Electric Power System Structure

Electric Power System Structure: The structure of the power system is Generation, Transmission, and Distribution systems. In this post, subsystems of power systems are also explained.

Contents

Electric Power System Structure

An interconnected power system is a complex enterprise that may be

Generation Subsystem
Transmission and subtransmission Subsystem
Distribution Subsystem
Utilization Subsystem

subdivided into the following major subsystems:

Generation Subsystem

This includes generators and transformers.

Generators

Generators – An essential component of power systems is the three-phase ac generator known as synchronous generator or alternator.

Synchronous generators have two synchronously rotating fields:

One field is produced by the rotor driven at synchronous speed and excited by dc current.

The other field is produced in the stator windings by the three-phase armature currents.

The dc current for the rotor windings is provided by excitation systems.

In the older units, the exciters are dc generators mounted on the same shaft, providing
excitation through slip rings.

Current systems use ac generators with rotating rectifiers, known as brushless excitation systems. The excitation system maintains generator voltage and controls the reactive power flow. Because they
lack the commutator, ac generators can generate high power at high voltage, typically 30 kV.

The source of the mechanical power, commonly known as the prime mover, may be hydraulic turbines, steam turbines whose energy comes from the burning of coal, gas and nuclear fuel, gas turbines, or occasionally internal combustion engines burning oil.

Steam turbines operate at relatively high speeds of 3600 or 1800 rpm.

The generators to which they are coupled are cylindrical rotor, two-pole for 3600 rpm, or four-pole for 1800 rpm operation.

Hydraulic turbines, particularly those operating with a low pressure, operate at low speed. Their generators are usually a salient type rotor with many poles.

In a power station, several generators are operated in parallel in the power grid to provide the total power
needed.

They are connected at a common point called a bus.

With concerns for the environment and conservation of fossil fuels, many alternate sources are considered for employing the untapped energy sources of the sun and the earth for power generation.

Some alternate sources used are solar power, geothermal power, wind power, tidal power, and biomass.

Transformers

Transformers – The transformer transfers power with very high efficiency from one level of voltage to another.

The power transferred to the secondary is almost the same as the primary, except for losses in the
transformer.

Using a step-up transformer will reduce losses in the line, which makes the transmission of power over long distances possible.

Insulation requirements and other practical design problems limit the generated voltage to low values, usually 30 kV.

Thus, step-up transformers are used for the transmission of power.

At the receiving end of the transmission lines step-down transformers are used to reduce the voltage to suitable values for distribution or utilization.

The electricity in an electric power system may undergo four or five transformations between generator and consumers.

Transmission and Subtransmission Subsystem

An overhead transmission network transfers electric power from generating units to the distribution system which ultimately supplies the load.

Transmission lines also interconnect neighboring utilities which allow the economic dispatch of power within regions during normal conditions, and the transfer of power between regions during emergencies.

Standard transmission voltages are established in the United States by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Transmission voltage lines operating at more than 60 kV are standardized at 69 kV, 115 kV, 138 kV, 161
kV, 230 kV, 345 kV, 500 kV, and 765 kV line-to-line.

Transmission voltages above 230 kV are usually referred to as extra-high voltage (EHV).

High voltage transmission lines are terminated in substations, which are called high-voltage substations, receiving substations, or primary substations.

The function of some substations is switching circuits in and out of service; they are referred to as switching stations.

At the primary substations, the voltage is stepped down to a value more suitable for the next part of the flow
toward the load.

Very large industrial customers may be served directly from the transmission system.

The portion of the transmission system that connects the high-voltage substations through step-down transformers to the distribution substations is called the sub-transmission network.

There is no clear distinction between transmission and subtransmission voltage levels.

Typically, the subtransmission voltage level ranges from 69 to 138 kV. Some large industrial customers may
be served from the subtransmission system.

Capacitor banks and reactor banks are usually installed in the substations for maintaining the transmission line voltage.

Distribution Subsystem

The distribution system connects the distribution substations to the consumers’ service-entrance equipment.

The primary distribution lines range from 4 to 34.5 kV and supply the load in a well-defined geographical area.

Some small industrial customers are served directly by the primary feeders.

The secondary distribution network reduces the voltage for utilization by commercial and residential consumers.

Lines and cables not exceeding a few hundred feet in length then deliver power to the individual consumers.

The secondary distribution serves most of the customers at levels of 240/120 V, single-phase, three-wire; 208Yl120 V, three-phase, four-wire; or 480Y/277 V, three-phase, four-wire.

The power for a typical home is derived from a transformer that reduces the primary feeder voltage to 240/120 V using a threewire line.

Distribution systems utilize both overhead and underground conductors.

The growth of underground distribution has been extremely rapid and as much as 70 percent of new residential construction in North America is via underground systems.

Load Subsystems

Power systems loads are divided into industrial, commercial, and residential.

Industrial loads are composite loads, and induction motors form a high proportion of these loads.

These composite loads are functions of voltage and frequency and form a major part of the system load.

Commercial and residential loads consist largely of lighting, heating, and cooking.

These loads are independent of frequency and consume negligibly small reactive power.

The load varies throughout the day, and power must be available to consumers on demand.

The daily-load curve of a utility is a composite of demands made by various classes of users.

The greatest value of load during a 24-hr period is called the peak or maximum demand. To assess the usefulness of the generating plant the load factor is defined.

The load factor is the ratio of average load over a designated period of time to the peak load occurring in that period.

Load factors may be given for a day, a month, or a year.

The yearly, or annual load factor is the most useful since a year represents a full cycle of time. The daily load factor is,

Generally there is diversity in the peak load between different classes of loads, which improves the overall system load factor.

In order for a power plant to operate economically, it must have a high system load factor.

Typical system load factors are in the range of 55 to 70 percent.

Load-forecasting at all levels is an important function in the operation, operational planning, and
planning of an electric power system.

Other devices and systems are required for the satisfactory operation and protection of a power system.

Some of the protective devices directly connected to the circuits are called switchgear.

They include instrument transformers, circuit breakers, disconnect switches, fuses and lightning arresters.

These devices are necessary to deenergize either for normal operation or on the occurrence of faults.

The associated control equipment and protective relays are placed on switchboards in control houses.

Necessary to monitor the entire system in a so-called control center.

The modem control center is called the energy control center (ECC).

Energy control centers are equipped with on-line computers performing all signal processing through
the remote acquisition system.

Computers work in a hierarchical structure to properly coordinate different functional requirements in normal as well as emergency conditions.

Every energy control center contains control consoles which consist of a visual display unit (VDU), keyboard, and light pen.

Computers may give alarms as advance warnings to the operators (dispatchers) when deviation from the normal state occurs.

The dispatcher makes decisions and executes them with the aid of a computer.

Simulation tools and software packages are implemented for efficient operation and reliable control of the
system.

In addition, SCADA, an acronym for “supervisory control and data acquisition,” systems are auxiliaries to the energy control center.

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Electric Power System Structure

Electric Power System Structure

Generation Subsystem

Generators

Transformers

Transmission and Subtransmission Subsystem

Distribution Subsystem

Load Subsystems

Read more on Power System

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