DIRE DAWA UNIVERSITY

Institute of Technology
Electrical Engineering Department
Power system planning and operation

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Chapter two

The design of a power plant should incorporate two

important aspects.

i. selection and placing of power-generating

equipment

ii. operation of the plant should be cheap, reliable

and continuous service.

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Depending upon source of energy generating
stations are classified as
i. Steam power stations
ii. Hydroelectric power stations
iii. Diesel power stations
iv. Nuclear power stations
v. Wind power station
vi. Nuclear power station
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 Generating station which converts heat energy
of coal into electrical energy is known as a steam
power station.

Steam is produced in the boiler by utilizing the

heat of coal combustion.

The steam is then expanded in the steam turbine

Steam is condensed in a condenser to be fed

into the boiler again.
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Advantages

The fuel (coal) used is quite cheap.

Less initial cost as compared to others

It can be installed at any place irrespective of the existence of coal.

The coal can be transported to the site of the plant

 It requires less space as compared to the hydroelectric.

The cost of generation is lesser than that of the diesel power station.

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Disadvantages

It pollutes the atmosphere due to the production

of large amount of smoke and fumes.

It is costlier in running cost as compared to

hydroelectric plant

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The whole arrangement consist of

 Coal and ash handling arrangement

Steam generating plant

Steam turbine

 Alternator

Feed water

Cooling arrangement
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Boiler: heat of combustion of coal is used to convert
water into steam at high temperature and pressure.

 The flue gases from the boiler make their journey

through super heater, economizer, air pre-heater and
are finally exhausted to atmosphere through the
chimney.

 Super heater: The steam produced in the boiler is wet

and is passed through a super heater where it is dried
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Superheating provides two principal benefits

i. To increase efficiency

ii. To avoid blade corrosion

The superheated steam from the super heater is

fed to steam turbine through the main valve.

An economizer is essentially a feed water heater

and derives heat from the flue gases .

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 An air preheater increases the temperature of the
air supplied for coal burning by deriving heat from
flue gases.

Air is drawn from the atmosphere by a forced

draught fan and is passed through air preheater
before supplying to the boiler furnace.

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The principal benefits of preheating the air are to
increased thermal efficiency and increased steam
capacity per square meter of boiler surface.

The dry and superheated steam from the super

heater is fed to the steam turbine through main valve.

The heat energy of steam when passing over the

blades of turbine is converted into mechanical
energy.
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The steam turbine is coupled to an alternator
The alternator converts mechanical energy of turbine
into electrical energy
The electrical output from the alternator is delivered
to the bus bars through transformer, circuit breakers
and isolators.
The condensate from the condenser is used as feed
water to the boiler
Some water may be lost in the cycle which is suitably
made up from external source.
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The feed water on its way to the boiler is heated
by water heaters and economizer.

 In order to improve the efficiency of the plant,

the steam exhausted from the turbine is condensed
by means of a condenser.

During the scarcity of water in the river, hot water

from the condenser is passed on to the cooling
towers where it is cooled.
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Choice of Site for Steam Power Stations

Supply of fuel

Availability of water

Transportation facilities

Cost and type of land

Nearness to load centers

Distance from populated area.

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 Hydro-electric Power Station
A generating station which utilizes the potential
energy of water for electricity production

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Selection of site for hydro

Availability of water

Storage of water

Cost and type of land.

Transportation facilities

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Advantages
 It requires no fuel
It is quite neat and clean as no smoke or ash is
produced
 It requires very small running
 requires less maintenance
It does not require a long starting time like a
steam power station
 It is strong and has a longer life
 Such plants serve for help in irrigation and
controlling floods.

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Disadvantages
 It involves high capital cost due to construction
of dam.
There is uncertainty about the availability of
water
Skilled and experienced hands are required to
build the plant.
 It requires high cost of transmission lines as the
plant is located in hilly areas which are quite
away from the consumers.

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Diesel Power Plant
A generating station in which diesel engine is used as
the prime mover

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 Nuclear Power Station

A generating station in which nuclear energy is

converted into electrical energy is known as a
nuclear power station.
In nuclear power station, heavy elements such
as Uranium (U235) or Thorium (Th232) are
subjected to nuclear fission in a special
apparatus known as a reactor.
The heat energy thus released is utilized in
raising steam at high temperature and pressure.

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The schematic arrangement of a nuclear power station consist of
Nuclear reactor
Heat exchanger
Steam turbine
 Alternator

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Nuclear reactor
 It is an apparatus in which nuclear fuel (U235) is
subjected to nuclear fission.
 It controls the chain reactions at starts once the
fission is done.
 If the chain reaction is not controlled, the result
will be an explosion due to the fast increase in the
energy released.

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 The fuel rods constitute the fission material and release huge
amount of energy when bombarded with slow moving neutrons.
The moderator consists of graphite rods which enclose the fuel
rods.
The moderator slows down the neutrons before they bombard
the fuel rods. The control rods are of cadmium and are inserted
into the reactor.
 Cadmium is strong neutron absorber and thus regulates the
supply of neutrons for fission
 In actual practice, the lowering or raising of control rods is
accomplished automatically according to the requirement of
load.
The heat produced in the reactor is removed by the coolant,
generally a sodium metal.
The coolant carries the heat to the heat exchanger.
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Heat exchanger The coolant gives up heat to the heat
exchanger which is utilized in raising the steam.
After giving up heat, the coolant is again fed to the reactor
 The steam produced in the heat exchanger is led to the steam
turbine through a valve.
After doing a useful work in the turbine, the steam is
exhausted to condenser.
The condenser condenses the steam which is fed to the heat
exchanger through feed water pump.
The steam turbine drives the alternator which converts
mechanical energy into electrical energy
The output from the alternator is delivered to the bus-bars
through transformer, circuit breakers and isolators.

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Selection of Site for Nuclear Power Station
 Availability of water
Disposal of waste
Distance from populated areas
Transportation facilities

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Wind energy is the fastest growing and most cost-
effective renewable energy technology, producing
electricity with no fuel and no pollution.
A wind turbine obtains its power input by
converting the force of the wind into torque
(turning force) acting on the rotor blades by means
of converting the kinetic energy of the wind into
kinetic energy of a rotating shaft.

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The wind is solar power in kinetic form then changed to
mechanical form in the turbine shaft.
Wind energy is created by the uneven heating of the earth by
the sun
Wind’s velocity and direction depend on the imposed
pressure gradients, the local geography and certain other
forces
The wind is a free-flowing fluid stream
Energy conversion from free-flowing fluid streams is limited
because energy extraction implies decrease of fluid velocity
(decrease of kinetic energy of the stream), which cannot fall
down to zero, the stream should continue traveling and cannot
stop entirely.

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Solar energy
By collecting solar energy as heat and converting it
into electricity using a thermal power plant
By using photovoltaic cells to convert solar energy
directly into electricity.

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Geothermal energy originates from the inner core
of the earth and it is evident on the earth's surface
in the forms of volcanoes, hot and hot springs.
Even though the amount of energy within the
earth is basically infinite, our ability to use it is
limited by site considerations.
Favorable sites for geothermal energy extraction
are rare and occur where magma, or hot molten
rock of the earth's mantle, has been pushed up
near the earth's surface through faults and cracks
in the crust.

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Aim of generation planning
To develop the energy supply system leading to low cost
To maximize reliability and safety in the energy supply
system,
To develop a diversified energy supply system with less
dependence on imported oil,
To maximize the use of indigenous energy supplies,
To maximize the use of renewable resources,
To provide energy for optimum industrial development,
To reduce the use of non-commercial fuel and
subsequent deforestation,
To minimize environmental effects.

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Generation planning determines
The Generation type, location, technology, size,
potential,
construction period
The generation investment cost, Operating and
Maintenance (O&M) cost
Environmental and social impacts
Retirement plan for existing generation stations
The annual average and firm energy of the
generation plants for the expected life time of each
generation plants.
Long-run marginal generation cost for each kWh
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The key parameters relevant to generating units include
unit sizes and the set of factors that determine unit
availabilities.
The unit availability can be described in terms of three
contributing elements:
i. forced outage rates,
ii. repair times and
iii. scheduled maintenance.
For example, a single unit rated at 1000 MW with a
forced outage rate of 10% does not result in the same
performance as 10 units rated at 100 MW each, all with
forced outage rates of 10%.

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Power station can work as
i. Base,
ii. intermediate and
iii. peak loads
The plant capacity factor is the ratio of the actual energy
produced to the maximum possible energy that could have
been produced during the same period.
PF = (Average Load + Losses)/Plant installed capacity
PF = [(Peak load * Load Factor) + (Losses)]/Capacity
PF=kWh generated in a year/(kWinst * 24 *365)

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For base load operation the chief requirements are
low specific operating cost (cost/kWh supplied)
high availability
High capital cost, since it can be spread over a large
amount of energy, is normally acceptable
The ability to provide a rapidly changing output is not
important

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For a peak load operations the desired requirements are:
Ability to start and provide full output within short time.
Low capital cost (because this can only be spread over a
small amount of energy), with operating cost being only
secondary considerations
 siting near generation centers or accessible transmission
facilities so as to minimize transmission costs and losses.
It is advantageous if the peak load plant can in
emergency be used as a back up to supply the base load.

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The transmission planning determines the expansion or
rehabilitation plan of transmission system based on
i. The existing system
ii. Forecasted demand
iii. Stability issue
iv. Reliability issue
v. Efficiency

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Transmission Planner Consider
i. The Need For New Substations And Transmission Lines As Well As
The
ii. Need For Reinforcement In The Existing System
iii. The Voltage Levels
iv. Root Selection
v. The Investment Cost, O&M Cost
vi. Line Load Ability,
vii. Reliability
viii. Substation Capacity,
ix. Switching Stability
x. Compensating Equipment
xi. Network Stability (V,F,𝛿)
xii. Steady State And Transient Stabilities As Well As
xiii. The Fault Levels At Each Node Of The Network

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Power transmission lines classified based on voltage class:
I. Low-voltage (LV) lines
• Provide power to buildings, factories, and houses to drive motors,
electric stoves, lamps, heaters, and air conditioners.
• The lines are insulated conductors, usually made of aluminum,
• Extending from a local pole-mounted distribution transformer to the
service entrance of the consumer.
II. Medium-voltage (mv) lines
• Tie the load centers to one of the many substations of a utility
company
• The voltage is usually between 2.4 Kv and 69 Kv
• Such medium voltage radial distribution systems are preferred in
cities.
• The radial systems spread out like fingers from one or more
substations to feed power to various load centers

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III. High-voltage
• Lines connect main substations to the generation stations
• Connect two isolated sub-transmission systems
• two separate generation stations.
• The lines are composed of aerial conductors or underground cables
• Operating at voltage range from 69 Kv to 230 Kv levels
Iv. Extra-high-voltage (EHV)
lines are used When generating stations are very far from the load centers.
• These lines are put in separate class because of their special electrical
properties.
• Such lines operate at voltage levels of 230 Kv to 760 Kv and may be used for
long transmission lines.
V. Ultra-high-voltage (UHV)
• Lines transfer bulk electrical energy from remote large scale power stations
to the extra-high or high voltage substations.
• The voltage above 760 Kv is called ultra high voltages
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• Low voltage <2.4Kv
• Medium<69KV
• 69Kv<high voltage<230KV
• 230Kv<extra high<760Kv
• Ultra high>760Kv

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The system voltage affects
• The capital cost
• the weight of conductor material
• The efficiency of the line,
• The voltage drop in the line
• System stability
If P = power to be transmitted per phase in watts
V = Voltage to neutral in volts,
I = current in each phase in amperes,
L = length of the line in meters,
A = cross-sectional area of each conductor in m2,
ρ = Specific resistance of the conductor in ohm-m,
R = resistance of each conductor in ohms,
α = Current density in A/m2, and
PF= power factor of the load.

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The transmission efficiency increases as the
transmission voltage increases for a given amount of
power to transmit over a given distance.
The p.u. resistance drop and volume of conductor
materials decreases in the EHV voltage lines.
The power transmitting capacity of the transmission
line, at the EHV/UHV range, increases tremendously as
the transmission capacity is proportional to the square of
the operating voltages.
The installation cost of transmission line per km
decreases with an increase in voltage level.

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How to over come problem with AC voltage
The high voltage DC (HVDC) transmission has been developed to
overcome the associated problems of AC transmission of bulk power

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 Reactive Power Compensating Requirements
Reactive (Var) compensation studies utilize information
from load flow studies to establish optimum types and
sizes of reactive (Var) sources.
There are three basic types of system compensation:
i. series compensation (capacitive compensation), in
terms of impedance, is used to reduce a transmission
line's effective reactance, and
ii. shunt compensation (Capacitive or Reactive/inductive
compensation) , in terms of reactive power, is used to
reduce the magnitude of reactive (Var) power that flows
in the network.
iii. Series shunt compensation Consist of series and shunt
part that work together.
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The insertion of capacitive reactance in series with the line's
inductive reactance decreases the line impedance.
This helps to increase the transmission system capability
requirements.
Series compensation effectively increases the transmission line
capacity.
This reduces the need for higher transmission voltages or greater
number of circuits.
As transmission voltages and line lengths increase, the capacitive
charging currents from EHV lines also increase.
In order to reduce the capacitive charging currents, shunt reactors
are utilized to minimize the over voltages during lightly loaded,
switching or transient conditions
Shunt reactors may be either switched or directly connected at
the transmission line terminal

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Chapter end question
1. An alternator is supplying a load of 300 kW at a PF of 0·6 lagging. If
the power factor is raised to unity, how many more kilowatts can
alternator supply for the same kVA loading ?
Leading kVAR supplied by PF correction equipment=AB − AC
=kVAR1 −kVAR2
=OA(tan φ1 −tan φ2)
= kW (tan φ1 −tan φ2)

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2. A 3-phase, 50 Hz, 400 V motor develops (74·6 kW), the power factor
being 0·75 lagging and efficiency 93%. A bank of capacitors is connected in
delta across the supply terminals and power factor raised to 0·95 lagging
Each of the capacitance units is built of 4 similar100 V capacitors.
Determine the capacitance of each capacitor

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3. A supply system feeds the following loads (I)a lighting load of 500 kW (ii)a
load of 400 kW at a PF of 0·707 lagging (iii)a load of 800 kW at a PF of 0·8
leading (iv)a load of 500 Kw at a pf 0·6 lagging (v)a synchronous motor
driving a 540 kW dc generator and having an overall efficiency of 90%.
Calculate the power factor of synchronous motor so that the station power
factor may become unity.

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3. A 2-wire DC is 250 m long. It is to be loaded as shown below at 50 m
intervals. If the maximum voltage drop is not to exceed 10V and the
resistivity of core material is 0·7 ×2·54 µΩ cm, determine the maximum
cross-sectional area of each conductor.

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4. A street mains AB, 600 m long is fed from both ends at 220 V. Loads of 20
A, 40 A, 50 A and 30 A are tapped at distances of 100m, 250m, 400m and 500
m from the end A respectively. If resistance of conductor per meter is 0.01 Ω
find the minimum consumer voltage.

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5. A system shown below has a components which has the following its
own reliability index displayed on figure.

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