Electric Power

Distribution
Distribution of Electrical Energy
 In north America, medium voltage networks
generally operate at voltages between 2.4 kV and
69 kV
 In turn, they supply million of low-voltage systems
that function between 120 V and 600 V.
 In Pakistan, distribution companies are responsible
to operate 132 kV and 11kV lines and feed million
of low voltage systems operating at 230/440 V.
 500 kV/132 kV power transformers are rated
as160 MVA which are being replaced by 250 MVA
transformers (NTDC-Pakistan).
Distribution of Electrical Energy
 The distribution involves substations where
high voltage transmission-line voltage is
reduced close to the power-consuming
centers.
Substation Equipment
 Transformers
 Circuit breakers
 Horn-gap switches
 Disconnecting switches
 Grounding switches
 Surge Arrestors
 Current limit reactors
 Instrument transformers
 Relays and other protection devices
Transformers
 At substations, the high voltage (500 kV or
220 kV) are reduced to 12 kV by means of HV
power transformers
 These transformers may be rated as 160 MVA

or 250 MVA (Pakistan scenario)

 The 132 kV power transformers at the

substations are protected by circuit breakers.

Circuit Breakers

 Circuit breakers are designed to interrupt

normal or short-circuit currents.
 These CBs could be operated or closed by

local push button or by distant

telecommunication signals emitted by the
system of protection.
 The CB opens or closes wherever the line

current, line voltage, or frequency depart

from a preset limit.
Types of Circuit Breakers

 Oil circuit Breakers

 Air-blast circuit breakers
 SF6 CBS
 Vacuum CBs
Important Nameplate Data of a CB
 The max. steady-state current it can carry
 The max. interrupting current
 The max. line voltage
 The interrupting time (3 to 8 cycle)
Triggering action of a CB

 the triggering action is usually produced by

means of an overhead relay that can detect
abnormal line conditions.
 Here, the relay coil is connected to the
secondary of a current transformer.
 The primary carries the line current of the

phase that has to be protected.

 When line current exceeds a preset value, the

secondary current will cause relay contacts

C1 and C2 to close.
 This will energize the trip coil by an auxiliary

dc source.
 This will cause the three main line contacts to

open, thus interrupting the circuit.

Oil circuit breaker
 Composed of a steel tank filled with
insulating oil
 Three porcelain bushings channel the 3-

phase line currents to a set of fixed contacts.

 Three movable contacts, actuated by an

insulated rod, open and close the circuit.

 When the CB is closed, the line current

penetrates the tank by way of the porcelain

bushing, flows through the first fixed contact,
the movable contact, the second fixed
contact and then out by a second bushing.
Introduction
 The electrical energy produced at the
generating stations is conveyed to consumers
through a network of transmission and
distribution systems.
 In this lecture we shall study various

distribution systems.
Oil circuit breaker
 When overload occurs, the tripping coil
releases a powerful spring that pulls the
insulated rod, causing the contacts to open.
 As soon as the contacts separate, a violent

arc is created which volatilizes the

surrounding oil.
 The pressure of the hot gases creates

turbulence around the contacts.

 This causes cool oil to swirl around the arc,

thus extinguishing it shown below.

 Other circuit breakers work on the same
principle except that the medium of
insulation is provided by other means such as
SF6, vacuum, compressed air etc.
Air-Break Switches
 This switch is used to interrupt the exciting
current of transformers or moderate
capacitive currents of unloaded transmission
lines. They can not interrupt normal load
current.
Disconnecting Switches
 these switches are unable to interrupt any
current. They must only be opened or closed
when the current is zero.
 They are basically insulating switches,

enabling us to isolate CB, transformers,

transmission lines etc from a live network.

Surge Arresters
 The surge arresters are used to limit the over-voltages
that occur across transformers and other electrical
apparatus due either to lightning or switching surges.
 The upper end of the arrester is connected to the line
terminal that has to be protected, while the lower end is
solidly connected to the ground.
 A surge arrester clips any voltage in excess of a
specified maximum by permitting a large current to get
diverted to ground and hence absorbs energy from
incoming surge.
 The V-I characteristics of ideal surge arrester is therefor,
horizontal line whose level corresponds to the maximum
permissible surge voltage.
Surge Arresters
 in practice, the V-I characteristics slopes
upward, but it is still considered to be
reasonably flat.
Surge Arresters
 The earlier version of surge arresters are
composed of:
 External porcelain shell (tube) containing
stacked discs made of silicon carbide, Air gaps,
Ionizers and coils.
 Under normal conditions, air gaps prevent any

current from flowing through the tuber column.

 When overvoltage occurs, the spark gaps break

down and surge discharges to ground.

Surge Arresters
 The 50 Hz follow-through current is limited by
the resistance of the discs and the arc is
simultaneously stretched and cooled in a series of
arc chambers.
 The arcs are extinguished and the arrester is
ready to protect the next voltage surge.
 The discharge period is very short, rarely lasting
more than a fraction of a millisecond.
 More modem type of surge arresters use ZnO
blocks without any gap or other auxiliary devices.
These metal-oxide arresters are largely used now.
Current limiting reactors
 The MV bus in a substation usually energizes
several feeders, which carry power to regional
load centers surrounding the substation.
 The output impedance of the MV bus is usually
very low.
 If a short circuit occurs on one of the feeders,
the resulting short-circuit current could be very
high and disastrous. To prevent this from
happening, a current limiting reactor is
connected in series with each phase of the
feeder.
Current limiting reactors
 The reactance must be high enough to keep
the current below the interrupting capacity of
the circuit breaker but not so high as to
produce a large voltage drop under normal
full-load conditions.
Grounding Switches
 These are safety switches that ensure a
transmission line is definitely grounded while
any repair work is carried out.
 The grounding switches are opened or closed

only when the lines are de-energized .

Distribution system
 Definition- That part of a power system
which distributes electric power for local use
is known as distribution system.
Some Important Terms
 Feeders: A conductor which connects the
sub-station to the area where power is to be
distributed.
 Distributor: A conductor from which tapings

are taken to supply to the consumers.

 Service mains: A service mains is generally a

small cable which connects the distributor to

the consumer’s terminals.
Classification of Distribution
Systems
 Nature of current i.e. AC Distribution System
and DC Distribution System.
 Scheme of connection:

a) Radial
b) Ring main
c) Inter-connected
 Type of Construction: Overhead and under-
ground.
A.C. Distribution
 Power is generated as 3-Phase AC.
 Widely used throughout the world.
 Preferred because voltage magnitude can

conveniently be changed using transformer.

DC Distribution
 AC Power is converted to DC using rectifiers.
 Changing voltage magnitude in DC Requires

expensive equipment.
 Less common
 Only used for specialized requirements e.g.

Electrochemical Processes.
 DC Power can be stored in batteries.
DC Distribution

2-Wire DC Distribution 3-Wire DC Distribution

Connection Schemes
 Radial System
 Ring Main System
 Interconnected System
Radial System
 In this system, separate feeders radiate from
a single substation and feed the distributors
at one end only.
 The radial system is employed only when

power is generated at low voltage and the

substation is located at the center of load.
Radial System
Radial System
 Radial system is the simplest and cheapest
distribution circuit.
 It has following drawbacks:
 Uneven loading on the conductor.
 Single power source, hence whole system

suffers in case of a fault.

 Far end consumers suffer low voltage

problem due to voltage drop in the

conductor.
Ring Main System
 In this system, the distributor forms a loop.
 The circuit starts from the substation bus-

bars, makes a loop through the area to be

served, and returns to the substation.
Ring Main System
Ring Main System
 Ring Main System has following advantages:
 Less Voltage fluctuations.
 More reliable because it has 2 current paths.
 Less Losses.
Interconnected system
 When the feeder is energized by 2 or more
generating stations, the system is called an
interconnected system.
Interconnected System
Interconnected System
 Advantages:
 It increases reliability.
 Any area far from one generating station

during peak load hours can be fed from the

other generating station.
 Reduces reserve capacity requirement.
Types of Distributors
 Distributors fed at one end
 Distributors fed at both ends
 Distributors fed at the centre
 Ring Distributors
Distributors fed at one end
 In this type, the distributor is connected to
supply at one end and loads are taken at
different points along its length.
Distributors fed at one end
Distributors fed at one end
 The current in various sections of the
distributors away from the feeding point goes
on decreasing.
 The voltage across the loads away from the

feeding point goes on decreasing.

 In case of fault, whole distributor needs to be

disconnected.
Distributors fed at both ends
 In this type, the distributor is connected to
supply at both ends and loads are taken at
different points along its length.
 The voltage at feeding points may or may not

be equal.
Distributors fed at both ends
Advantages
 If fault occurs at one point, the supply from
other end can be continued.
 Voltage regulation is improved
Ring Main Distributor
 The distributor forms a loop in the area to be
served.
 It is equivalent to straight distributor fed

from both ends with equal voltages.

Ring Main Distributor
Distributors fed at centre
 In this type, the centre of the distributor is
connected to supply.
 It is equivalent to 2 singly fed distributors

having a common feeding point.

Distributor fed at centre
Food For Thought
 Why is power distributed at low voltages?
 „ Why DC distribution is not widely used?
 „ What is “ an AC system” and why use it?
 „ Which distribution system is the best in

your opinion ?
Solved Examples