A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system.

Substations
transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important
functions. Between the generating station and consumer, electric power may flow through several
substations at different voltage levels. A substation may include transformers to change voltage
levels between high transmission voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at the interconnection
of two different transmission voltages.

A 50 Hz electrical substation in Melbourne,Australia. This is showing three of the five 220 kV/66 kV
transformers, each with a capacity of 150 MVA

A 115 kV to 41.6/12.47 kV 5 MVA 60 Hz substation with circuit switcher, regulators, reclosers

and control building at Warren, Minnesota. This substation shows elements of low-profile
construction; apparatus is mounted on individual columns

Elements of a substation[edit]
Substations generally have switching, protection and control equipment, and transformers. In a large
substation, circuit breakers are used to interrupt any short circuits or overload currents that may
occur on the network. Smaller distribution stations may use recloser circuit breakers or fuses for
protection of distribution circuits. Substations themselves do not usually have generators, although
a power plant may have a substation nearby. Other devices such as capacitors and voltage
regulators may also be located at a substation.

Elements of a substation:
A:Primary power lines' side
B:Secondary power lines' side
1.Primary power lines
2.Ground wire
3.Overhead lines
4.Transformer for measurement of electric voltage
5.Disconnect switch
6.Circuit breaker
7.Current transformer
8.Lightning arrester
9.Main transformer
10.Control building
11.Security fence
12.Secondary power lines

Classification of sub-station
There are several ways of classifying subs t a t i o n . H o w e v e r t h e t w o m o s t i m p o r t an t wa y o f
c l a s s i f yi n g t h e m a r e .
I) According to service requirement :According to service requirement subs t a t i o n m a y b e classified into.
1) Transformer sub-station :Those sub-station which change the
v o l t a g e l e v e l o f electrical supply are called TIF
s/s.
2) Switching sub-station :These sub-station simply perform the switching
operation of power line.
3 ) P o w e r f a c t or c o r r e c t i o n S / S : These sub-station which improve the p.f. of
thes y s t e m a r e c a l l e d p . f . c o r r e c t i o n s / s . t h e s e
a r e g e n e r a l l y l o c a t e d a t receiving end s/s.
4 ) Fr e q u e n c y c h a n g e r S / S : Those sub-stations, which change the supply
f r e q u e n c y, a r e k n o w n a s f r e q u e n c y c h a n g e r s / s . S u c h
s/s may be required for industrialutilization
.
5 ) C o n v er t i n g su b - s t a t i o n : Those sub-station which change a.c. power into
d.c. powerare called converting s/s ignition is used
t o c o n v e r t AC t o d c p o we r f o r traction, electroplating,
electrical welding etc.

6 ) I n d u st r i a l s u b - s t a t i o n : T h o s e s u b - s t a t i o n s , wh i c h s u p p l y p o we r t o in d i v i d u a l
industrial concerns,a r e k n o w n a s i n d u s t r i a l s u b - s t a t i o n .
II) According to constructional features :According to constructional features, the subs t a t i o n a r e classified as :
1 ) Ou t d o o r S u b - S t a t i o n : F o r v o l t a g e b e yo n d 6 6 K V, e q u i p m e n t i s i n v a r i a b l y
installedo u t d o o r . I t i s
because for such Voltage the clearances bet
weenconductor and the space required for
s w i t c h e s , C . B . a n d o t h e r equipment becomes
so great that it is not economical to installed
t h e e q u i p m e n t i n d o o r.
2 ) I n d o o r S u b - s t a t i on : F o r v o l t a g e u p t o 11K V, t h e e q u i p m e n t o f t h e s / s i s
installedi n d o o r b e c a u s e o f e c o n o m i c c o n s i d e r
a t i o n . H o w e v e r , w h e n t h e atmosphere is
contaminated with impurities, these sub-stations can
b e e r e c t e d f o r v o l t a g e u p t o 6 6 K V.
3) Under ground sub-station :I n t h i c k l y p o p u l a t e d a r e a s , t h e s p a c e a
v a i l a b l e f o r equipment
and building is limited and the cost of the
l a n d i s h i g h . Under such situations, the sub-station is
created underground.
Fig. Shows a typical underground subs t a t i o n i n w h i c h t r a n s f or m e r, s wi t c h g e ar & ot h e r
e q u i p m e n t s a r e i n s t a l l e d . T h e d e s ig n o f u nd e r gr o u n d s / s
r e q u i r e s m o r e c a r e f u l c on s i d e r at i o n 1 ) T h e s i z e o f t h e
s/s should be as minimum as possible.
2)
T h e r e s h o u l d b e r e s p o n s i b le a c c e s s f or b o t h eq u i p m e n t &
p e r so n a l . 3 ) T h e r e s h o u l d b e p r o v i s i o n
f o r e m e r g e n c y l i g h t i n g a n d p r o t e c t i o n against
f i r e . T h e r e s h o u l d b e g o o d v e n t i l at i o n
4 ) P o l e - m o u n t e d su b - st a t i o n : -

This is an outdoor sub-station with equipment

i n s t a l l e d overhead on H.pole or 4-pole structure. It is
the cheapest from of s/s forvoltage not exceeding
11KV ( or 33 K V i n so me c as es) . El ec tr ic po wer i sa lm os t
distributed in localities through such sub-station. For
c o m p l e t e i s g iv e n b e l lo w.F i g . S h o ws t h e t yp i c a l 4 - p o l e
sub-station, it is a distributions u b - s t a t i o n p l a c e d
overhead on a pole. Fig No.2 shows the
s c h e m a t i c connections, the transformer & other
eq ui pm en t ar e m ou nt ed on H- t yp ep ol e. T he 11KV li ne i s
c onn ec ted to t he T/F ( 11KV /4 40 V) thr oug hga ng is ol at or
and fuses. The lighting arresters are installed on the
H . T. S i d e t o p r o t e c t t h e s u b - s t a t i o n f r o m l i g h t i n g
s t r o k e s . T h e T / F s t e p d o w n v o l t a g e t o 4 0 0 V, 3 p h a s e , 4
w i r e s u p p l y. T h e v o l t a g e b e t w e e n a n y t w o l i n e s i s 4 0 0
V & between line & neutral is 230V. The oil ckt
b r e a k e r i n s t a l l e d o n t h e L . T. s i d e a u t o m a t i c a l l y
isolates the mounted sub-station. T/F are generally in
t he event of f ault gen era ll y 200 KVA T/ F is u sed .