Power System Interview Questions

1) What is the Power plant or Power Station?

The generation, distribution, and transmission system together constitute a network called as Power
plant. The power plant uses the form of energy such as coal, diesel and converts it into electrical
energy. An example of the power system is a grid that supplies power to the other system.

2) What do you mean by the zone of protection?

The protection is provided in the system to protect each and every element of the power system. If
any fault occurs in the system then the relays associated with it trip all the circuit breaker so that the
faulty element gets removed from the power system. This Security provided to the system is called
the 'Zone of protection'.

3) What is the difference between the Transmission line and distribution line?

The main work of transmission line and distribution line is to transfer power from one place to
another but the difference between transmission and distribution line is based on the factors like the
type of phase, the distribution line because the wire for transmission line is thick and for distribution
line is thin, the transmission line requires three phase supply for carrying electricity and distribution
line requires single phase supply for carrying electricity.

4) What are the common sources of energy?

The common sources of energy are:

i. Sun.
ii. Water.
iii. Waterhead.
iv. Fuel.
v. Nuclear Energy.

5) Write down the classification of the transmission line?

Depending upon the voltage and length of the conductor the classification of the transmission line is
as follows:

1. A.C Transmission Line.

I. Short transmission line.

II. Medium transmission line.
III. Pi model of a medium transmission line.
IV. T model of a medium transmission line.
V. Long transmission line.

2. D.C Transmission Line.

6) What is a Relay?

The Relay is an automatic device that senses the abnormal condition of the electrical circuit and
closes its contact.
7) How many types of Protection relays are there based on the Characteristic?

On the basis of a characteristic, protection relays can be categorized as follows:

1. Definite time relays.

2. IDMT (Inverse time relays with definite minimum time).
3. Instantaneous relays.
4. IDMT with inst.
5. Stepped Characteristic relays.
6. Programmed Characteristic relays.
7. Voltage Restraint over-current relays.

8) What is meant by Reset level of the Relay?

The value of current or voltage below which the relay opens it contact is called the reset level of the
relay.

9) What are the internal and external faults?

Internal faults are the faults that occur inside the zone and external faults are the faults that occur
outside the zone of protection.

10) How many types of faults are there in 3 phase power system?

The faults that occur in the three-phase power system are as follows:
1. Single line to ground (LG) fault
2. Line to line (LL) fault
3. Double line to ground (LLG) fault
4. Three Phase short circuit (LLL) fault
5. Three phase to ground (LLLG) fault

11) What do you mean by reach and reach the point of the relay?

The reach point is the farthest point from the relay which is still inside the zone of protection and
reach is the distance between the reach point and relay.

12) Why does the adjacent zone of protection overlap?

Adjacent zone of protection overlap because if we do not overlap then some portion of the power
system will be left out unprotected.

13) What is Electrical Grounding?

Electrical grounding or merely grounding is a safety measure used to prevent people accidentally
coming in contact with the hazardous electrical faults.

14) What is Electrical Earthing?

Electrical earthing is a process of transferring the immediate discharge of the electrical energy directly
to the earth by the help of low resistance wire.

15) How many types of electrical earthing are there?

Electrical earthing is of two types:

I. Neutral Earthing.
II. Equipment Earthing.
15) What is the difference between Electrical earthing and Electrical grounding?

The difference between electrical earthing and electrical grounding is that in grounding the current
carrying part is connected to the ground, whereas in earthing the non-current carrying part is
connected to the ground. Grounding does not have zero potential but earthing has zero potential.

17) What is the importance of earthing?

Earthing is important because of the given below reasons:

a) Earthing protects the person from the short circuit current.

b) Earthing provides the easiest path of flow for short-circuit current at the time of insulation
failure.
c) Earthing protects the persons and apparatus from the high voltage surges and lightning
discharge.

18) What is meant by Sag?

'Sag' is the difference in level between the points of support and the lowest point on the conductor.

19) What is Corona?

'Corona' is the phenomenon of violet glow, hissing noise, and production of ozone gas in an overhead
transmission line.

20) Draw the Single Line Diagram of the Power Station?

21) How do you select the pickup value of the relay?

The pickup value of the relay should be more than the maximum load and it should allow the normal
load as well as the certain degree of overload to be supplied. The relay should be sensitive enough to
respond to the smallest fault, therefore, the pickup value should be less than the smallest fault
current.

22) What is the difference between a fuse and a breaker?

The difference between Fuse and a circuit breaker is that fuse works on the principle of the thermal
and electrical properties of the conducting materials, whereas the circuit breaker works on the
principle of electromagnetism and switching principle. We can use the fuses only once but circuit
breakers can be used many more times, and the breaking capacity of the fuse is low as compared with
the circuit breaker.
23) What is the difference between the relay and the circuit breaker?

The difference between the relay and the circuit breaker is that relay is a switching device that gives
the signal to the circuit breaker in case of fault occurrence, whereas circuit breaker breaks the circuit
automatically when receives the signal.

24) What is the difference between resistance grounding system and resistance earthing system?

In resistance grounding, one or more resistance is connected to the neutral of the system. Resistance
winding limits the fault current and protects the system from transient over-voltages. The arcing
ground risk is decreased by the resistance grounding and permits the ground fault protection,
whereas resistance earthing system is provided in electric equipment to protect the equipment from
the occurrence of the fault in the system.

25) What is Primary and Backup protection?

Primary protection also known as main protection is the first line of protection which provides quick
acting and clearing of the fault within the boundary of the elements it protects. In the electrical
installation, the primary protection is provided to each section. Whereas the backup protection
provides the backup to the primary or main protection whenever it fails in operation and cut out for
repair. For the proper functioning of the electrical system back up protection is essential.

26) What is meant by Bus Bar Protection?

When the fault occurs on the bus bar, then the whole of the supply gets interrupted, and all the
feeders are disconnected in this case Busbar protection is provided to the system to eliminate the
occurrence of these faults. For removing the faults the entire circuits connecting the faulty section
needs to be open.

27) How many types of fault occur in a 3-phase power system?

Electrical faults are the deviation of voltage and current from normal values. There are two types of
faults that occur in a three-phase system.

a) Symmetrical faults.
b) Unsymmetrical faults.

28) What are the effects of Electrical Faults?

The effects of electrical faults are as follows:

 Over-current flow- During fault occurrence high current flows in the system and which leads to
tripping of relays, damaging insulation and components of the equipment.

 The danger to operating personnel- Fault can also affect the individual working there, and
severity of the fault depends upon the voltage and current at the point of fault.

 Loss of equipment- Heavy current due to short circuit faults result in the burning of equipment
completely which leads to improper working of equipment or device.

 Disturbed interconnected active circuits- During the occurrence of fault the active, connected
components of the system also get disturbed.
29) Give some example of fault limiting devices?

Some examples of fault limiting devices are as follows:

1. Circuit Breaker- It is a device which works in normal condition and breaks when an abnormal
condition occurs.

2. Fuse- A fuse is a thin wire enclosed in a casing or glass which connects two metal parts. It is used
as a primary protection device.

3. Relay- It is a condition based operating switch which opens its contact when an abnormal
condition occurs.

4. Lighting power protection devices- These are the devices that are used to protect the system
from surge voltages or lighting like- lightning arrestors and grounding devices.

30) When are the directional relays used?

In ring main feeder system, single end fed system of parallel feeders directional relays are used.

31) What are the causes of electrical faults?

The causes of electrical faults are as follows:

a) The existing weather conditions like lightning strikes, heavy rains, heavy winds, salt
deposition on overhead lines and conductors etc. interrupts the powers supply and
damages the damages the electrical installations.

b) Malfunctioning, aging, insulation failure of cables and winding leads to failure of equipment
like generators, motor, transformer.

c) Electrical faults are also caused because of human errors such as selecting an improper
rating of equipment, switching the circuit while it is under servicing etc.

32) What is Skin Effect?

The tendency of an alternating electric current (A.C) to get distributed within a conductor such that
the current density becomes largest near the surface of the conductor, and decreases with greater
depth in the conductor, is called as "Skin Effect."

33) What is the bundle conductor?

A bundle conductor consists of two or more parallel sub-conductors at a spacing of several diameters.

34) What is the use of bundle conductors?

Bundle conductors are used to reducing the Corona and Skin effect.

35) What are the commonly used schemes for the bus zone protection?

The commonly used schemes for the protection are:

i. Backup Protection.
ii. Differential overcurrent protection.
iii. Circulating current protection.
iv. Voltage overvoltage protection.
v. Frame leakage protection.
36) What are the internal and external faults?

Internal faults are the faults that occur within the zone of protection and external faults are the faults
that occur outside the zone of protection.

37) What are the advantages of a Three-Phase system over a Single-Phase System?

The advantages of the three-phase transformer over a single-phase transformer are as follows:

 In the three-phase system, the power delivered is constant whereas the power delivered in the
single-phase system is pulsating in nature.

 The three-phase induction motors are self-starting and more efficient whereas the single-phase
motor is not self-starting and requires an auxiliary means for the start of motor.

 The output of the three-phase machine is higher than a single-phase machine for a given size of
a frame.

 Three phase motors have higher power factor whereas the single phase motors have low power
factor.

38) What is Critical disruptive Voltage?

The minimum phase to a neutral voltage that is required for corona discharge to start is called the
Critical disruptive voltage. In this, the corona discharge means the current discharge in the air.

Critical Disruptive Voltage:

Vc = μ x ß x[r log (d/r)]

Where the value of surface irregularity factor μ for a different surface condition is as follows:

Surface ConditionValue of Surface Irregularity Factor μPolished Surface1Conductor with dust

deposit0.92 to 0.98Stranded Conductor0.8 to 0.87

39) What is a Slack bus?

A slack bus also known as reference bus or swing bus balances the active and reactive power of the
system. The slack bus serves as angular reference for all the buses in the system.

40) How many methods use the load flow solution?

The method that uses the load flow analysis is as follows:

1) Gauss-Seidel method using Y bus

2) Newton- Raphson method (NR)
3) Power flow through slack bus and line.
4) Decouple load flow method
5) Fast Decouple load flow method
 Electrical Machines Interview questions

1) What is a single phase Autotransformer?

A Single-phase autotransformer is a single winding transformer in which a part of the winding is

common to both high-voltage and low-voltage sides.

2) What are the advantages of Autotransformer?

The advantages of autotransformer are as follows:

1. Less winding material is required in case of the autotransformer.
2. These transformers are not costly.
3. These transformers are smaller in size.
4. In Autotransformer ohmic losses and core losses are less.
5. These transformers have high efficiency.

3) What are the disadvantages of Autotransformer?

The disadvantages of autotransformer are as follows:

1) In case of Autotransformer effective impedance is smaller.

2) In the case of open circuit winding, full voltage is transferred from the primary side to the
secondary, and this can burn the equipment.

4) What are the applications of Autotransformers?

The applications of autotransformer are as follows:

 These are used for the interconnection of the power system at different voltage levels like 132KV
and 230KV.

 In the distribution system, autotransformers are used to boost the supply voltage.

 Autotransformers can be used for starting induction motors and synchronous motors if it has
many tappings.

 Autotransformers can be used as variac (variable a.c).

5) What is the general system requirement of Alternator?

There is a requirement of two types of system for the generation of e.m.f.

1. The Magnetic system is required for the production of the magnetic field.

2. Armature system is required for the houses of conductors on which the EMF is to be induced.

6) What are the advantages of Stationary Armature and Rotating Field System?

The advantages of the stationary armature and rotating field system are as follows:

1) The coils of the stationary armature can be insulated easily.

2) The cooling of the winding is more efficient.
3) In the motor high peripheral speed can be achieved.
4) In this Slip rings and brushes are not necessary, and we can easily supply the output current to
the load circuit.

7) What is meant by Stator? What is meant by Rotor?

In AC/DC motor or Generator, the stationary part of the system is called the Stator, and the rotating
components of the system, i.e., either in generator or motor is called the Rotor.

8) What are the Advantages of the three-phase motor over Single phase motor?

The advantages of three Phase motor over single phase motor are as follows:

1. Starting Torques are higher.

2. Improved speed regulation is there.
3. Less vibration is there.
4. The operation is quite.

9) What is the basic principle of operation of Alternators/DC generators?

Alternators/DC generators work on the fundamental principle of Faraday?s law of Electromagnetic

Induction. This law states that when we move any current carrying conductor in a magnetic field, then
an EMF is induced in it.

10) How to minimize the Eddy Current Losses?

Eddy current losses can be minimized by laminating the core and insulating the core from each other
with paper or varnish.

11) What is meant by Turbo Alternators?

High-speed alternators are called Turbo Alternators. Because of the high speed of rotation, the
diameter of the rotor is reduced, and the axial length is increased. In this two or four poles machine
are used, and steam turbines are used as prime movers.

12) What are the various types of Rotor used in the Alternators?

The various types of a rotor are:

1) Salient pole Rotor.

2) Squirrel Cage Rotor.
3) Wound Rotor.
4) Cylindrical Rotor.

13) Define Pole Pitch?

Pole pitch is defined as the distance between the Centres of two adjacent poles. In which one pole
pitch is equal to 180 electrical degrees. We can also describe it as the number of slots per pole.

14) Define Coil Span?

Coil Span is defined as the distance between the two coil sides of a coil. We can also express it in
electrical degrees or many slots.

15) What is meant by full pitched winding?

Full pitched winding are those winding in which the coil span is equal to the pole pitch.
16) What is meant by short-pitched winding?

Short pitched winding are those in which the coil span is less than the pole pitch. These winding are
also called as short-chorded winding.

17) What are the advantages and disadvantages of Short-pitched winding?

The advantages of the short-pitched winding are:

1. Copper is saved for end connections.

2. The Waveform of the generated EMF is improved.
3. The generated EMF in the winding can be made approximate to a sine wave, and the distorting
harmonics can also be reduced in these winding.

The disadvantages of the short-pitched winding are:

 In these winding the total voltage around the coil reduces. Because the voltage that induces in
the two coils is out of phase.

18) Why the efficiency of a three-phase induction is the motor is less than that of a three-phase
transformer?

The efficiency of a three-phase induction motor is less than three-phase transformer because three-
phase induction motor is like a rotating transformer and because of the rotating nature of induction
motor there is friction and winding losses in it. Three phase transformer is a static device; therefore,
there are no rotational losses.

19) Why is the air gap between the pole pieces and the armature kept very small?

The air gap between the pole pieces and the armature is kept very small because of the following
reasons:

I. To maintain the field strength at a high value.

II. To generate the high voltage.

If the air gap will be large than stronger air gap is needed to produce the required voltage; therefore,
the air gap is kept very small.
Because of the reason that flux lines can pass through iron very quickly than the air gap.

20) Why does curving the pole faces in a DC machine contributes to a smoother DC output voltage
from it?

The commutation of the DC machine must be as ideal as possible for having smoother output voltage.
For good commutation, the flux density in the air gap must decrease gradually from maximum value
under the center of the pole to zero.

21) The series field winding has low resistance while the shunt field winding has high resistance.
Why?

In the case of the generator, the series winding takes the full load current so, it requires very few
turns to produce the necessary magnetic field, and therefore the series field winding has low
resistance. But in the case of shunt winding the shunt resistance has full load voltage across it and
requires a large number of turns to limit the current in it; therefore, the shunt field windings has high
resistance.
22) What are the conditions to be satisfied for parallel operation of DC generators?

The conditions for parallel operation are as follows:

1. The generator's polarity must be the same, or the connections must be interchanged until the
polarity becomes the same.
2. Both the generators must have equal voltage.
3. The change of voltage with the change of load should be of the same character.
4. The positive and negative of the bus bar must be appropriately connected with positive and
negative terminals of the generator.
5. There must be stable and similar rotational speed characteristics for the prime movers driving
the generator.

23) What are the reasons for the parallel operation of transformers?

The main reasons for operating transformers in parallel are as follows:

1) This is an economical method for large loads.

2) Parallel operation of transformer allows us to add extra load if required in future.
3) The space capacity of the substation can be reduced by parallel operation if we connect
transformers of standard size.
4) The parallel connection maximizes the electrical power system availability as we can shut down
any system for maintenance without affecting other system performance.

24) What are the significant parts of DC Generator?

The significant parts of DC generator are:

1. Yoke Poles.
2. Armature.
3. Field winding.
4. Armature Winding.
5. Commutator brushes.

25) What is a Commutator?

The device which converts the alternating induced emf of a generator to the DC emf is called
Commutator. In the case of the motor, it produces unidirectional torque.

26) What is meant by reactance voltage?

When a coil undergoes Commutation in a coil then an EMF is induced, and this induced EMF is called
reactance voltage.

An armature coil has certain self-inductance, and when the coil undergoes commutation then there is
a change in current (di) in that coil, and the commutation takes certain time (dt) thus the coil
undergoing commutation has self-induced EMF which is given by L(di/dt).

27) What are Electric Motors?

An electromechanical device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy is called an
electric motor.
Almost all the motors operate by the interaction between the magnetic field and current carrying
conductors to generate force.

28) On what principle Electric motor works?

When a current carrying conductor is placed in an external magnetic field perpendicular to the
conductor, the conductor experiences a perpendicular force to itself and the external magnetic field.

The main principle behind the production of mechanical force is the interaction between the electric
current and magnetic field.

To find the direction of the force experienced on a conductor can find out by the right-hand rule for
the force.

29) How many types of electric motors are there?

There are mainly two types of electric motors:

1) A.C Motors.
2) D.C Motors.
30) What is an AC motor?

AC motors are electric motors that are driven by an alternating current. It consists of two parts an
outside stationary stator and inside the rotor. The outer stators have coils that are supplied by an
alternating current to produce a rotating magnetic field and inside rotor is attached by output shaft,
and the torque is provided to it by the rotating field.

31) What is a DC motor?

The machine that transforms electrical energy into mechanical energy in the form of rotation is called
DC motor. Its movement is produced by the physical behavior of the electromagnetism. The magnetic
field used to generate movement is produced by the inductors inside them, or we can say that DC
motors are mechanically commutated electric motors that are driven by Direct Current (DC).

32) What are the applications of the Electric motors?

Applications of Electric motors are:

1. Industrial fans.
2. Machine tools.
3. Household Applications.
4. Record Players.
5. Disk Drives.
6. Power tools.
7. Blowers and pumps etc.

33) What is the Universal motor?

The motor which is designed to operate on AC and DC power both is known as Universal motor or
Series wound motor. It performs very well on AC because in case of AC the current in both the field
and the armature alternates in synchronism manner and hence, the resulting mechanical force occurs
in the constant direction of rotation.

34) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the AC motors?

Advantages of AC motor are as follows:

1) AC motors have a low cost.

2) These motors have a long life.
3) These motors have high efficiency.
4) AC motors are available in high rating.
5) It is available in standardized types.

Disadvantages of AC motor are as follows:

1. Variable frequency source is required for speed control.

2. High starting inrush current is there.

35) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the DC motors?

Advantages of DC motor are as follows:

1) DC motors have long Lifespan.

2) These motors require low maintenance.
3) DC motors have high efficiency.
4) DC motors have high holding torque.
5) Precision positioning is there.

Disadvantages of DC motor are as follows:

1. Its initial cost is higher.

2. They require a controller for its operation.
3. DC motors are costlier.

36) What is the slip speed?

Slip speed is the difference between the synchronous speed and the actual speed of the rotor. The
formula for Slip is:

37) What are the advantages of skewing of cage rotor conductors?

The advantages of skewing of cage rotor conductors are as follows:

I. Skewing of cage rotor conductors helps to reduce the noise during operation.
II. The locking of the stator and rotor teeth is reduced because of skewing of cage rotor conductors.

38) How many types of losses occur in a transformer?

Two types of losses occur in a transformer:

1. Iron loss or Core loss Pi

2. Copper loss or I2R loss Pc

39) What is an iron loss or core loss Pi?

Iron loss is the sum of hysteresis loss (Ph) and eddy current loss (Pe). This type of loss mainly occurs in
the magnetic core of the transformer.

Pi = Ph + Pe
40) What is a Copper loss or I2R loss Pc?

The loss which takes place in the primary and secondary winding of the transformer because of the
winding resistance is called the Copper loss or I2R loss.

The Total copper loss in the transformer = Primary winding copper loss + Secondary winding copper
loss

41) What is Dielectric Loss?

The losses that occur in insulating materials, that is, in the transformer oil and the solid insulation of
transformer are known as a dielectric loss.

42) Why do we perform an Open-circuit test and Short-circuit test on the transformer?

The Open-Circuit test and Short-Circuit test are performed to determine the circuit constant,
efficiency and regulation of a transformer, without loading the transformer. The power consumption
of these loads is very less.