Securing Critical Infrastructures, Grenoble, October 2004

SYNOPSIS
EDF PATENTED PROTECTION PDTR AGAINST RESISTIVE
PHASE-TO-GROUND FAULTS IN COMPENSATED MV
DISTRIBUTION
O.Chilard1, G. Donnart2
1
Electricite de France Clamar Cedex, France, 2CSCLE SFE, Toulouse, France

Electricit De France is heading for change in its
MV-neutral policy by replacing the impedant
grounding of its rural MV distribution network by arc
suppression coils (Petersen coils). The main reasons
for this modification are:
an important expansion of the underground
network in rural environment. This leads to high phase
to ground capacities of the outgoing feeders and causes
thus increasing fault currents in impedant networks;
changes in international standards (insulation
coordination.) ;
an increased sensitivity of the customers to their
supply quality.
The introduction of arc suppression coils allows both to
reduce the fault current in single phase-to-ground
fault and to improve supply quality by reducing short
supply disconnections.
This modification of the neutral point treatment has to
take into account the exiting structure and outlines of
French distribution networks. Adapting this solution to
the existing networks made it necessary to develop new
products including an automatic turning system, fast
and compatible with cheap compensation coils. A
different approach on the field of the protection of the
feeders with zero-sequence wattmetric relays was also
required.
These new devices enable EDF to benefit the obvious
advantages of compensated neutral point connection
without modification of the MV network structures.
long re-closure cycles are not successful. Another
important point, linked to this requirement is the high
resistive faults.
In compensated grounded networks, the approaches
based on the zero sequence current in networks
grounded by a limitation impedance cannot be used.
EDF has developed the patented protection against
resistive earth fault named PDTR. This protection
enable high resistive phase-to-ground fault detection
and selection the faulty feeder. It is based on the
analyse of the position of the residual current vector of
the protected feeder in a complex plan. Two complex
plans, associated with a specific characteristic, are used.
The main plan is calculated from the variation of the
neutral current and the zero sequence voltage at the
busbar. A secondary complex plan is used when the
main plan is not available for instance during a tap
change of the coil.
This new system allow detection of faults up to 15 k
and over depending on the configuration of the
network and the value of the unbalanced residual
current.
PDTR has been built and evaluated in one of EDF MV
substation and showed us its industrial feasibility. The
proposed paper will describe the principle of this new
protection (PDTR) and the industrial product. It will
also provide some results obtained in our
experimentations.

Besides these features, the main characteristic of the

exiting operation mode had to be conserved. Thus a
faulty feeder has to be disconnected, for safety reasons,
immediately after occurrence of a fault if short and