Electric Power Distribution Reliability

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Electric Power Distribution Reliability Richard E. Brown ABB Inc. Raleigh, North Carolina

MARCEL

MARCEL DEKKER, INC. D E K K E R

NEW YORK • BASEL

ISBN: 0-8247-0798-2 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Headquarters Marcel Dekker, Inc. 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 tel: 212-696-9000; fax: 212-685-4540 Eastern Hemisphere Distribution Marcel Dekker AG Hutgasse 4, Postfach 812, CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland tel: 41-61-261-8482; fax: 41-61-261-8896 World Wide Web http://www.dekker.com The publisher offers discounts on this book when ordered in bulk quantities. For more information, write to Special Sales/Professional Marketing at the headquarters address above. Copyright © 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Current printing (last digit): 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

POWER ENGINEERING Series Editors

H. Lee Willis ABB Electric Systems Technology Institute Raleigh, North Carolina

Anthony F. Sleva Sleva Associates Al lent own, Pennsylvania

Mohammad Shahidehpour Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, Illinois

1. Power Distribution Planning Reference Book, H. Lee Willis 2. Transmission Network Protection: Theory and Practice, Y. G. Paithankar 3. Electrical Insulation in Power Systems, N. H. Malik, A. A. AI-Arainy, and M. I. Qureshi 4. Electrical Power Equipment Maintenance and Testing, Paul Gill 5. Protective Relaying: Principles and Applications, Second Edition, J. Lewis Blackburn 6. Understanding Electric Utilities and De-Regulation, Lorrin Philipson and H. Lee Willis 7. Electrical Power Cable Engineering, William A. Thue 8. Electric Systems, Dynamics, and Stability with Artificial Intelligence Applications, James A. Momoh and Mohamed E. EI-Hawary 9. Insulation Coordination for Power Systems, Andrew R. Hileman 10. Distributed Power Generation: Planning and Evaluation, H. Lee Willis and Walter G. Scott 11. Electric Power System Applications of Optimization, James A. Momoh 12. Aging Power Delivery Infrastructures, H. Lee Willis, Gregory V. Welch, and Randall R. Schrieber 13. Restructured Electrical Power Systems: Operation, Trading, and Volatility, Mohammad Shahidehpour and Muwaffaq Alomoush 14. Electric Power Distribution Reliability, Richard E. Brown

ADDITIONAL VOLUMES IN PREPARATION

Computer-Aided Power System Analysis, Ramasamy Natarajan Power System Analysis, J. C. Das Power Transformers: Principles and Applications, John J. Winders, Jr.

Series Introduction Power engineering is the oldest and most traditional of the various areas within electrical engineering, yet no other facet of modern technology is currently undergoing a more dramatic revolution in technology or business structure. Perhaps the most fundamental change taking place in the electric utility industry is the move toward a quantitative basis for the management of service reliability. Traditionally, electric utilities achieved satisfactory customer service quality through the use of more or less "one size fits all situations" standards and criteria that experience had shown would lead to no more than an acceptable level of trouble on their system. Tried and true, these methods succeeded in achieving acceptable service quality. But evolving industry requirements changed the relevance of these methods in two ways. First, the needs of modern electric energy consumers changed. Even into the early 1980s, very short (less than 10 second) interruptions of power had minimal impact on most consumers. Then, utilities routinely performed field switching of feeders in the early morning hours, creating 10-second interruptions of power flow that most consumers would not even notice. But where the synchronous-motor alarm clocks of the 1960s and 1970s would just fall a few seconds behind during such interruptions, modern digital clocks, microelectronic equipment and computers cease working altogether. Homeowners of the 1970s woke up the next morning—not even knowing or caring—that their alarm clocks were a few seconds behind. Homeowners today wake up minutes or hours late, to blinking digital displays throughout their home. In this and many other ways, the widespread use of digital equipment and automated processes has redefined the term "acceptable service quality" and has particularly increased the importance of interruption frequency as a measure of utility performance. Second, while the traditional standards-driven paradigm did achieve satisfac-

iil

iv

Series Introduction

tory service quality in most cases, it did not do so at the lowest possible cost. In addition, it had no mechanism for achieving reliability targets in a demonstrated least-cost manner. As a result, in the late 20th century, electric utility management, public utility regulators, and energy consumers alike realized there had to be a more economically effective way to achieve satisfactory reliability levels of electric service. This was to engineer the system to provide the type of reliability needed at the lowest possible cost, creating a need for rigorous, quantitative reliability analysis and engineering methods—techniques capable of "engineering reliability into a system" in the same way that capacity or voltage regulation targets had traditionally been targeted and designed to. Many people throughout the industry contributed to the development of what are today the accepted methods of reliability analysis and predictive design. But none contributed as much to either theory, or practice, as Richard Brown. His work is the foundation of modern power distribution reliability engineering. It is therefore with great pride that I welcome Electric Power Distribution Reliability as the newest addition to the Marcel Dekker series on Power Engineering. This is all the more rewarding to me because for the past six years Richard Brown has been one of my most trusted co-workers and research collaborators at ABB, and a good friend. Dr. Brown's book lays out the rules and structure for modern power distribution reliability engineering in a rigorous yet accessible manner. While scrupulously correct in theory and mathematics, his book provides a wealth of practical experience and useful knowledge that can be applied by any electric power engineer to improve power distribution reliability performance. Thus, Electric Power Distribution Reliability fits particularly well into the theme of Marcel Dekker's Power Engineering Series, which focuses on providing modern power technology in a context of proven, practical application—books useful as references as well as for self-study and classroom use. I have no doubt that this book will be the reference in power delivery reliability engineering for years to come. Good work, Richard. H. Lee Willis

Preface Distribution reliability is one of the most important topics in the electric power industry due to its high impact on the cost of electricity and its high correlation with customer satisfaction. The breadth and depth of issues relating to this subject span nearly every distribution company department including procurement, operations, engineering, planning, rate making, customer relations and regulatory. Due in large part to its all-encompassing nature, distribution reliability has been difficult for utilities to address in a holistic manner. Most departments, if they address reliability at all, do so in isolation without considering how their actions may relate to those in different parts of the company—an understandable situation since there has been no single reference that covers all related issues and explains their interrelationships. This book is an attempt to fill this void by serving as a comprehensive tutorial and reference book covering all major topics related to distribution reliability. Each subject has been extensively researched and referenced with the intent of presenting a balance of theory, practical knowledge and practical applications. After reading this book, readers will have a basic understanding of distribution reliability issues and will know how these issues have affected typical utilities in the past. Further, readers will be knowledgeable about techniques capable of addressing reliability issues and will have a basic feel for the results that can be expected from their proper application. Electric Power Distribution Reliability is intended for engineering professionals interested in the topic described by its title. Utility distribution planners will find it of greatest use, but it also contains valuable information for engineers, dispatchers, operations personnel and maintenance personnel. Because of its breadth, this book may also find use with distribution company directors and executives, as well as with state regulatory authorities. It is intended to be a scholarly work and is suitable for use with senior or graduate level instruction as well as for self-instruction.

vi

Preface

This book is divided into seven chapters. Although each is a self-contained topic, the book is written so that each chapter builds upon the knowledge of prior chapters. As such, this book should be read through sequentially upon first encounter. Terminology and context introduced in prior chapters are required knowledge to fully comprehend and assimilate subsequent topics. After an initial reading, this book will serve well as a refresher and reference volume and has a detailed index to facilitate the quick location of specific material. The first chapter, "Distribution Systems," presents fundamental concepts, terminology and symbology that serve as a foundation of knowledge for reliability-specific topics. It begins by describing the function of distribution systems in the overall electric power system. It continues by describing the component and system characteristics of substations, feeders and secondary systems. The chapter concludes by discussing issues associated with load characteristics and distribution operations. The second chapter, "Reliability Metrics and Indices," discusses the various aspects of distribution reliability and defines terms that are frequently used later in the book. It begins at a high level by discussing power quality and its relationship to reliability. Standard reliability indices are then presented along with benchmark data and a discussion of their benefits and drawbacks. The chapter continues by discussing reliability from the customer perspective including the customer cost of interrupted electrical service and the customer surveys used to obtain this information. The chapter ends with a discussion of reliability targets and the industry trend towards performance-based rates, reliability guarantees and customer choice. Remembering that reliability problems are caused by real events, Chapter 3 provides a comprehensive discussion of all major causes of customer interruptions. It begins by describing the most common types of equipment failures and their associated failure modes, incipient failure detection possibilities and failure prevention strategies. It then discusses reliability issues associated with animals, presents animal data associated with reliability and offers recommendations to mitigate and prevent animal problems. The chapter continues by discussing severe weather including wind, lightning, ice storms, heat storms, earthquakes and fires. Human causes are the last interruption category addressed, including operating errors, vehicular accidents, dig-ins and vandalism. To place all of this information in perspective, the chapter concludes by discussing the most common interruption causes experienced by typical utilities. The analytical section of this book begins in Chapter 4, "Component Modeling." The chapter starts by defining the component reliability parameters that form the basis of all reliability models. It then discusses basic modeling concepts such as hazard functions, probability distribution functions and statistics. It ends by providing component reliability data for a wide variety of distribution equip-

Preface

vii

ment, which can be used both as a benchmark for custom data or as generic data in lieu of custom data. The topic of component reliability modeling leads naturally into the next chapter, "System Modeling." This chapter begins with a tutorial on basic system analysis concepts such as states, Venn diagrams, network modeling and Markov modeling. The bulk of the chapter focuses on analytical and Monte Carlo simulation methods, which are the recommended approaches for most distribution system reliability assessment needs. Algorithms are presented with detail sufficient for the reader to implement models in computer software, and reflect all of the major system issues associated with distribution reliability. For completeness, the chapter concludes by presenting reliability analysis techniques commonly used in other fields and discusses their applicability to distribution systems. The sixth chapter, "System Analysis," focuses on how to use the modeling concepts developed in the previous two chapters to improve system reliability. It begins with the practical issues of actually creating a system model, populating it with default data and calibrating it to historical data. It then presents techniques to analyze the system model including visualization, risk analysis, sensitivity analyses, root-cause analysis and loading analysis. One of the most important topics of the book comes next: strategies to improve reliability and how to quantify their impact by incorporating them into component and system models. The chapter then discusses how to view reliability improvement projects from a value perspective by presenting the basics of economic analysis and the prioritization method of marginal benefit-to-cost analysis. The chapter concludes with a comprehensive example that shows how system analysis techniques can be applied to improve the reliability of an actual distribution system. Since most distribution companies would like to optimize the reliability of their distribution system, this book concludes with a chapter on system optimization. It begins by discussing common misconceptions about optimization and continues by showing how to properly formulate an optimization problem. It then presents several optimization methods that are particularly suitable for distribution system reliability. Finally, the book presents several practical applications of reliability optimization and discusses potential barriers that might be encountered when attempting to implement a reliability optimization initiative that spans many distribution company departments and budgets. Electric Power Distribution Reliability is the product of approximately ten years of effort in various aspects of electric power distribution reliability. I would like to thank the following people for teaching, collaborating and supporting me during this time. In the academic world, I would like to thank Dr. Mani Venkata, Dr. Richard Christie and Dr. Anil Pahwa for their insight, guidance and support. In industry, I would like to acknowledge the contributions and suggestions of my co-workers at ABB with special thanks to Mr. Lee Willis, Dr. An-

viii

Preface

drew Hanson, Mr. Jim Burke, Mr. Mike Marshall, Mr. Tim Taylor, Mr. Greg Welch, Mr. Lavelle Freeman and Dr. Fangxing Li. I would also like to thank Rita Lazazzaro and Lila Harris at Marcel Dekker, Inc., for their involvement and efforts to make this book a quality effort. Last, I would like to offer special thanks to my wife Christelle and to my daughter Ashlyn for providing the inspiration and support without which this book would not be possible. Richard E. Brown

Contents

Series Introduction Preface

Hi v

1.

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 1.1. Generation, Transmission and Distribution 1.2. Distribution Substations 1.3. Primary Distribution Systems 1.4. Secondary Distribution Systems 1.5. Load Characteristics 1.6. Distribution Operations References

1 1 8 15 26 28 33 38

2.

RELIABILITY METRICS AND INDICES 2.1. Power Quality, Reliability and Availability 2.2. Reliability Indices 2.3. Customer Cost of Reliability 2.4. Reliability Targets References

39 39 49 60 65 72

3.

INTERRUPTION CAUSES 3.1. Equipment Failures 3.2. Animals 3.3. Severe Weather 3.4. Trees 3.5. Human Factors

75 75 88 94 104 109 IX

Contents 3.6. Most Common Causes References

111 113

4.

COMPONENT MODELING 4.1. Component Reliability Parameters 4.2. Failure Rates and Bathtub Curves 4.3. Probability Distribution Functions 4.4. Fitting Curves to Measured Data 4.5. Component Reliability Data References

115 115 117 119 128 134 140

5.

SYSTEM MODELING 5.1. System Events and System States 5.2. Event Independence 5.3. Network Modeling 5.4. Markov Modeling 5.5. Analytical Simulation for Radial Systems 5.6. Analytical Simulation for Network Systems 5.7. Monte Carlo Simulation 5.8. Other Methodologies References

143 144 147 148 152 158 181 190 207 210

6.

SYSTEM ANALYSIS 6.1. Model Reduction 6.2. System Calibration 6.3. System Analysis 6.4. Improving Reliability 6.5. Economic Analysis 6.6. Marginal Benefit-to-Cost Analysis 6.7. Comprehensive Example References

213 213 220 225 233 249 257 265 288

7.

SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION 7.1. Overview of Optimization 7.2. Discrete Optimization Methods 7.3. Knowledge-Based Systems 7.4. Optimization Applications 7.5. Final Thoughts on Optimization References

291 291 301 315 322 348 3 51

Index

355

1 Distribution Systems

Since distribution systems account for up to 90% of all customer reliability problems, improving distribution reliability is the key to improving customer reliability. To make effective improvements, a basic understanding of distribution system functions, subsystems, equipment and operation is required. This chapter presents fundamental concepts, terminology and symbology that serve as a foundation of knowledge for reliability-specific topics. Careful reading will magnify the clarity and utility of the rest of this book.

1.1

GENERATION, TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION

Electricity, produced and delivered to customers through generation, transmission and distribution systems, constitutes one of the largest consumer markets in the world. Electric energy purchases are 3% of the US gross domestic product and are increasing faster than the US rate of economic growth (see Figure 1.1). Numbers vary for individual utilities, but the cost of electricity is approximately 50% fuel, 20% generation, 5% transmission and 25% distribution. Reliable electric power systems serve customer loads without interruptions in supply voltage. Generation facilities must produce enough power to meet customer demand. Transmission systems must transport bulk power over long distances without overheating or jeopardizing system stability. Distribution systems must deliver electricity to each customer's service entrance. In the context of reliability, generation, transmission and distribution are referred to as functional zones1.

Chapter 1

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

Figure 1.1. Growth of electricity sales in the US as compared to growth in gross domestic product and population (normalized to 1960 values). Electricity sales growth consistently outpaces population growth and GDP. Absolute energy usage is increasing as well as per-capita energy usage.

Each functional zone is made up of several subsystems. Generation consists of generation plants and generation substations. Transmission consists of transmission lines, transmission switching stations and transmission substations and subtransmission systems. Distribution systems consist of distribution substations, primary distribution systems, distribution transformers and secondary distribution systems. A simplified drawing of an overall power system and its subsystems is shown in Figure 1.2. Generation Subsystems Generation Plants produce electrical energy from another form of energy such as fossil fuels, nuclear fuels or hydropower. Typically, a prime mover turns an alternator that generates voltage between 11 kV and 30 kV. Generation Substations connect generation plants to transmission lines through a step-up transformer that increases voltage to transmission levels. Transmission Subsystems Transmission Systems transport electricity over long distances from generation substations to transmission or distribution substations. Typical US voltage levels include 69 kV, 115 kV, 138 kV, 161 kV, 230 kV 345 kV, 500 kV, 765 kV and HOOkV. Transmission Switching Stations serve as nodes in the transmission system that allow transmission line connections to be reconfigured. Transmission Substations are transmission switching stations with transformers that step down voltage to subtransmission levels. Subtransmission Systems transport electricity from transmission substations to distribution substations. Typical US voltage levels include 34.5 kV, 46 kV, 69 kV, 115 kV, 138 kV, 161 kV and 230 kV.

Distribution Systems

Figure 1.2. Electric power systems consist of many subsystems. Reliability depends upon generating enough electric power and delivering it to customers without any interruptions in supply voltage. A majority of interruptions in developed nations result from problems occurring between customer meters and distribution substations.

Chapter 1

Distribution Subsystems Distribution Substations are nodes for terminating and reconfiguring subtransmission lines plus transformers that step down voltage to primary distribution levels. Primary Distribution Systems deliver electricity from distribution substations to distribution transformers. Voltages range from 4.16 kV to 34.5 kV with the most common being 15-kV class (e.g., 12.47 kV, 13.8 kV). Distribution Transformers convert primary distribution voltages to utilization voltages. Typical sizes range from 5 kVA to 2500 kVA. Secondary Distribution Systems deliver electricity from distribution transformers to customer service entrances. Voltages are typically 120/240V single phase, 120/208V three phase or 277/480V three phase.

1.1.1

Generation

Generation plants consist of one or more generating units that convert mechanical energy into electricity by turning a prime mover coupled to an electric generator. Most prime movers are driven by steam produced in a boiler fired by coal, oil, natural gas or nuclear fuel. Others may be driven by nonthermal sources such as hydroelectric dams and wind farms. Generators produce line-toline voltages between 11 kV and 30 kV 2 . The ability of generation plants to supply all of the power demanded by customers is referred to as system adequacy. Three conditions must be met to ensure system adequacy. First, available generation capacity must be greater than demanded load plus system losses. Second, the system must be able to transport demanded power to customers without overloading equipment. Third, customers must be served within an acceptable voltage range. System adequacy assessment is probabilistic in nature3. Each generator has a probability of being available, a probability of being available with a reduced capacity and a probability of being unavailable. This allows the probability of all generator state combinations to be computed. To perform an adequacy assessment, each generation state combination is compared to hourly system loads for an entire year. If available generation cannot supply demanded load or constraints are violated, the system is inadequate and load must be curtailed. Generation adequacy assessments produce the following information for each load bus: (1) the combinations of generation and loading that require load curtailment, and (2) the probability of being in each of these inadequate state combinations. From this information, it is simple to compute the expected number of interruptions, interruption minutes, and unserved energy for each load bus. Load bus results can then be easily aggregated to produce the following system indices:

Distribution Systems

LOLE (Loss of Load Expectation) — The expected number of hours per year that a system must curtail load due to inadequate generation. EENS (Expected Energy Not Served) — The expected number of megawatt hours per year that a system must curtail due to inadequate generation. Most generation plants produce electricity at voltages less than 30 kV. Since this is not a sufficiently high voltage to transport electricity long distances, generation substations step up voltages to transmission levels (typically between 115 kV and 1100 kV). Current research utilizing high voltage cables in generators is able to produce electricity directly at transmission voltages and may eliminate the need for generation substations.

1.1.2

Transmission

Transmission systems transport electricity over long distances from bulk power generation facilities to substations that serve subtransmission or distribution systems. Most transmission lines are overhead but there is a growing trend towards the use of underground transmission cable (oil-filled, SFg filled, extruded dielectric and possibly superconducting). To increase flexibility and improve reliability, transmission lines are interconnected at transmission switching stations and transmission substations. This improves overall performance, but makes the system vulnerable to cascading failures. A classic example is the Northeastern Blackout of November 9th, 1965, which left an entire region without electricity for many hours. The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) was formed in 1968 as a response to the 1965 blackout (at the time that this book was written, NERC was in the process or transforming itself into NAERO, the North American Electric Reliability Organization). NERC provides planning recommendations and operating guidelines but has no formal authority over electric utilities. The territory covered by NERC is divided into ten regions, but there are only four major transmission grids in the United States and Canada. Each grid is highly interconnected within its boundaries, but only has weak connections to adjacent grids. NERC regions and the four major transmission grids are shown in Figure 1.3. Abbreviations for NERC regions are shown in Table 1.1. Each NERC region insures transmission system reliability by performing transmission security assessments. Transmission security assessment determines whether a power system is able to supply peak demand after one or more pieces of equipment (such as a line or a transformer) are disconnected. The system is tested by removing a piece (or multiple pieces) of equipment from the normal power flow model, re-running the power flow, and determining if all bus volt-

6

Chapter 1

ages are acceptable and all pieces of equipment are loaded below emergency ratings. If an unacceptable voltage or overload violation occurs, load must be shed and the system is insecure. If removing any single component will not result in the loss of load, the system is N-l Secure. If removing any X arbitrary components will not result in the loss of load, the system is N-X Secure. N refers to the number of components on the system and X refers to the number of components that can be safely removed. Table 1.1. North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) regions. Abbreviation NERC Region ECAR East Central Area Reliability Coordination Agreement ERCOT Electric Reliability Council of Texas FRCC Florida Reliability Coordinating Council MAAC Mid-Atlantic Area Council MAIN Mid-Atlantic Interconnected Network MAPP Mid-Continent Area Power Pool NPCC Northeast Power Coordinating Council SERC Southeastern Electric Reliability Council SPP Southwest Power Pool WSCC Western Systems Coordinating Council Quebec Interconnection

Figure 1.3. The territory covered by NERC is divided into ten operating regions. Despite this, there are only four strongly interconnected transmission networks: the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection, ERCOT and Quebec.

Distribution Systems

1.1.3

Distribution

Distribution systems deliver power from bulk power systems to retail customers. To do this, distribution substations receive power from subtransmission lines and step down voltages with power transformers. These transformers supply primary distribution systems made up of many distribution feeders. Feeders consist of a main 3(|) trunk, 2(|) and l(j) laterals, feeder interconnections and distribution transformers. Distribution transformers step down voltages to utilization levels and supply secondary mains or service drops. Distribution planning departments at electric utilities have historically concentrated on capacity issues, focusing on designs that supply all customers at peak demand within acceptable voltage tolerances without violating equipment ratings. Capacity planning is almost always performed with rigorous analytical tools such as power flow models. Reliability, although considered important, has been a secondary concern usually addressed by adding extra capacity and feeder ties so that certain loads can be restored after a fault occurs. Although capacity planning is important, it is only half of the story. A distribution system designed purely for capacity (and minimum safety standards) costs between 40% and 50% of a typical US overhead design. This minimal system has no switching, no fuse cutouts, no tie switches, no extra capacity and no lightning protection. Poles and hardware are as inexpensive as possible, and feeders protection is limited to fuses at substations. Any money spent beyond such a "minimal capacity design" is spent to improve reliability. Viewed from this perspective, about 50% of the cost of a distribution system is for reliability and 50% for capacity. To spend distribution reliability dollars as efficiently as capacity dollars, utilities must transition from capacity planning to integrated capacity and reliability planning 4 . Such a department will keep track of accurate historical reliability data, utilize predictive reliability models, engineer systems to specific reliability targets and optimize spending based on cost per reliability benefit ratios. The impact of distribution reliability on customers is even more profound than cost. For a typical residential customer with 90 minutes of interrupted power per year, between 70 and 80 minutes will be attributable to problems occurring on the distribution system5. This is largely due to the radial nature of most distribution systems, the large number of components involved, the sparsity of protection devices and sectionalizing switches and the proximity of the distribution system to end-use customers. The remaining sections of this chapter address these distribution characteristics in more detail.

Chapter 1

1.2

DISTRIBUTION SUBSTATIONS

Distribution systems begin at distribution substations. An elevation and corresponding one-line diagram of a simple distribution substation is shown in Figure 1.4. The substation's source of power is a single overhead subtransmission line that enters from the left and terminates on a take-off (dead-end) structure. The line is connected to a disconnect switch, mounted on this same structure, capable of visibly isolating the substation from the subtransmission line. Electricity is routed from the switch across a voltage transformer through a current transformer to a circuit breaker. This breaker protects a power transformer that steps voltage down to distribution levels. High voltage components are said to be located on the "high side" or "primary side" of the substation. The medium voltage side of the transformer is connected to a secondary breaker. If a transformer fault occurs, both the primary and secondary breaker will open to isolate the transformer from the rest of the system. The secondary breaker is connected to a secondary bus that provides power to four feeder breakers. These breakers are connected to cables that exit the substation in an underground ductbank called a "feeder get-away." Medium voltage components are said to be located on the "low side" or "secondary side" of the substation. Confusingly, substation secondary components supply power to primary distribution systems. The substation in Figure 1.4 may cause reliability concerns due to its simple configuration. If any major component fails or is taken out of service, there will be no electrical path from the subtransmission source to the secondary bus and all feeders will become de-energized. Consequently, many distribution substations are designed with redundancy allowing a portion of feeders to remain energized if any major component fails or is taken out of service for maintenance. Figure 1.5 shows a common substation layout to the left and a much more complicated (and reliable) substation to the right ("n.o." refers to a normally open switch). The substation to the left is sometimes referred to as an "Hstation" or a "transmission loop-through" design. It is able to supply both secondary buses after the loss of either transmission line or either transformer. Faults, however, will generally cause one of both secondary buses to be de-energized until switching can be performed. The substation to the right further increases reliability by having an additional transmission line, an energized spare power transformer, primary ring-bus protection, motor-operated switches and a secondary transfer bus.

Distribution Systems

Power Transformer

1

Feeder Get-Away (Duct Bank)-

[ i LlJi [

OS Catch Basin

Voltage Transformer —


OO

rv^pv^

I n.o.

Y

n.o.

«0-»K40-» fr^'

/N.

/\

xk

S \yn

Figure 1.5. The left substation is a typical design with two subtransmission lines and two transformers. The right substation is a very reliable design with a primary ring bus, motor operated switches, an energized spare power transformer and a secondary transfer bus.

10 1.2.1

Chapter 1 Substation Components

Many different types of components must be interconnected to build a distribution substation. Understanding these components is the first step in understanding substation reliability. A brief description of major substation components is now provided. High Voltage Disconnect Switches — switches used to visibly isolate parts of a substation during maintenance or repair periods. They can also be used to reconfigure connections between subtransmission lines and/or power transformers. Disconnect switches are classified as either load break or no-load break. Load break switches can open and close with normal load current flowing through them. No-load break switches can only open and close if there is no current. Disconnect switches are not able to interrupt fault currents. High Voltage Bus — rigid conductor used to interconnect primary equipment. It is made out of extruded metal (such as aluminum pipe) and is supported by insulator posts. A high voltage bus must be mechanically braced to withstand mechanical forces caused by high fault currents. High Voltage Circuit Breakers — switches that can interrupt fault current. Classification is based on continuous rating, interruption rating, insulating medium and tank potential. Continuous rating is the continuous current that can flow through the device without overheating (typically from 1200 A to 5000 A). Interruption rating is the largest amount of fault current that can be interrupted (e.g., 50 kA or 64 kA). The most common insulating mediums are oil, SF& (sulfur hexafluoride gas) and vacuum. In the US, most breakers have a grounded tank—referred to as a dead tank—enclosing the breaker contacts. In Europe, most breakers have the tank at line potential—referred to as a live tank. Circuit Switchers — combination devices consisting of a visible disconnect switch and circuit breaker. They typically do not have a high short circuit interruption rating, but save space and cost less than purchasing a switch and breaker separately. Circuit switchers are typically used in rural areas or other parts of the system where available fault current is low. Voltage and Current Transformers — these devices step down high voltages and currents to levels usable by meters and relays. Voltage transformers and current transformers are commonly referred to as VTs and CTs, respectively. Voltage transformers are sometimes referred to as potential transformers (PTs). Power Transformers — devices that step down transmission and subtransmission voltages to distribution voltages. The ratio of primary windings to secondary windings determines the voltage reduction. This ratio can be adjusted up or down with tap changers located on primary and/or secondary windings. A no-load tap changer can only be adjusted when the transformer is de-energized while a load tap changer (LTC) can be adjusted under load current. Nearly all power transformers are liquid filled, but new applications using extruded cable technology have recently made dry power transformers available.

Distribution Systems

11

Figure 1.6. Typical components found in an air-insulated substation (AIS). From left to right: vbreak sectionalizing switch, 115-kV SFg circuit breaker, power transformer and 15-kV vacuum circuit breaker.

Power transformers are characterized by a base MVA rating based on a maximum hot-spot temperature at a constant load at a specific ambient temperature. Since this rating uses ambient air to cool oil, it is labeled OA. Ratings are increased by installing oil pumps and/or radiator fans. A radiator fan stage is labeled FA for forced air. A pumped oil stage is labeled FO for forced oil. Each stage will typically increase the transformer rating by 33% of its base rating. For example, a power transformer having a base rating of 15 MVA, a first stage of radiator fans and a second stage of pumps has a rating of 15/20/25 MVA, OA/FA/FOA (FOA refers to forced oil and air). Power transformers are also characterized by an impedance expressed as a percentage of base ratings. The following equations show the relationships between base transformer ratings. MVAbase

3MVA

(1.1)

kVbase

line-to-line kV

(1.2)

I b a s e =100Q.

e

amps

V3 • kVbase kV 2 base

..,. MVAbase

Ohms

(1.4)

Impedance is an important tradeoff because high impedances limit fault current (less damage to the transformer) but cause a larger voltage drop. It can also be used to compute resistance and reactance if an X/R ratio is given. Typical power transformers can have impedances ranging from Z=6% to Z=16%. Autotransformers — power transformers with electrical connections between primary and secondary windings. Autotransformers are characterized by low cost and low impedance. Due to low impedances, autotransformers are subject to higher fault currents and tend to fail more frequently than standard power transformers.

12

Chapter 1

Figure 1.7. Metal-clad switchgear and cross section of a compartment fitted with two drawout feeder breakers. After a breaker is disconnected by a closed-door racking system, the door can be opened and the breaker can be rolled out of its compartment.

Medium Voltage Switchgear — refers to switches, breakers and interconnecting buswork located downstream of power transformers. These devices can be free standing, but are often enclosed in a lineup of cabinets called metal-clad switchgear. Breakers in metal-clad switchgear are typically mounted on wheels and can be removed by rolling them out of their compartment (referred to as drawout breakers). A metal-clad switchgear lineup and corresponding cross section is shown in Figure 1.7. Protective Relays — these devices receive information about the system and send signals for circuit breakers to open and close when appropriate. Older relays are based on mechanical principles (e.g., the spinning of a disc or the movement of a plunger) but most modern relays are based on digital electronics. Overcurrent relays send trip signals when high currents (typically caused by faults) are sensed. Instantaneous relays send this signal without any intentional delay. Time overcurrent relays send a signal that is delayed longer for lower currents, allowing breakers in series to be coordinated. Delay versus current for each device is characterized by a time current curve (TCC). Differential relays send a trip signal if the current flowing into a zone is not equal to current flowing out of a zone. Common applications include transformer differential protection and bus differential protection. Reclosing relays tell circuit breakers to close after clearing a fault in hope that the fault has cleared. Reclosing will typically occur multiple times with increasing delays. If the fault fails to clear after the last reclose, the circuit breaker locks out. Several common relays are shown in Figure 1.8. There are many other types and comprehensive treatment is beyond the scope of this book. For more detailed information, the reader is referred to References 6 and 7.

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Figure 1.8. From left to right: an electromechanical time-overcurrent relay, a multi-function digital relay and a digital reclosing relay.

Substation Automation — this term refers to supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) equipment located in distribution substations. Typically, substation automation allows transformer and feeders to be monitored and circuit breakers to be remotely opened and closed. Substations can also serve as communication links to automated equipment located on feeders. Gas Insulated Substations — substations that enclose high voltage bus, switches and breakers in containers filled with SF6 gas. GISs greatly reduces the substation footprint and protects equipment from many causes of equipment failures. GISs are sold in modular units, GIS bays, consisting of a transition component, a circuit breaker and one or more buses. A GIS bay and a GIS lineup are shown in Figure 1.9. Mobile Substations — substations that have a primary circuit breaker or fuse, a transformer and secondary switchgear mounted on a trailer. These are used to temporarily replace permanent substations following severe events such as the loss multiple power transformers. A mobile substation can be used to support multiple substations but are typically limited to a maximum capacity of 25 MVA due to size and weight constraints.

Figure 1.9. Gas-insulated switchgear (GIS). The left figure is an exposed 170-kV bay with two vertically stacked buses, a circuit breaker and a cable end unit. The right figure shows a typical GIS lineup.

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1.2.2

Bus Configurations

The ability of subtransmission lines and power transformers to be electrically connected is determined by bus connections, disconnect switches, circuit breakers, circuit switchers and fuses. Together, these components determine the bus configuration of distribution substations. Bus configurations are an important aspect of substation reliability, operational flexibility and cost. An infinite number of possible substation configurations exist. The six most commonly encountered are shown in Figure 1.10. The reliability of substation configurations will be addressed in detail by future chapters, but a brief description of each is now provided. Single Bus, Single Breaker — all connections terminate on a common bus. They are low in cost, but must be completely de-energized for bus maintenance of bus faults. To improve reliability, the bus is often split and connected by a switch or breaker. Main and Transfer Bus — a transfer bus is connected to a main bus through a tie breaker. Circuits are normally connected to the main bus, but can be switched to the transfer bus using sectionalizing switches. Since circuits on the transfer bus are not protected by circuit breakers, faults on one transferred circuit result in outages for all transferred circuits. Double Bus, Single Breaker — utilizes a single breaker per circuit that can be connected to either bus. A tie breaker between buses allows circuits to be

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transferred without being de-energized. Since this configuration requires four switches per circuit, space, maintenance and reliability are concerns for AIS applications. Double bus, single breaker configurations are well suited for GIS applications where space, maintenance and reliability of switches are significantly less of a concern. Double Bus, Double Breaker — each circuit is connected to two buses through dedicated circuit breakers. The use of two breakers per circuit makes this configuration reliable, flexible and expensive. Breaker and a Half — utilizes legs consisting of three series breakers connected between two buses. Since two circuits are connected on each leg, 1.5 breakers are required for every circuit. This configuration more expensive than other options (except double bus, double breaker), but provides high reliability, maintainability and flexibility. Protective relaying is more complex than for previously mentioned schemes. Ring Bus — arranges breakers in a closed loop with circuits placed between breakers. Since one breaker per circuit is required, ring buses are economical while providing a high level of reliability. For AIS applications, ring buses are practical up to five circuits. It is common to initially build a substation as a ring bus and convert it to breaker and a half when it requires more than this amount8. Ring buses are a natural configuration for GIS applications with any number of circuits. Like the breaker and a half configuration, ring bus relaying is relatively complex.

1.3

PRIMARY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

Primary distribution systems consist of feeders that deliver power from distribution substations to distribution transformers. A feeder begins with a feeder breaker at the distribution substation. Many will exit the substation in a concrete ductbank (feeder get-away) and be routed to a nearby pole. At this point, underground cable transitions to an overhead three-phase main trunk. The main trunk is routed around the feeder service territory and may be connected to other feeders through normally open tie points. Underground main trunks are possible— even common in urban areas—but cost much more than overhead construction. Lateral taps off of the main trunk are used to cover most of a feeder's service territory. These taps are typically 1(|), but may also be 2(j> or 30. Laterals can be directly connected to main trunks, but are more commonly protected by fuses, reclosers or automatic sectionalizers (see Section 1.3.1). Overhead laterals use pole-mounted distribution transformers to serve customers and underground laterals use padmount transformers. An illustrative feeder showing different types of laterals and devices is shown in Figure 1.11.

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Substation Main Trunk Lateral Substation Service Territory

Figure 1.12. Substations supply a number of feeders to cover their service territories. The left is organized into square service territories with four feeders per substation. The right is organized into hexagonal service territories with six feeders per substation.

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Feeder routes must pass near every customer. To accomplish this, each substation uses multiple feeders to cover an allocated service territory. Figure 1.12 illustrates this with (1) square service territories and four feeders per substation, and (2) hexagonal service territories and six feeders per substation9. In most cases, feeder routings and substation service territories evolve with time, overlap each other and are not easily categorized into simple geometric configurations.

1.3.1

Overhead Feeder Components

Feeders consist of many types of components—all playing an interconnected role in distribution reliability. This section provides a brief description of major components and construction practices. It is not intended to be exhaustive in breadth or depth, but to provide a basis for future discussions in this book. Readers wishing a more comprehensive treatment of distribution equipment are referred to Reference 10. Feeder components can be broadly categorized into overhead and underground. Overhead equipment is less expensive to purchase, install and maintain, but is more exposed to weather and has poor aesthetic characteristics. Poles — Poles support overhead distribution equipment and are an important part of all overhead systems. Most poles are treated wood, but concrete and steel are also used. Typical distribution pole constructions are shown in Figure 1.13 (these examples are by no means exhaustive).

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