SYNCHROPHASOR

APPLICATIONS IN
PROTECTION SCHEMES
Dr. Deepa S Kumar
Deputy Manager
400 kV Trivandrum Substation
Outline

 Introduction
 Synchrophasors in Indian Power System - Background
 State-of-the-Art PMU Applications
 Synchrophasor Applications in Protection Schemes
 Way Forward
Introduction

ALL INDIA INSTALLED CAPACITY AS ON

22.10.2020 IN MW
Total Installed Capacity 
(October 2020) - 
Source : Central Electricity Authority (CEA)         
RES
24%

Sector MW % of Total

Central Sector 93,927 25.20%

HYDRO THERMAL
12% 62%
State Sector 103,617 27.80%

NUCLEAR
2% Private Sector 175,486 47.00%

3,73,029
Total
THERMAL NUCLEAR HYDRO RES  
Introduction

As on April 2020
Introduction
Introduction

Bio-Power
Small Hydro
Wind Power BM Power/ Waste to Solar Power Total Capacity
Power
Congen Energy

4739.97 38124.15 10145.92 168.64 36050.74 89229.42

45000
40000
35000
30000
25000
MW

20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Category 1
RES

Small Hydro Wind Biomass Waste to Energy Solar

Introduction
Introduction
Synchrophasors in Indian National Grid - URTDSM

 Wide Area Monitoring (WAM) applications- One of the

first applications, deployed by Hydro-Quebec in 1976 for
their 736 kV transmission system.

 Over decades the system upgraded - the number of

phasor measurement units (PMUs) and archiving
capabilities increased - being used to monitor the
stability of the power system.

 Synchrophasor initiatives in India started with a project

consisting of 4 PMUs and 1 PDC along with data
historian and operator console in May 2010 in Northern
Region.

 Under URTDSM scheme, PMUs (Phasor Measurement

Units) - installed at all 400kV & above Substations, HVDC
stations, 220 kV & above generating plant and important
tie lines.

 URTDSM scheme in tits first phase have more than 1400

PMUs installed across the Indian transmission grid along
with PDCs (Phasor Data Concentrator) including its
associated devices, use of fibre optic communication
infrastructure etc.
Synchrophasors in Indian National Grid - URTDSM
• IEEE C37.118.1 & 2 (2011)
standards and the (C37.244
2013) guide anticipated the use
of synchrophasors in protection
and control.
• The technology is now being
applied both in monitoring and
control domains.
• C37.244 guide specifies more
capabilities for designing the
measurement infrastructure.
Introduction
• Blackouts in last decade across the world
Adaptive Critical Angle Threshold - Relevance

TURKISH BLACKOUT 2015 INDIAN BLACKOUT 2012

Adaptive Critical Angle Threshold - Relevance
• Cyclone Titli in India in
October 2018.

• Blackout of 765/400 kV
Srikakulam SS in AP.

• Offline studies during

restoration indicated
that angular separation
between Srikakulam and
connected bus increased
to 37 degrees with first
swing power flow of the
order of 6000 MW
Adaptive Critical Angle Threshold – Application
Adaptive Critical Angle Threshold – Application
Implementation Plan
• ACAT - a key index and an indicator to
grid operator in proactive mitigation of
angular instability in the grid
• The synchrophasor technology enables
accurate calculation of ACAT on real
time basis.
• Real time/online calculation makes the
index adaptive to variation in system
topologies as well as system
vulnerabilities.
• Furthermore, the local system model
formed for deriving ACAT has less
computational burden while capturing
the dynamics of external system, at
the same time, without requirement
of intricate power system details.
• Thorough study required using a test
bed for practical implementation.
Power swing blocking de-blocking scheme - Relevance
Power swing blocking de-blocking scheme - Application
Implementation Plan
Publications

•Kumar, Deepa S., and J. S. Savier. "Critical Angle Threshold Using Local Synchrophasors
for Real Time Angular Instability Detection." IET Generation, Transmission &
Distribution (2020).

•Kumar, Deepa S., and J. S. Savier. "Synchrophasor-based system integrity protection

scheme for an ultra-mega-power project in India." IET Generation, Transmission &
Distribution 13.8 (2018):1220-1228.