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Long distance transmission cannot be done at generator voltage levels (11-30 kV) because of the huge material requirement and the associated high Copper Loss (sometimes we call it I2R loss). Therefore, the voltage is first stepped up at the generating point using transformers, depending upon the power system and the amount of power that has to be transmitted through transmission lines. Then this power flows through the high voltage transmission lines to the load centres. Transmission voltages worldwide range from 110 to 765 kV. One reason for using higher transmission voltages is to improve transmission efficiency. Basically, transmission of a given amount of power (at a specified power factor) requires a fixed product of voltage and line current. Thus, the higher the voltage, the lower is the current required. Lower line currents cause lower resistive losses (I2R) in the line. For example the present Sri Lanka Primary Transmission System consists of an island wide network of 220 kV and 132 kV transmission lines feeding several 220/33 kV and 132/33 kV bulk power receiving stations. These receiving stations are also known as grid substations. You should always remember that when we state the voltage of a 3-phase line, we refer to the voltage between any two wires. At these receiving points, the voltage is stepped down to 33 kV (or 11 kV in a few cases) and fed to the Sub Transmission System for shorter transmission runs. For example, The Sri Lanka sub transmission system comprises a 33 kV network, but there are a few 11 kV sub transmission lines, mainly in urban and suburban areas. Thereafter, the voltage is further reduced to 400 V by means of distribution transformers at distribution substations located in the residential and commercial areas for distribution purposes. Elements of a typical electrical power system are show in figure 4.1. In this session, we will study about distribution networks, i.e. the network emanating from distribution substations up to the consumers.
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Distribution substation
The necessary electrical power for the distribution network is transformed at the distribution substations. A distribution substation consists of transformers, high voltage and low voltage bus bars, feeders, circuit breakers, instrument transformers, different types of relays (such as over current, differential & earth fault relays) etc. As we mentioned earlier, the main functions of a distribution substation are: Stepping down the transmission voltage up to the distribution voltage level. Distribution of power in multiple directions. Disconnect and re-connect from the H/V transmission grid or L/V distribution feeders using circuit breakers. Figure 4.2 shows a schematic diagram of a distribution substation. The voltages of lines, which leave the low voltage bus bars, are further stepped down. At the normal operating condition the low voltage bus bars are not connected to each other (i.e. bus-tie circuit breaker is opened). It reduces the short circuit current contribution during faulty conditions to the components installed in the distribution system.
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least minimize feeder outages when only one source is available? If we can find a way to connect the consumers and the source in a ring, then the consumers will receive supply from both sides and even if a portion of the line is on forced outage, the system still receives supply from either side. This type of distribution system is called a ring main system and a conceptual single line diagram is as shown in fig 4.3 (b). Normally, ring main systems receive supply from multiple sources. Usually this type of system is used or recommended in areas where the higher reliability for the consumers is a requirement. As of today, most of the distribution systems are interconnected to each other, in which the ring main systems have additional interconnections between nodes (fig4.3(c)).
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voltage levels will also become less. This leads to the characteristic of line resistance to be equal or greater than to its inductive reactance. Figure 4.4 shows a typical equivalent circuit that can be assumed for a low voltage overhead line in distribution networks. Z=R+jX
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Usually resistance and the inductive reactance of a distribution line are of the same order or in some cases the resistance is greater than the inductive reactance. As, such the lateral part of the voltage drop component drawn in the phasor diagram can be neglected. For this reason, the voltage drop of a distribution line can be estimated by its longitudinal component as follows Example 1: A radial main distribution network fed from a distribution sub station is as shown in figure 4.7. The length, resistance & inductive reactance per kilometre of lines, power and power factor of the loads drawn at each load location, are given. If the observed voltage at E is 11 kV, what should be the voltage at substation?
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situation, the reactive power flow from the source will be reduced and the capacitor banks installed at the receiving end compensates part of reactive power required by the consumer. The amount of reactive power needed at light load and peak load periods can be calculated using equation 4.4. Figure 4.8 (a) shows a distribution network in which several loads are connect to a radial line through transformers. The voltage profile during the period of maximum and minimum loads without capacitor banks and the voltage profile at the period of maximum load when the capacitor bank supplies the reactive power are shown in fig.4.8 (b) line 1 and 2 and fig.4.8 (b) line 3 respectively. As you can see from the diagram, the voltage drop at far end is more than its maximum permissible limit. However, when the compensation is present, reactive power flow through the line reduces and voltage at the consumer end is improved. To understand the above, let us look at an example.
Power losses