of the air supplied for coal burning by
deriving heat from flue gases.
v. Alternator – converts mechanical energy to electrical energy.
vi. Feed water – feed water on its way to the boiler is heated by water heaters and
economiser.

Advantages
i. Fuel used is quite cheap.
ii. Less initial cost as compared to other generating stations.
iii. Can be installed at any place irrespective of existence of coal.
iv. Requires less space when compared with HEP.
v. Cost of generation is lesser than that of diesel power

Disadvantages
i. Pollutes the atmosphere
ii. It is costlier in running cost as compared to HEP.

5. Magneto – Hydro Dynamics (MHD) generation.

In steam plant, the steam is converted to mechanical energy which drives the generator to
produce electricity thus repeated conversion of energy involves losses and the thermal plant
efficiencies is 37 to 40%.
In MHD heat is directly converted to electricity the field of plasma physics and metallurgy etc
and other branches of science.

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An ionized gas is used as a conducting medium in the MHD generator. The gas can be made
electrically conducting when it is maintained at least at temperature of 2000C
It is thought beneficial the MHD generators be used in conjunction with steam operated thermal
plants utilizing the heat of gas leaving the MHD ducts. This combination will raise the efficiency
to 60%.

6. Geothermal power
In geothermal heat from earth’s core is used to heat water or fluid. The fluid is then used to turn
a turbine of generator thereby producing electricity.

Principle of operation
There are two important cycles used in its operation.
i. Indirect condensing cycle
ii. Direct non-condensing cycle.

I. Indirect condensing cycle

These involves use of heat exchanger. In this clean steam was raised from contaminated
natural steam though is -20% of steam power was lost in heat exchanger. There was fear
that steam may corrode the turbines.
However, with advancement in metallurgy technology this cycle was rendered obsolete.

II. Direct non-condensing cycle.

This is the simplest, cheapest and widely used geothermal cycle. Bore steam, either direct
from dry bores, or after separation (using centrifugal separator) from wet bores is simply
passed through a turbine and exhausted to atmosphere.
Combined Operation of Geothermal Plant
A composite power system can be supplied more economically by a combination of two
main types of plants.
i. Base load plant – which is characterized by high fixed cost and low variable cost.
ii. Peak load plant – is characterized by low fixed cost and high variable cost.

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In case of geothermal plant, the usual practice is to regard all the production cost as fixed cost,
with zero variable cost as no fuel is required in its operation. This is because once geothermal
steam has been made available by means of capital spent on exploitation and drilling and pipe
work, it may be regarded as free. Therefore, geothermal plants are therefore rated as base load
plants.

7. Gas plant
In a gas plant air is used as the working fluid. It is compressed by the compressor and fed to the
combustion chamber, where it is heated by burning fuel in the chamber or by air heater.
The hot air at high pressure moves from the combustion chamber to the gas turbine where it
expands and delivers mechanical energy.
The gas turbine drives the alternator which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Gas turbine
The main components consist of
 Compressor
The air at atmosphere pressure is drawn by the compressor through an air filter.

 Combustion chamber
Air at high pressure from regenerator is fed to the combustion chamber where it is heated
up by burning oil.
 Alternator
The gas turbine is coupled to an alternator and converts mechanical energy into electrical
energy.
 Regenerator
Exhaust gases from the turbine have a substantial heat contact which can be utilized for
heating compressed air to be supplied in the combustion chamber. At regenerator is fed to
the combustion chamber where it is heated up by burning oil.
 Gas turbine – Mixture of gases at high temperatures and pressure from combustion
chamber, moves to the gas turbine where it expands and delivers mechanical energy.

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  Starting motor- Compressor must be driven before it supplies compressed air to the
turbine.
Advantages of gas turbine
i. No attendance is required when the plant is not in operational.
ii. The starting time of a gas turbine is about 2 minutes
iii. Space required is small
iv. No strong foundation is required
v. There are no stand by losses.

Electrical Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution.

Electricity is generated in modern power stations at 11kV & 25kV and fed through transformer
to the consumer over a complex network of cables known as NATIONAL GRID SYSTEM.
A national grid system consists of a system of interconnected cables at high voltage suspended
on a transmission tower.
On long transmission lines the losses can be high but this can be prevented by raising the
operating voltage which reduces the operating current for a given power therefore:
i. The power losses (I2R) are reduced.
ii. Cable cross sectional area is reduced.
iii. Overall efficiency of transmission is increased.
In order to standardize equipment, standard voltages are used. These are:
 400kV & 275kV for super grid
 132kV & 220kV for the original grid.
 33kV & 66kV for the secondary transmission
 11kV for high voltage distribution
 415V for commercial consumer supplies
 240V for domestic consumer supplies
Schematic of Electrical power generation, transmission & Distribution.

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Figure: one line diagram of Electrical power generation, transmission & Distribution
At the distribution station the transformer reduces the voltage to 415V three phase and neutral,
the distribution cable connects the supply to the consumer.
In a three phase supply (415V). Connecting one phase and neutral gives 240V single phase
suitable for domestic consumer.
When single phase loads are supplied from a three phase supply, the loads should be balanced
across the phases so that each phase carries approximately same current. This is to prevent one
phase being overloaded.

Consumer Main Equipment

Consumer main equipment normally fixed close to the point at which supply cable enters the
building. To meet IEE regulation it must provide
i. Protection against electric shock
ii. Protection against overcurrent
iii. Isolation & switching
Protection against electric shock
This is provided by insulating & placing live parts of reach. Earthing & bonding the metalwork
and providing fuses or circuit breaker

Distribution system
It’s that part of power system that distributes power for consumer use.
Types of distribution system

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 1. Radial distribution
2.Ring Distribution system
Radial Distribution System- In this system a separate feeder radiates from a single substation
and feed the distributors at one end only.

Fig: Radial distribution system

Advantages of the radial distribution system

• Simplest as fed at only end.

• The initial cost is low.
• It is useful when the generating is at low voltage.
• Preferred when the station is located at the center of the load.
• More economical for some areas which have a low load requirement
• Require less amount of cables
• It has a low maintenance

Disadvantages of the radial distribution system

• The end of distributor near to the substation gets heavily loaded.

• When load on the distributor changes, the clients at the distant end of the distributor face
serious voltage fluctuations.
• As users are dependent on single feeder and distributor, a fault on any of these two causes
interruption in supply to all the users connected to that distributor

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Ring Distribution System- In this system the primaries of distribution system form a loop. The
loop circuit starts from the substation bus bar, makes loop through the area served and returns to
the sub station.

Figure: Ring distribution system

Advantages of the ring distribution system

• In ring power is supplied from both ends as compared to radial

• In case of a fault in the radial circuit the entire system goes off unlike in ring where by incase
one end gets a fault the other end still keeps on supplying power
• Compared to the radial system, the voltage drop is less along the distribution line
• More subscribers can be installed to the system than the radial system
• Less voltage fluctuations can be seen at client’s terminals. Voltage fluctuations in high loaded
areas can be reduced using a tie line

Disadvantages of the ring distribution system

• Ring is very expensive n requires more materials than radial

• Radial circuit is more economical
• High maintenance cost
• It is not usable when the client is located at the center of the load

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3 phase 4 wire distribution system
It’s the distribution system that employs 415V, 3 phase 4 wire system.

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DC Distribution
The dc supply from a sub station may be obtained from:
i). 2- wire
ii). 3- wire
2- wire dc system
The system consists of two wires one is out going positive wire and the other is return or
negative.

2 wire dc system
3 wire dc system
It consists of two outer and middle or neutral wire which is earthed at the sub station. The
voltage between the outers is twice the voltage between either outer and neutral wire.

3 wire DC system

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