Power Generation, Transmission

and Distribution technologies

SIRE(EE4906) report submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Technology
in
Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technology Rourkela

March 2022

Submitted by: Bhabani Sankar Kishan (118EE0297)

ABSTRACT:
Electrical energy is the most demanded form of
energy used in the world. Everything we use in
our daily life runs on electricity. Power
generation, transmission and distribution are the
important steps to ensure electricity in our
homes and offices etc.
Lots of new technologies and innovation are
happening in power sectors that include
processes from generation to distribution which
not only increases the efficiency of system also
makes energy economical for everyone.
CONTENTS:
1. INTRODUCTION

2.POWER GENERATION

3.TRANSMISSION

4.DISTRIBUTION

5. CONCLUSION

6.REFERENCES
1.INTRODUCTION:

The electrical power system consists of three major

components: generation, a high voltage transmission grid,
and a distribution system. The high voltage transmission
system links the generators to substations, which supply power
to the user through the distribution system.

2.POWER GENERATION
On power generation part, training program was mainly focused
on thermal power plant.
Thermal Power Plant
A thermal power generation plant or thermal power station is the most
conventional source of electric power. The thermal power plant is also
referred to as a coal thermal power plant and steam turbine power plant.
Let’s dive into how a thermal power plan works.

Theory of Thermal Power Station

The theory of thermal power stations or the working of the thermal
power stations is very simple. A power generation plant mainly consists
of alternator runs with help of a steam turbine. The steam is obtained from
high-pressure boilers.
Generally, in India, bituminous coal, brown coal, and peat are used as fuel
for the boiler. The bituminous coal is used as boiler fuel has volatile matter
from 8 to 33% and ash content 5 to 16%. To increase thermal efficiency, coal
is used in the boiler in powder form.
In a coal thermal power plant, the steam is produced at high pressure in
the steam boiler due to the burning of fuel (pulverized coal) in boiler
furnaces. This steam is further supper heated in a superheater.
This superheated steam then enters into the turbine and rotates the turbine
blades. The turbine is mechanically so coupled with an alternator that its
rotor will rotate with the rotation of turbine blades.
After entering in turbine, the steam pressure suddenly falls and the
corresponding volume of the steam increases.
After imparting energy to the turbine rotor, the steam passes out of the
turbine blades into the condenser.

In the condenser, the cold water is circulated with the help of a pump
which condenses the low-pressure wet steam.

This condensed water is further supplied to a low-pressure water heater

where the low-pressure steam increases the temperature of this feed water;
it is again heated at high pressure.

For better understanding, we furnish every step of the function of a

thermal power station as follows,
1. First, the pulverized coal is burnt into the furnace of steam
boiler.
2. High-pressure steam is produced in the boiler.
3. This steam is then passed through the superheater, where it
further heated up.
4. This super heated steam is then entered into a turbine at high
speed.
5. In turbine, this steam force rotates the turbine blades that
means here in the turbine the stored potential energy of the
high-pressured steam is converted into mechanical energy.
Line Diagram of Power Plant

1. After rotating the turbine blades, the steam has lost its high
pressure, passes out of turbine blades, and enters into a
condenser.
2. In the condenser, the cold water is circulated with help of a
pump which condenses the low-pressure wet steam.
3. This condensed water is then further supplied to a low-
pressure water heater where the low-pressure steam increases
the temperature of this feed water, it is then again heated in a
high-pressure heater where the high pressure of steam is used
for heating.
4. The turbine in the thermal power station acts as a prime mover
of the alternator.
Overview of Thermal Power Plant
A typical Thermal Power Station Operates on a Cycle which is shown
below.

The working fluid is water and steam. This is called the feed water and
steam cycle. The ideal Thermodynamic Cycle to which the operation of a
Thermal Power Station closely resembles is the rankine cycle.
In a steam boiler, the water is heated up by burning the fuel in the air in the
furnace, and the function of the boiler is to give dry superheated steam at
the required temperature. The steam so produced is used in driving the
steam Turbines.
This turbine is coupled to the synchronous generator (usually a three-phase
synchronous alternator), which generates electrical energy.
The exhaust steam from the turbine is allowed to condense into the water
in the steam condenser of turbine, which creates suction at very low
pressure and allows the expansion of the steam in the turbine to very low
pressure.
The principal advantages of the condensing operation are the increased
amount of energy extracted per kg of steam and thereby increasing
efficiency, and the condensate which is fed into the boiler again reduces the
amount of fresh feed water.

The condensate along with some fresh makeup feed water is again fed into
the boiler by a pump (called the boiler feed pump).

In the condenser, the steam is condensed by cooling water. Cooling water

recycles through the cooling tower. This constitutes a cooling water circuit.

The ambient air is allowed to enter the boiler after dust filtration. Also, the
flue gas comes out of the boiler and gets exhausted into the atmosphere
through stacks. These constitute air and flue gas circuits.
The flow of air and also the static pressure inside the steam boiler (called
draught) is maintained by two fans called Forced Draught (FD) fan and
Induced Draught (ID) fan.
The total scheme of a typical thermal power station along with different
circuits is illustrated below.

Inside the boiler, there are various heat exchangers, viz. Economizer,
Evaporator (not shown in the fig above, it is basically the water tubes, i.e.
downcomer riser circuit), Super Heater (sometimes Reheater, air preheater
are also present).
In Economiser the feed water is heated to a considerable amount by the
remaining heat of flue gas.

The Boiler Drum maintains a head for natural circulation of a two-phase

mixture (steam + water) through the water tubes.

There is also a Super Heater which also takes heat from flue gas and raises
the temperature of steam as per requirement.
The efficiency of Thermal Power Station or Plant
The overall efficiency of the steam power plant is defined as the ratio of
heat equivalent of electrical output to the heat of combustion of coal. The
overall efficiency of a thermal power station or plant varies from 20% to
26% and it depends upon plant capacity.
Installed plant capacity Average overall thermal efficiency

up to 1MW 4%
 1MW to 10MW 12%

10MW to 50MW 16%

50MW to 100MW 24%

above 100MW 27%

Advantages of Thermal Power Station

The advantages of a thermal power station include:

1. Economical for low initial cost other than any generating plant.
2. Land required less than hydropower plant.
3. Since coal is the main fuel and its cost is quite cheap than
petrol/diesel so generation cost is economical.
4. Maintenance is easier.
5. Thermal power plants can be installed in any location where
transportation and bulk of water are available.
Disadvantages of Thermal Power Station
The disadvantages of a thermal power station include:

1. The running cost for a thermal power station is comparatively

high due to fuel, maintenance, etc.
2. A large amount of smoke causes air pollution. The thermal
power station is responsible for Global warming.
3. The heated water that comes from the thermal power plants
has an adverse effect on the aquatic lives in the water and
disturbs the ecology.
4. The overall efficiency of the thermal power plant is low like
less than 30%
3.Transmission
Electrical power transmission involves the bulk movement of electrical energy from a
generating site, such as a power station or power plant, to an electrical substation
where voltage is transformed and distributed to consumers or other substations.
Electric transmission and distribution (T&D) technologies include components used to transmit and
distribute electricity from generation sites to end users.
The interconnected lines that enable the movement of electrical energy are
known as a “transmission network,” and these form an electrical power
transmission system—or, as it is more commonly known, the power grid.

Primary transmission

A basic representation of a power grid, with transmission highlighted in blue.

When it is generated at a power station, electrical energy will typically be
anywhere between 11kV and 33kV. Before it is sent to distribution centres via
transmission lines, it is stepped up using a transformer to a voltage level that
can be anywhere between 100kV and 700kV or more, depending on the
distance that it needs to be transmitted; the longer the distance, the higher
the voltage level.

The reason electrical power is stepped up to these voltage levels is to make it

more efficient by reducing the I2R losses that take place when power is
transmitted. When voltage is stepped up, the current reduces relative to the
voltage so that power remains constant, thus reducing these I2R losses.
This stage is known as primary transmission—the transfer of a large quantity
of electrical power from the initial generating station to the substation via
overhead electrical lines. In some countries, underground cables are also
used in cases where transmission takes place over a shorter distance.

Secondary transmission
When electrical power reaches a receiving station, the voltage is stepped
back down to a voltage typically between 33kV and 66kV. It is then sent to
transmission lines emerging from this receiving station to electrical
substations closer to “load centres” such as cities, villages, and urban areas.
This process is known as secondary transmission.

When electrical power reaches a substation, it is stepped down once more by

a step-down transformer to voltages closer to what it was generated at—
usually around 11kV. From here, the transmission phase graduates to the
distribution phase, and electrical power is used to meet demand from primary
and secondary consumers.

4.DISTRIBUTION
Electrical power distribution is the final stage of an electrical power
system, which entails the delivery of electricity to the load. The primary
role of this section is to carry the electricity from the transmission lines to
the loads in the individual customers to the different strata of society. In
the power distribution section of an electrical power system, there are two
main subsections: primary distribution and secondary distribution.

Primary Distribution
Primary distribution lines contain a distribution transformer present in the
locality of the clientele. Primary distribution ranges from 4 to 35-kilo
Voltage. Only industries can directly feed the transmission line. Most
average consumers are connected to a transformer that brings down the
voltage to a useable level. The distribution network for the primary
distribution comes in three types, although they are mainly of two types—
radial or network. A radial network is primarily like a tree, where there is
only one line of connection for the customer to the source of supply. A
network system, on the other hand, has multiple or parallel connections to
the source of supply. A radial connection is primarily used in rural areas,
while the network connection is primarily used in load-sensitive areas,
such as a dense urban area. However, as bad as radial systems sound,
based on their only being a single connection to the source, modern-day
radial networks do contain backup options.

When we shift our focus onto to how these radial connections

are designed in specific conjuncture to the electrification of rural areas, we
notice that the distribution voltages are notably higher in rural areas. This
is because the higher the voltages, the fewer the poles that need to be
erected for the distribution of the electricity. Most of these distribution
connections in rural areas are made of galvanized steel. This strong form
of steel permits it to be connected over long distances without the need
for too many electric distribution poles.

Secondary Distribution
The parameters that encompass the properties of electricity are not strictly
limited to voltage and current. When it comes to electricity, there is a third
important property of electricity—frequency. There are primarily two
frequencies in which electricity is produced, either 50 or 60 Hz. This
electricity is then delivered to domestic customers as single-phase electric
power. Seen with an oscilloscope, the domestic power supply in North
America would look like a sine wave, oscillating between −170 volts and
+170 volts, giving an effective voltage of 120 volts RMS.
However, in some countries of Europe and India, three-phase power is
more efficient in terms of power delivered per cable used and is more
suited to running large electric motors. Some large European appliances
may be powered by three-phase power, such as electric stoves and
clothes dryers. A ground connection is normally provided for the
customer’s system, as well as for the equipment owned by the utility. The
purpose of connecting the customer’s system to the ground is to limit the
voltage that may develop if high voltage conductors fall onto lower-voltage
conductors, which are usually mounted lower to the ground, or if a failure
occurs within a distribution transformer; this process is also famously
known as grounding. With this we can conclude that the distribution of
electricity is no small feat and requires a tremendous amount of
calculation and engineering with the proper understanding of the
geographical area being powered!

5. CONCLUSION
Today’s electric power system was designed for efficiency, reliability, ease of
operation, and to meet consumer needs at minimum cost. The grid of the future must
maintain these characteristics while meeting a number of new requirements:
supporting the integration of various clean and distributed energy technologies,
meeting the higher power-quality demands of modern digital devices, and enabling
consumer participation in electricity markets. Increasing the projected penetration
levels of variable renewable resources, distributed generation, community energy
storage, electric vehicles, and the number of active customers will require substantial
changes to how the grid and its various components are designed, controlled, and
protected.
6. REFERENCES
[1] “What is electrical power distribution?,” Accessed on: Mar. 27, 2022. [Online].

Available: https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/what-is-electric-power-
distribution.html

[2] “Basics of electrical power transmission systems,” Oct. 26, 2020. Accessed on:
Mar. 27, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.power-and-beyond.com/basics-of-
an-electrical-power-transmission-system-a-919739/

[3] “How does a thermal power plant works,”.

Accessed on: Mar. 27, 2022. [Online].

Available: https://www.lesics.com/how-does-a-thermal-power-plant-work.html