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Introduction to Energy Utility Industry
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Module-05
Substation Distribution
Jerry Bernardini
Community College of Rhode Island
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Substation Distribution References
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“Electric Power Basics For the Nonelectrical Professional”, Steven W.
Blume, IEEE Press, pp. 101-132, Chapter-5
“An Introduction to Electric Power Distribution”, second edition, Wayne
Beaty; pp. 33-66
“Basic Electric Power Distribution”, third edition, Anthony J. Pansini; pp.
165-182
"Three Phase Transformer Info”, http://www.electoolbox.com/usefulinfo/xfmr-3ph.htm
Electrical engineering Tutorials, Electric Power Systems
http://powerelectrical.blogspot.com/2007/03/electric-power-systems-and-its.html
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Simplified Electric Power System
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Substation to Consumer Distribution Systems
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Electrical energy from the substation to the service-entrance of customer
Primaries lines are the high voltage side of the distribution transformer
Secondary lines are the low-voltage side of the distribution transformer
Secondary lines tie to the transformer and run from pole to pole.
The consumer's service drop runs from the secondary line or transformer to
our consumer's meter.
Most distribution systems in the U.S. operate at primary voltages between
12.5 kV and 24.9 kV. Some operate at 34.5 kV
These low voltage (4 kV) distribution systems are being phased out.
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Distribution Components
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At key locations along the distribution system,
voltage is lowered by distribution transformers to
the level needed by consumers
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Reclosers are located throughout the distribution
system to prevent a permanent outage due to a
temporary fault
– will automatically restore the circuit when power
is lost due to a temporary fault.
– If an outage occurs, reclosers will localize the fault
in order to minimize the number of consumers
affected.
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Regulators maintain the voltage depending on
consumer demand for electricity
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Capacitors, which are found in substations and
on poles, momentarily store electricity to help
control and improve voltage regulation
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Substation Electrical Power Flow
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Step-up Transmission Substation
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Substations receives electric power from a nearby generating facility and
uses a large power transformer to increase the voltage for transmission to
distant locations.
A transmission bus is used to distribute electric power to one or more
transmission lines.
A substation can have circuit breakers that are used to switch generation
and transmission circuits in and out of service as needed
Typical voltages are:
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High voltage (HV) ac: 69 kV, 115 kV, 138 kV, 161 kV, 230 kV
Extra-high voltage (EHV) ac: 345 kV, 500 kV, 765 kV
Ultra-high voltage (UHV) ac: 1100 kV, 1500 kV
Direct-current high voltage (dc HV): ±250 kV, ±400 kV, ±500 kV
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Distribution Substation
• Stations are located near to the end-users.
• Distribution substation transformers change the transmission or
subtransmission voltage to lower levels for use by end-users.
• Typical distribution voltages 34,500/19,920 volts to 4,160/2400
volts.
• The voltage between the three phase conductors or wires
would be 34,500 volts and the voltage between one phase
conductor and the neutral ground would be 19,920 volts
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Underground Distribution Substation
• Are also located near to the end-users.
• Distribution substation transformers change the
subtransmission voltage to lower levels for use by end-users.
• Typical distribution voltages vary from 34,500/19,920 volts to
4,160/2400 volts.
• An underground system may consist of these parts:
– Conduits - Duct Runs –Manholes - High-Voltage Underground Cables
– Transformer Vault- Riser - Transformers
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System Voltages and Categories
• System voltage is a term used to identify whether reference is being
made to secondary or primary distribution systems.
• Residential, commercial, and small industrial loads are normally
served with voltages under 600 volts.
• Manufacturers have standardized the provision of insulated wire to
have a maximum 600 Vac rating for “secondary” services.
• For example, household wire such as extension cords has a 600 Vac
insulation rating.
• Other than changing the plugs and sockets on either end, one could
use this wire for higher voltages such as 240 Vac (679 Vpp).
Common Distribution Voltages
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Distribution Feeders
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Radial distribution feeders have only one end of the distribution powerline
is connected to a source.
If the source for a radial end becomes opened (i.e., deenergized) the
entire feeder is deenergized and all the consumers connected to that
feeder are out of service.
Distribution feeders might have several disconnect switches located
throughout the line. This allows for:
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load transfer capability
isolation of line sections for maintenance
Visual openings for safety
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Single and Three Phase Electrical Power
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Most residential application use single phase power
Most Industrial applications use three phase power
Most power transmission is three phase ( excluding HVDC)
The main benefit of three phase power it is typically 150%
more efficient than singe phase in the same power range.
• Conductors are 75% the size of a singe phase for same power
• Three phase invented by Nikola Tesla
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Electrical Phasors
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Electrical signals can be represented by phasors
This a very useful way of viewing electrical power at different phase angles
By convention phasors rotate counter clockwise
As the phasor rotates the amplitude varies as a sine of the angle
Electrical power different phases means they started at different times
Three phase power mean three power sources that are synch but started
1/3 of a 60 Hz cycle apart
Phasor-2
Phasor-1
Phasor-3
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Wye-Delta Connections
• Delta system
– is a good short-distance distribution system.
It is used for neighborhood and small
commercial loads close to the supplying
substation.
– Only one voltage is available between any two
wires in a delta system.
• Wye System
– the voltage between any two wires will always
give the same amount of voltage on a three
phase system.
– In a wye system, the voltage between any two
power conductors will always be 1.732 (which
is the square root of 3) times the voltage
between the neutral and any one of the
power phase conductors.
– The phase-to-ground voltage can be found by
dividing the phase-to-phase voltage by 1.732
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Wye and Delta Feeders and Connections
• Most of the three-phase distribution feeders and
transformer connections use the wye system alternative
because it offers more advantages than disadvantages.
• Although delta distribution systems do exist, much of the
delta distribution has been converted to wye.
• The wye connection has one wire from each coil
connected together to form the neutral. Most of the
time, this neutral is grounded. Grounding gives earth an
electrical reference
Grounded
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Earth Grounding
• The earth surface is conductive most of the time.
• Depending on the type of soil
– (rich fertile soil vs. granite rock)
– the condition of the soil (wet vs. dry)
– earth can be a very good conductor or a very poor conductor (i.e., a very good
insulator) or both, depending on the season.
• A reliable earth connection provides
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neutral zero voltage reference
improves such things as safety
Improves voltage stability
Improves protection system design.
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Delta-Wye Issues
• Most are wye, indicating a four-wire power line having line to-line
voltages and line-to-neutral voltages.
• The common adopted standard is the wye–wye configuration
distribution transformer bank.
• The preferred method of connecting equipment is by four-wire wye
connected to four-wire wye–wye distribution transformers on a
four-wire wye primary.
• Transmission and subtransmission lines are built as three-phase,
three-wire lines. Neutral is not provided on transmission lines
• The ends of the transmission lines are connected to either delta or
source grounded wye transformer connections.
• “Source-grounded wye” connection means that the transmission
transformer in the substation is a four-wire wye transformer that
has the three phases connected to the line conductors and the
neutral connected to the substation ground grid.
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Delta-Wye Issues-2
• Most distribution systems use grounded-wye connections
– Current is usually present in the neutral because the three phase currents are
normally not balanced.
• Three wire delta distribution lines exist, primarily in rural
areas where a neutral is not present.
– Those lines are more vulnerable to stray currents and voltages through the earth as
the earth tries to balance the current flow.
• The preferred standard for distribution is the grounded-wye
configuration.
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Typical Single
Transformer
Configurations
http://www.bmillere
ngineering.com/elec
sys.htm
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Typical ThreePhase Three-Wire
Delta
Configurations
http://www.bmillere
ngineering.com/elec
sys.htm
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Typical ThreePhase Three-Wire
Wye
Configurations
http://www.bmillere
ngineering.com/elec
sys.htm
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Typical ThreePhase Four-Wire
Wye
Configurations
http://www.bmillere
ngineering.com/elec
sys.htm
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Mostly advantages of Grounded-Wye
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Common ground reference.
The common ground improves voltage stability
Easier to detect line-to-ground faults.
Better single-phase protection with fuses.
Common practice on delta systems to replace all
three fuses
• Disadvantage-Requires four conductors. Delta
systems require only three conductors for threephase power.
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Delta Advantages and Disadvantages
• Advantages:
– Delta systems require only three conductors for three-phase power.
– Power quality enhancement and third-order harmonics are eliminated due
to a natural cancellation.
– Minimize the effect that lightning has on a system.
• Disadvantages:
– No ground reference.
– Stray currents. Distribution transformers can cause stray currents to flow
in the earth when their low-voltage secondary side is grounded.
– Unbalanced currents. Three-phase transformer banks can regulate the
primary voltage or try to equalize the primary voltage.
• Comparing all the advantages and disadvantages, the
multi-grounded neutral, four-wire wye-distribution
feeder is the preferred method.
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Wye Primaries Overhead
• Wye-connected primary distribution lines consist of three
phases and a neutral
• The neutral is grounded at every pole in most systems.
• Some rural grounded-wye systems might follow
grounding a minimum of five grounds per mile
• a continually grounded neutral is referred to as a
multigrounded neutral (MGN).
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Delta Primaries
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Delta primary distribution lines use three conductors (one for each phase)
and no neutral.
Single-phase transformers must have two high-voltage bushings and each
bushing must connect directly to different phases.
Delta primaries do not have primary neutrals
Transformer tank grounds and lightning arrester grounds are connected to
a ground rod at the base of the pole with a ground wire along the side of
the pole.
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Residential Transformer Connections
• Standard residential service voltage is 120/240 Vac,
most distribution transformers have turns ratios that
produce the 120/240 Vac on their secondary or lowvoltage side.
• The residential distribution transformer has two
secondary windings
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Transformer Connections
• The most common transformer configurations:
– phase to neutral (i.e., line to ground) for single-phase
connections
– wye–wye for three-phase transformer-bank connections.
Connection
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Three-Phase Distribution Transformers
• Commercial and industrial consumers are supplied with three
phase power
• Small commercial and industrial consumers are normally served
with 208/120 Vac three-phase service.
• Larger commercial and industrial consumers are normally
served with 480/277 Vac three-phase service. (three
transformer bank)
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Dry Pack Transformers for 480/277 Vac Consumers
• A dry-pack transformers step down 480/277 to 208/120 Vac service
and 120 Vac
• Dry pack implies no insulation oil is contained in the transformer.
• Dry pack transformers are often located in closets or small rooms
with high-voltage warning signs posted on the door
• Most of the large motor loads (i.e., elevators) at these larger
consumers operate at 480 Vac three-phase.
• The large arrays of lighting use 277 Vac line-to-ground single-phase
power.
• 0100 Lab has a dry-pack transformer
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Fuses and Cutouts
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The purposes of a fuse are to interrupt power flowing to equipment when
excessive current occurs and to provide equipment damage protection
due to short circuits and power faults.
Fuse takes a very short period of time to melt open when the current
rating is exceeded. The higher the excessive current, the faster the fuse
melts.
Fuse Cutouts are used to protect distribution transformers, underground
feeds, capacitor banks, PTs, and other equipment.
When blown, the fused cutout door falls open and provides a visible break
in the circuit for line workers to see.
Cutout door open
Cutout door closed
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Under Ground Service
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Underground construction is usually about three to five times more costly
than overhead construction.
Most people prefer underground construction as opposed to overhead.
Underground systems are not exposed to birds, trees, wind, and lightning,
and should be more reliable.
However, underground systems fault due to cable, elbow, splice, dig-in,
and connector failures.
When underground systems fault, they usually cause significant damage
(i.e., cable, elbow, or splice failure).
Therefore, underground feeders are usually not automatically reclosed
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Primary Underground Cable
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Primary underground cables are one of the most important parts of any
underground system.
If a fault occurs on an underground cable, the feeder or fused section of
line is out of service until a crew can isolate the bad section of cable and
perform necessary load-transfer switching to restore power.
The main center conductor is composed of either copper or aluminum.
The outer conductor is the concentric neutral and is usually copper.
The outer cover jacket is made of polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or
thermoplastic material.
The concentric neutral helps trip a circuit breaker or fuse quickly if dug
into by a backhoe or other equipment.
helps trip a circuit
breaker or fuse quickly
if dug into
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