Section 13:

Introduction

Utility Interface Considerations

Bill Brown, P.E., Square D Engineering Services

The vast majority of industrial and commercial facilities are served from public utilities. However, the utility interface is often the most neglected aspect of system design. This is especially true at the medium voltage level. Often, the service equipment manufacturer is expected to resolve issues that severely impact the design of the system. This can result in unexpected costs and project delays. These issues should be addressed during the system design stage, where the impacts to system reliability and cost can be adequately managed; only by knowing the utilitys requirements is this possible.

The utilitys jurisdiction

Because utilities must serve multiple consumers, they must take the steps they consider necessary to ensure reliable service over their entire system. Because of this, most utilities impose requirements on the design of the systems to which they supply power. Those elements of the system design over which the utility has jurisdiction vary from utility to utility. The utility always dictates which service voltages are available for a given size of service. The utility usually has some jurisdiction over the service disconnect and service overcurrent protection. Certainly, the utility has jurisdiction over (and usually the only access to) their revenue meters and metering instrument transformers. However, in some cases the utility will require jurisdiction over the entire service equipment, and can impose requirements upon system protection, equipment control power, and other parts of the system design. In some cases, the over-all arrangement of the system itself, including emergency/standby power systems, may be dictated by the utility. Because in most cases the utility is the sole service provider for a given region, negotiating these requirements is usually not feasible. Therefore, knowledge of the utilitys requirements is vital to successful, on-time, on-budget system design and construction.

Utility service requirements standards

Each utility typically maintains its own series of standards for individual consumer service requirements. Such requirements are often published in the form of a service requirements handbook or similarly-titled publication. The format of the standards, and the standards themselves, vary from utility to utility. This can be challenging to those engineers who design industrial and commercial facilities in different areas, and to equipment manufacturers. In recognition of this issue, EUSERC (Electric Utility Service Equipment Requirements Committee) was formed in 1983, combining southern-California-based PUSERC and northern-California-based WUESSC, which were older organizations formed in 1947 and 1950, respectively. The purposes of EUSERC are to promote uniform electric service requirements among its member utilities, to publish existing utility service requirements for electric service equipment, and to provide direction for development of future metering technology. EUSERC publishes a manual [1] which delineates requirements for electric service equipment through 34.5 kV. At the time of publication, 80 utilities from 12 states are involved with EUSERC. While EUSERC does not eliminate the need for individual utility requirements, it does help a great deal in making electrical service equipment more standardized and less costly.

System topology snf protection

Requirements for the system topology are designed to increase both the reliability of the over-all utility system and with the reliability of service to the installation in question. These requirements typically take the following forms:
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Restrictions on the size of services Restrictions on, or requirements for, normal and alternate services and transfer equipment between the two Restrictions or requirements for the configuration of emergency and standby power systems

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Restrictions on the types of service disconnecting devices allowed Restrictions on the types of service overcurrent protection allowed Requirements for service cable compartments in service equipment Requirements or restrictions on the number and types of protective relaying Requirements for the service switchgear as a whole

The most common requirement, which is applied to virtually every utility installation, is that the service overcurrent device must coordinate with the upstream utility overcurrent device, typically a recloser or utility substation circuit breaker. If there is standby power on the premises, the utility will typically require that paralleling the alternate power source with the utility source not be possible unless stipulated in the rate agreement for the service in question. Requirements for restricted access to service cable termination and service disconnect compartments in the service switchgear are another common. In some cases these must be in a dedicated switchgear or switchboard section, increasing the service equipment footprint. In many cases grounding means must be provided with the equipment to allow the utilitys preferred safety grounding equipment to be installed. In some cases, requirements may be imposed on the entire service switchgear, such as electrical racking for circuit breakers or barriers that are not standard for the equipment type used. In some cases the control power for the service switchgear, such as a battery, must be designed to the utilitys specifications. Additional protective relaying may be required to prevent abnormal conditions which, although not harmful to the system being served, affect the reliability of the utility system. In some cases the makes and models of protective relays for the service overcurrent protection are restricted to those the utility has approved.

Revenue metering requirements

Often the utilitys revenue metering requirements can have an effect the over-all system topology. There are two basic utility revenue metering arrangements: Hot-Sequence Metering: The metering instrument transformers are placed ahead of the service disconnect. Cold-Sequence Metering: The metering instrument transformers are placed on the load side of the service disconnect. With hot-sequence metering, the instrument transformers and meters may be placed on the last distribution pole for overhead services, or in a dedicated utility-supplied metering compartment outside the facility to be metered for underground services. In these cases, the effect of the utilitys instrument transformers and meters on the over-all design for the facility power system and equipment is usually minimal. However, in many cases the end-user, at their expense, must supply a utility instrument transformer compartment which houses the instrument transformers. The design requirements for these compartments are often detailed, and are present to insure that no tampering occurs with the instrument transformers or meters. These compartments typically take an entire section, or part of a section, of the service switchgear or a switchboard, increasing the footprint of this equipment. In some cases, the service equipment must provide housing for the meters as well, along with convenient access for the utilitys personnel. The utility typically provides and installs the instrument transformers and meters, although a few utilities require the end-user or equipment manufacturer to install these. In extreme cases the end-user must supply the instrument transformers and send them to the utility for testing. Identifying the requirements early in the design process helps to insure that all parties are aware of the costs involved. Utility revenue metering instrument transformers for services up to 600 V typically consist of two or three current transformers depending upon the system configuration, unless the service is small enough to be directly metered. In some cases voltage transformers may be required as well. Both the current and voltage transformers are designed for metering, with the current transformers typically being bar or wound-primary type. For services over 600 V, both voltage and current transformers are required, either two or three of each depending upon the system configuration. In some cases the utility will not allow the voltage transformers to be fused.

Additional regulatory requirements

In some cases there may be additional state regulatory requirements which apply. These are typically concern distributed generation and may severely restrict or otherwise impact the system design. These requirements must be fully understood before the system design is begun to avoid expensive changes later in the process. The Public Service Commission or similar governmental regulatory agency for the region in question typically controls these requirements.

Utility information required for system design

In designing the power system for any commercial or industrial facility the following information is crucial to adequate system design:
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Nominal service voltage. Maximum available fault current and associated X/R ratio. Minimum available fault current. Data on the utilitys nearest upstream protective device (device type and ratings, relay type and settings if applicable). Latest edition of the utilitys service handbook or similar publication. Latest edition of additional state regulatory requirements, if applicable. Contact information for utilitys system engineer or equivalent for the region in question. Utility rate agreement, if available.

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All of these, except items 6 and 8, should be available from the serving utility. Item 6 should be available from the regional Public Service Commission or similar governmental regulatory agency. Item 8 may not be available at the outset, but should be taken into consideration as soon as it becomes available.

References
[1]

EUSERC Manual, Electric Utility Service Equipment Requirements Committee, 2005 Edition