UNIT-V TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTIOIN

400 kV high-tension transmission lines near Madrid

Electric power transmission or "high voltage electric transmission" is the bulk transfer of
electrical energy, from generating power plants to substations located near to population centers.
This is distinct from the local wiring between high voltage substations and customers, which is
typically referred to as electricity distribution. Transmission lines, when interconnected with each
other, become high voltage transmission networks. In the US, these are typically referred to as
"power grids" or sometimes simply as "the grid", while in the UK the network is known as the
"national grid." North America has three major grids: The Western Interconnection; The Eastern
Interconnection and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (or ERCOT) grid.

Historically, transmission and distribution lines were owned by the same company, but over the
last decade or so many countries have introduced market reforms that have led to the separation of
the electricity transmission business from the distribution business.
[1]


Transmission lines mostly use three phase alternating current (AC), although single phase AC is
sometimes used in railway electrification systems. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology
is used only for very long distances (typically greater than 400 miles, or 600 km); submarine
power cables (typically longer than 30 miles, or 50 km); or for connecting two AC networks that
are not synchronized.
Electricity is transmitted at high voltages (110 kV or above) to reduce the energy lost in long
distance transmission. Power is usually transmitted through overhead power lines. Underground
power transmission has a significantly higher cost and greater operational limitations but is
sometimes used in urban areas or sensitive locations.

A key limitation in the distribution of electricity is that, with minor exceptions, electrical energy
cannot be stored, and therefore it must be generated as it is needed. A sophisticated system of
control is therefore required to ensure electric generation very closely matches the demand. If
supply and demand are not in balance, generation plants and transmission equipment can shut
down which, in the worst cases, can lead to a major regional blackout, such as occurred in
California and the US Northwest in 1996 and in the US Northeast in 1965, 1977 and 2003. To
reduce the risk of such failures, electric transmission networks are interconnected into regional,
national or continental wide networks thereby providing multiple redundant alternate routes for
power to flow should (weather or equipment) failures occur. Much analysis is done by
transmission companies to determine the maximum reliable capacity of each line which is mostly
less than its physical or thermal limit, to ensure spare capacity is available should there be any
such failure in another part of the network.



Generation

Grand Total Installed Capacity (as on 30-09-2010) is 164,835.80 MW.
[23]


Thermal Power

Current installed capacity of Thermal Power (as of 30-09-2010) is 106,517.98
MW which is
64.6% of total installed capacity.

Current installed base of Coal Based Thermal Power is 87,943.38 MW
which comes to
53.3% of total installed base.
Current installed base of Gas Based Thermal Power is 17,374.85 MW which is 10.5% of
total installed capacity.
Current installed base of Oil Based Thermal Power is 1,199.75 MW which is 0.9% of total
installed capacity.

The state of Maharashtra is the largest producer of thermal power in the country.

Hydro Power
India was one of the pioneering countries in establishing hydro-electric power plants. The power
plant at Darjeeling and Shimsha (Shivanasamudra) was established in 1898 and 1902 respectively
and is one of the first in Asia.

The installed capacity as of 30-9-2010 was approximately 37,328.40 MW.
[24]
The public
sector has a predominant share of 97% in this sector.
[25]


Nuclear Power

Currently, twenty nuclear power reactors produce 4,560 MW (2.9% of total
installed base).

Renewable Power

Current installed base of Renewable energy is 16,492.42 MW which is 7.7% of total installed base
with the southern state of Tamil Nadu contributing nearly a third of it (5008.26 MW) largely
through wind power.
[23]


Transmission

Transmission of electricity is defined as bulk transfer of power over a long distance at high
voltage, generally of 132kV and above. In India bulk transmission has increased from 3,708ckm in
1950 to more than 165,000ckm today(as stated by Power Grid Corporation of
India). The entire
country has been divided into five regions for transmission systems, namely, Northern Region,
North Eastern Region, Eastern Region, Southern Region and Western Region. The Interconnected
transmission system within each region is also called the regional grid.

The transmission system planning in the country, in the past, had traditionally been linked to
generation projects as part of the evacuation system. Ability of the power system to safely
withstand a contingency without generation rescheduling or load-shedding was the main criteria
for planning the transmission system. However, due to various reasons such as
spatial development
of load in the network, non-commissioning of load center generating units originally planned and
deficit in reactive compensation, certain pockets in the power system could not safely operate even
under normal conditions. This had necessitated backing down of generation and operating at a
lower load generation balance in the past. Transmission planning has therefore moved away from
the earlier generation evacuation system planning to integrate system planning.

While the predominant technology for electricity transmission and distribution has been
Alternating Current (AC) technology, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology has also
been used for interconnection of all regional grids across the country and for bulk transmission of
power over long distances.

Certain provisions in the Electricity Act 2003 such as open access to the transmission and
distribution network, recognition of power trading as a distinct activity, the liberal definition of a
captive generating plant and provision for supply in rural areas are expected to introduce and
encourage competition in the electricity sector. It is expected that all the above measures on the
generation, transmission and distribution front would result in formation of a robust electricity
grid in the country.
[23]


Distribution

The total installed generating capacity in the country is over 164,700 MW and the total number
of consumers is over 144 million. Apart from an extensive transmission system network at
500kV HVDC, 400kV, 220kV, 132kV and 66kV which has developed to transmit the power
from generating station to the grid substations, a vast network of sub transmission in
distribution system has also come up for utilisation of the power by the ultimate consumers.

However, due to lack of adequate investment on transmission and distribution
(T&D) works, the
T&D losses have been consistently on higher side, and reached to the level of
32.86% in the year
2000-01.The reduction of these losses was essential to bring economic
viability to the State
Utilities.

As the T&D loss was not able to capture all the losses in the net work, concept of Aggregate
Technical and Commercial (AT&C) loss was introduced. AT&C loss captures technical as
well as commercial losses in the network and is a true indicator of total losses in the system.

High technical losses in the system are primarily due to inadequate investments over the years
for system improvement works, which has resulted in unplanned extensions of the distribution
lines, overloading of the system elements like transformers and conductors, and lack of
adequate reactive power support.

The commercial losses are mainly due to low metering efficiency, theft & pilferages. This
may be eliminated by improving metering efficiency, proper energy accounting & auditing
and improved billing & collection efficiency. Fixing of accountability of the personnel / feeder
managers may help considerably in reduction of AT&C loss.

With the initiative of the Government of India and of the States, the
Accelerated Power
Development & Reform Programme (APDRP) was launched in 2001, for the




strengthening of Sub
Transmission and Distribution network and reduction in AT&C losses.

The main objective of the programme was to bring Aggregate Technical & Commercial
(AT&C) losses below 15% in five years in urban and in high-density areas. The programme,
along with other initiatives of the Government of India and of the States, has led to reduction
in the overall AT&C loss from 38.86% in 2001-02 to 34.54% in 2005-06. The commercial loss
of the State Power Utilities reduced significantly during this period from 29,331 Crore to
19,546 Crore. The loss as percentage of turnover was reduced from 33% in 2000-01 to 16.60%
in 2005-06.

The APDRP programme is being restructured by the Government of India, so that the desired
level of 15% AT&C loss could be achieved by the end of 11th plan.
[23]

SUBSTATION TRANSFORMERS

A substation is a high-voltage electric facility. It is used to switch generators, equipment
and circuits or lines in and out of system.

A Substation is also used to change AC voltages from one level to another, or change alternating
current to direct current or direct current to alternating current. There are small substations and
large one. The small substation are little more than a transformer and relate switches, while the
large one has several transformers an dozens of switches and equipment.

There are generally four types of substation, but some substations there are a combination of two
or more types.

Substation Transformer Types

Step-Up Transmission Substations
Step-Down Transmission Substation
Distribution Substation
Underground Distribution Substation
Substation Functions

Step-Up Transmission Substation:

A step-up transmission substation 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. There can
also be a tap on the incoming power feed from the generation plant to provide electric power to
operate equipment in the generation plant.

A substation can have circuit breaker switch that are used to switch transmission circuits in and out
of service as needed, or emergencies that require the shut-down of power to a circuit or to redirect
the power.

A step-up transmission substation voltages specification is determined by the customer needs of
the utility supplying power and to the requirements of any connections to regional grids.



High voltage (HV)
ac:
Extra-high voltage
(EHV) ac:
69kV, 115kV, 138kV, 161kV
345kV,
500 kV,
765 kV


Ulta-high voltage
(UHV) ac:
Direct-current high
voltage (dc HV):
1100 kV,
1500 kV
+250kV,
+400kV,
+500 kV

The typical voltage are:

, 230kv





Direct current voltage is either positive or negative polarity. A DC line has two conductors, so one
would be positive and the other negative.


Step-Down Transmission Substation:

Step-down transmission substations are located at switching points in an electrical grid. They
connect different parts of a grid and are a source for subtransmission lines or distribution lines. The
step-down substation can change the transmission voltage to a subtransmission voltage, usually 69
kV. The subtransmission voltage lines can then serve as a source to distribution substations.
Sometimes, power is tapped from the subtransmission line for use in an industrial facility along the
way. Otherwise, the power goes to a distribution substation.

Distribution Substations:

Distribution substations are located near to the end users.
Distribution substation transformers changes voltage to lower
levels for use by the end users. Typical distribution voltages vary
from 34,500Y/19,920 volts to 4,160Y/2400 volts.

34,500Y/19,920 volts is interpreted as a three-phase circuit with
a grounded neutral source. This would have three high-voltage
conductors or wires and one grounded neutral conductor, a total
of four wires. 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. From here
the power is distributed to industrial commercial, and residential customers.

Underground Distribution Substation:

Underground distribution substations are also located near to the end-users. Distribution substation
change the subtransmission voltage to lower levels for use by end-users. Typical distribution
voltages vary from 34,500Y/19,920 volts to 4,160Y/2400 volts.

An underground system may consist of these parts:

Conduits
Duct Runs
Manholes
High-Voltage Underground Cables
Transformer Vault
Riser
Transformers

The following is a list of a Substation functions, but remember not all substations have all theses
functions:

Change voltage from one level to another
Regulate voltage to compensate for system voltage changes
Switch transmission and distribution circuits into and out of the grid
system.
Measure electric power qualities flowing in the circuits.
Connect communication signals to the circuits
Eliminate lightning and other electrical surges from the system.
Connect electric generation plants to the system.
Make interconnections between the electric systems of more than one
utility.
Control reactive kilovolt-amperes supplied to and the flow of reactive kilovolt-
amperes in the circuits.

INSULATOR

An insulator, also called a dielectric, is a material that resists the flow of electric charge. In
insulating materials valence electrons are tightly bonded to their atoms. These materials are
used in electrical equipment as insulators or insulation. Their function is to support or separate
electrical conductors without allowing current through themselves. The term also refers to
insulating
supports that attach electric power transmission wires to utility poles or
pylons.

Some materials such as glass, paper or Teflon are very good electrical insulators. Even though
they may have lower bulk resistivity, a much larger class of materials are still "good enough" to
insulate electrical wiring and cables. Examples include rubber-like polymers and most plastics.
Such materials can serve as practical and safe insulators for low to moderate voltages
(hundreds, or even thousands, of volts).


Breakdown

Insulators suffer from the phenomenon of electrical breakdown. When the electric field
applied across an insulating substance exceeds in any location the threshold breakdown field
for that substance, which is proportional to the band gap energy, the insulator suddenly turns
into a resistor, sometimes with catastrophic results. During electrical breakdown, any free
charge carrier being accelerated by the strong e-field will have enough velocity to knock
electrons from (ionize) any atom it strikes. These freed electrons and ions are in turn
accelerated and strike other atoms,
creating more charge carriers, in a chain reaction. Rapidly the insulator
becomes filled with mobile
carriers, and its resistance drops to a low level. In air, "corona discharge" is normal current near
a high-voltage conductor; an "arc" is an unusual and undesired current. Similar breakdown can
occur within any insulator, even within the bulk solid of a material. Even a vacuum can suffer a
sort of breakdown, but in this case the breakdown or vacuum arc involves charges ejected from
the
surface of metal electrodes rather than produced by the vacuum itself.

Uses

Insulators are commonly used as a flexible coating on electric wire and cable. Since air is an
insulator, no other substance is needed to keep power where it should be. High-voltage power
lines commonly use just air, since a solid (e.g., plastic) coating would be impractical. However,
wires which touch each other will produce cross connections, short circuits, and fire hazards. In
coaxial cable the center conductor must be supported exactly in the middle of the hollow shield
in order to
prevent EM wave reflections. And any wires which present voltages higher than 60V can
cause human shock and electrocution hazards. Insulating coatings helps to prevent all of these
problems.

Some wires have a mechanical covering which has no voltage rating; e.g: service-drop,
welding, doorbell, thermostat.

An insulated wire or cable has a voltage rating and a maximum conductor temperature
rating. It does not have an ampacity rating, since such is dependent upon the wire or cables
environment where installed.

In electronic systems, printed circuit boards are made from epoxy plastic and fibreglass. The
nonconductive boards support layers of copper foil conductors. In electronic devices, the tiny
and delicate active components are embedded within nonconductive epoxy or phenolic
plastics, or within baked glass or ceramic coatings.

In microelectronic components such as transistors and ICs, the silicon material is normally a
conductor because of doping, but it can easily be selectively transformed into a good insulator
by the application of heat and oxygen. Oxidized silicon is quartz, i.e. silicon dioxide.

In high voltage systems containing transformers and capacitors, liquid insulator oil is the
typical method used for preventing arcs. The oil replaces the air in any spaces which must
support significant voltage without electrical breakdown. Other methods of insulating high
voltage systems are ceramic or glass wire holders, gas, vacuum, and simply placing the wires
with a large separation, using the air as insulation.

Material

Insulators used for high-voltage power transmission are made from glass, porcelain, or
composite polymer materials. Porcelain insulators are made from clay, quartz or alumina and
feldspar, and are covered with a smooth glaze to shed water. Insulators made from porcelain
rich in alumina are used where high mechanical strength is a criterion. Porcelain has a
dielectric strength of about 4
10 kV/mm.
[1]
Glass has a higher dielectric strength, but it attracts
condensation and the thick
irregular shapes needed for insulators are difficult to cast without internal strains.
[2]
Some
insulator manufacturers stopped making glass insulators in the late 1960s, switching to ceramic
materials.

Recently, some electric utilities have begun converting to polymer composite materials for
some types of insulators. These are typically composed of a central rod made of fibre
reinforced plastic and an outer weathershed made of silicone rubber or EPDM. Composite
insulators are less costly, lighter in weight, and have excellent hydrophobic capability. This
combination makes them ideal for service in polluted areas. However, these materials do not
yet have the long-term proven service life of glass and porcelain.

The electrical breakdown of an insulator due to excessive voltage can occur in
one of two ways:
Puncture voltage is the voltage across the insulator (when installed in its normal
manner) which causes a breakdown and conduction through the interior of the
insulator. The heat resulting from the puncture arc usually damages the insulator
irreparably.
Flashover voltage is the voltage which causes the air around or along
the surface of the
insulator to break down and conduct, causing a 'flashover' arc along the outside of
the insulator. They are usually designed to withstand this without damage.





Cap and pin insulators

Higher voltage transmission lines use modular cap and pin insulator designs (see picture
above). The wires are suspended from a 'string' of identical disk-shaped insulators which attach
to each other with metal clevis pin or ball and socket links. The advantage of this design is that
insulator strings with different breakdown voltages, for use with different line voltages, can be
constructed by using different numbers of the basic units. Also, if one of the insulator units in
the string breaks, it can be replaced without discarding the entire string.

Each unit is constructed of a ceramic or glass disk with a metal cap and pin cemented to
opposite sides. In order to make defective units obvious, glass units are designed with Class B
construction, so that an overvoltage causes a puncture arc through the glass instead of a
flashover. The glass is heat-treated so it will shatter, making the damaged unit visible.
However the mechanical strength of the unit is unchanged, so the insulator string will stay
together.

Standard disk insulator units are 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter and 5
3

4
in (15 cm) long, can
support a load of 80-120 kN (18-27 klbf), have a dry flashover voltage of about 72 kV, and are
rated at an operating voltage of 10-12 kV.
[4]
However, the flashover voltage of a string is less
than the sum of its component disks, because the electric field is not distributed evenly across
the string but is strongest at the disk nearest to the conductor, which will flashover first. Metal
grading rings are sometimes added around the lowest disk, to reduce the electric field across
that disk and improve flashover voltage.


Cable

A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to
form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for
lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables
used to carry electric currents. An optical cable contains one or more optical fibers in a
protective jacket that supports the fibers.
Electric cables discussed here are mainly meant for installation in buildings and industrial
sites. For power transmission at distances greater than a few kilometres see high voltage
cable, power cables and HVDC.

Electrical cables

Electrical cables may be made more flexible by stranding the wires. In this process, smaller
individual wires are twisted or braided together to produce larger wires that are more flexible
than solid wires of similar size. Bunching small wires before concentric stranding adds the
most flexibility. Copper wires in a cable may be bare, or they may be plated with a thin layer
of another metal, most often tin but sometimes gold, silver or some other material. Tin, gold,
and silver are much less prone to oxidation than copper, which may lengthen wire life, and
makes soldering easier. Tinning is also used to provide lubrication between strands. Tinning
was used to help removal of rubber insulation. Tight lays during stranding makes the cable
extensible (CBA - as in telephone handset cords).

Cables can be securely fastened and organized, such as by using trunking, cable trays, cable
ties or cable lacing. Continuous-flex or flexible cables used in moving applications within
cable carriers can be secured using strain relief devices or cable ties.

At high frequencies, current tends to run along the surface of the conductor. This is known as
the skin effect.

Cables and electromagnetic fields




















Coaxial
cable.
Twisted
pair.

Any current-carrying conductor, including a cable, radiates an electromagnetic field. Likewise,
any conductor or cable will pick up energy from any existing electromagnetic field around it.
These effects are often undesirable, in the first case amounting to unwanted transmission of
energy which may adversely affect nearby equipment or other parts of the same piece of
equipment; and in the second case, unwanted pickup of noise which may mask the desired
signal being carried by the cable, or, if the cable is carrying power supply or control voltages,
pollute them to such an extent
as to cause equipment malfunction.
The first solution to these problems is to keep cable lengths in buildings short, since pick up and
transmission are essentially proportional to the length of the cable. The second solution is to route
cables away from trouble. Beyond this, there are particular cable designs that minimize
electromagnetic pickup and transmission. Three of the principal design techniques are shielding,
coaxial geometry, and twisted-pair geometry.

Shielding makes use of the electrical principle of the Faraday cage. The cable is encased for its
entire length in foil or wire mesh. All wires running inside this shielding layer will be to a large
extent decoupled from external electric fields, particularly if the shield is connected to a point of
constant voltage, such as earth. Simple shielding of this type is not greatly effective against low-
frequency magnetic fields, however - such as magnetic "hum" from a nearby power transformer.
And, shielding of cables operating at 2+ Kv, gathers leakage currents, mainly due to capacitance,
safely to earth grounding to reduce the hazard of shocking, provided this shielding is bonded to
earth at all terminations and splices.

Coaxial design helps to further reduce low-frequency magnetic transmission and pickup. In this
design the foil or mesh shield is perfectly tubular - i.e. with a circular cross section - and the inner
conductor (there can only be one) is situated exactly at its center. This causes the voltages induced
by a magnetic field between the shield and the core conductor to consist of two nearly equal
magnitudes which cancel each other.

The twisted pair is a simple expedient where two wires of a cable, rather than running parallel to
each other, are twisted around each other, forming a pair of intertwined helices. This ca n be
achieved by putting one end of the pair in a hand drill and turning while maintaining moderate
tension on the line. Field cancellation between successive twists of the pair considerably reduces
electromagnetic pickup and transmission.

Power-supply cables feeding sensitive electronic devices are sometimes fitted with a series-wired
inductor called a choke which blocks high frequencies that may have been picked up by the cable,
preventing them from passing into the device.

Fire protection

In building construction, electrical cable jacket material is a potential source of fuel for fires. To
limit the spread of fire along cable jacketing, one may use cable coating materials or one may use
cables with jacketing that is inherently fire retardant. The plastic covering on some metal clad
cables may be stripped off at installation to reduce the fuel source for accidental fires. In Europe in
particular, it is often customary to place inorganic wraps and boxes around cables in order to
safeguard the adjacent areas from the potential fire threat associated with unprotected cable
jacketing. However, this fire protection also traps heat generated from conductor losses, so the
protection must be thin.

There are two methods of providing fire protection to a cable:

1. Insulation material is deliberately added up with fire retardant materials
2. The copper conductor itself is covered with mineral insulation (MICC
cables)