Impact of Distributed Generation on Network

Short Circuit Level

Muhammad Aslam UQAILI
1
, Anwar Ali SAHITO
1
, Irfan Ahmed HALEPOTO
2
,
Zubair Ahmed MEMON
1
, Sada Bakhash DARS
3


1
Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, Mehran University of
Engineering & Technology, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan
anwar.sahito@faculty.muet.edu.pk
2
Department of Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, Mehran University of
Engineering & Technology, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan
3
Post graduate student, Institute of Information & Communication Technologies, Mehran University of Engineering &
Technology, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan

AbstractDistributed generation (DG) technology is spreading
rapidly owing to advantages of clean environment, loss reduction
and voltage improvement. Utilities in Pakistan are welcoming all
generations to increase their supply capacity. Industries are
installing DGs to meet their load requirements. In order to
reduce energy bills, DGs are being used to supply spare power
back to utility or even in off peak durations. DG interconnection
changes electrical network characteristics of existing utility
network. Protection problems may occur in the form of relay
settings, islanding and increased short circuit currents. This
paper investigates the effects of DG interconnection on short
circuit currents. A feeder of SITE industrial area of Karachi is
modeled and simulated for short circuit analysis. Analysis shows
that DG interconnection to a radial feeder increases short circuit
level at all nodes of the feeder.
Keywords Distributed generation; Short circuit current;
Simulation; PSS SINCAL;
I. INTRODUCTION
Distributed generation (DG) is generation directly
connected to distribution system [1-5]. Conventionally, power
system uses large fossil fuel or hydroelectric generating plants.
These plants are located at the suitable places normally away
from load centers. Generated power is transmitted over long
distances using transmission lines. Extra high voltage is used
for transmission system to reduce line losses and conductor
size. Transmitted power is distributed in service areas by
distribution system. Considerable power is lost in network
components from generation to utilization [3-8].
Electricity sector in Pakistan is facing huge energy crises.
Demand and supply gap is increasing day by day resulting in
more than ten hours in a day. Insufficient generation,
erroneously estimated demand modeling and load forecasting
and high transmission and distribution (T&D) losses are major
contributor to the scenario[13]. Transmission network is being
operated at full capacity and even if generation is added to the
system, the scenario will not change much. Various plans for
generation and transmission network capacity enhancement are
under development process but will take some time to integrate
in system
DG can be considered as fast solution to increase power
generation because of short construction times [4,7]. As DGs
are connected to distribution system therefore there will be no
need for enhancement in transmission network. In addition to
that DG will not contribute much to energy losses. But DG will
cause some protection problem such as safety, islanding and
increased short circuit currents [7,9].
Due to various advantages offered by DG, extensive
research around the world is being carried out to maximize its
benefits and avoid any undesired situation. Duloo et.al (2014)
highlighted different impacts of DG on distribution system
including operation and control, change in short circuit
capacity, stability and relay performance. They used IEEE 30
bus test system for analysis and concluded that DG reduce
losses but may add to short circuit currents depending on the
size and location of DG and system to which it is connected
[1]. Gomez et. al (2013) investigated change in fault current for
model power system. They concluded that relay settings need
to be changed after DG is interconnected. They also suggested
to carry out protection analysis for the system before DG
interconnection [11]. Deng et. al. (2012) analyzed protection
aspects of portion of feeder with DG interconnection and
suggested to incorporate reverse power protection. They also
concluded that DG interconnection will change the flow of
fault currents and therefore relay settings must be analyzed
before DG interconnection through simulation [5].
Zayandehroodi et. al. (2011) analyzed a four bus example
system for fault current changes with DG interconnection.
They concluded that relays may detect less or more current
depending on the size and location of DG [8].
DG may increase protection problems including increase in
short circuit level. Change in short circuit currents depends on
network configuration, size and location of DG. This paper
focuses on short circuit current contribution of DG. Power
System Simulation Siemens Network Calculation (PSS
SINCAL) software is used to simulate a real 11kV distribution
feeder in SITE Industrial area of Karachi to analyze the effects
of DG on short circuit level.
II. DISTRIBUTED GENERATION
Small scale generation up to 50MW connected directly to
distribution system is called distributed generation or
embedded generation. DG normally use renewable energy
sources such as wind turbines, solar photovoltaic cells, fuel
cells, micro hydro and reciprocating engines.
Major benefit of renewable energy as DG is less
environmental pollution, which ultimately makes it possible to
install a DG near or even within a city [5]. Fossil fuel
generating plants emit greenhouse gases and nuclear power
plants have great concern of hazardous nuclear waste. In
addition to that oil prices are increasing rapidly making it
difficult to keep electricity prices within acceptable limits. This
ultimately results in excessive burden on countrys economy
and valuable reserves are used to import oil.
Current flowing through transmission and distribution
conductors, cables and transformers cause I2R power losses.
DG interconnection results in reduced current flow through
existing transmission and distribution network and hence
power losses are reduced. In addition to that DG installed near
load centers will result in reduced voltage drops and thus less
voltage regulation equipment will be required [4,9].
Like all the developed countries, DGs are making their way
in Pakistan. Utility owned DGs are installed at different
industrial areas of the cities to provide efficient and reliable
supply to industrial consumers. In addition to these, consumers
are also encouraged to install DG not only to meet their load
demands but also to reduce their electricity bills by selling that
electricity to utility. Number of small capacity DGs are
connected to distribution network.
Industrial consumers, large residential and commercial
buildings, newly planned areas and utilities are installing DGs
in all parts of the country. This will help to cope with the ever
increasing energy demand. PV cells are most used DG
technology in Pakistan and wind mills are just behind it. Fuel
cells is another great option for DGs in Pakistan and can be
used efficiently. In addition to these micro hydro turbines can
be installed in canals and tubewells so that sufficient energy
can be generated with almost zero running cost [11].
III. SHORT CIRCUIT LEVEL
Fault in a power system is an unwanted condition that
normally involves a short circuit between any phases to ground
or between phases. Short circuit results in very high current
flows and need to be interrupted before any considerable
damage is done to system components. Circuit breakers are
used to disconnect the faulty portion from rest of the system
[12]. Relays and associated accessories are used to detect an
abnormal condition and relays the signal to circuit breaker to
open its contacts to disconnect the faulty portion.
Symmetrical faults are considered most dangerous as all
three phases are short circuited and maximum damage occurs
to system components. These faults are analyzed on per phase
basis. Unsymmetrical faults are abnormal conditions where all
three phases lose their symmetry. Single line to ground, line to
line and double line to ground faults are examples of
unsymmetrical faults [7,11,12].
Circuit breakers have to carry the short circuit current for
few cycles till circuit is disconnected. Circuit is to be
interrupted during that short circuit current therefore a circuit
breaker must be capable of breaking contacts while carrying
that short circuit. Breaking capacity of circuit breaker is
typically mentioned in MVA and is the product of maximum
symmetrical fault current and system voltage. It is also called
short circuit MVA (MVA
SC
).

MVA
SC
=
3*V
L
*I
f
10
6
(1)

Busbar capacity is also dependent on short circuit level.
In a conventional radial distribution feeder, short circuit level
decreases as we go from source (substation) along the feeder.
When DG is interconnected to existing system, the situation no
longer remains same.
Fig. 1 shows one line diagram for a simple power system
comprising of a generator, transformer and feeder. A DG is
also shown connected to bus B.
Following assumptions will make calculations simple without
affecting accuracy for the calculations of short circuit level.
Generators are operating at rated voltage
Transformers are operating at nominal tapping
Shunt capacitance and series resistance are neglected


Fig. 1. One line diagram

Assume that a fault occurs at far end of feeder marked as
F. For finding short circuit level base MVA and per unit
method are used. Per unit quantities have advantage of simple
calculations due to low value and give relative comparison of
different components [3].
Select a common base of 10 MVA. Base kV will be 11kV for
sections of generator and L.V side of the transformer. H.V side
of the transformer, feeder and DG will have a base kV of
33kV.
Per unit impedance of machines are specified on machine
rating as base values. Per unit impedance can be transferred to
new base values using

Z
new
=Z
old
*
MVA
basenew
MVA
baseold
*
kV
baseold
kV
basenew
(2)
Impedance can be converted to per unit from its value in ohms
by
Z
p.u
= Z
ohms
*
MVA
base
kV
base
2
(3)
All given impedances are converted to per unit on
selected base MVA and kV values and are arranged in Table 1
given below.
TABLE 1. Calculation of per unit impedances
Impedance Eq. Calculation Result
Generator
X
G

Eq. 2 j0.10*
10
10
*
11
11
j0.10p.u
Transformer
X
T

Eq. 2 j0.06*
12
10
*
11
11
j0.05p.u
DG
X
DG

Eq. 2
j0.05*
10
5
*
33
33
j0.10p.u
Feeder
X
L

Eq. 3 j11*
10
33
2
j0.10 p.u
Reactance diagram for the system before and after DG
interconnection are shown in Fig. 2(a) and (b).



Fig. 2. Reactance diagram (a) without DG (b) with DG

Calculate the impedance to the fault point using Thevenins
theorem (Z
th
). Then calculate short circuit level by
MVA
SC
=
MVA
base
Z
th
(4)
Short circuit current can then be calculated, as
I
SC
=
MVA
SC
*10
6
3*kV
base
*10
3
(5)
Table 2 shows Z
th
, MVA
S
C and I
SC
with and without DG
interconnection. Increase in short circuit levels and percentage
change are also given in table 2.
TABLE 2. Short circuit calculations
Without
DG
With
DG
Difference Percentage
Change
Z
th
(p.u) 0.25 0.16 - 0.09 -36%
MVA
SC
40 62.5 22.5 56%
ISC (A) 700 1093.5 393.5 56%
Table 2 clearly shows that short circuit MVA is
increased at fault point when DG is interconnected at point B.
Impedance to the fault is decreased and is indicated by negative
sign in difference and percentage change for impedance.
Short circuit MVA can also be calculated at different
locations using the procedure explained above. Table 3
showsthe short circuit level comparison at different buses
before and after DG interconnection.
TABLE3. Short circuit capacity comparison at different buses
Bus Without
DG
With
DG
Difference Percentage
Change
F 40 62.5 22.5 56%
A 100 166.67 66.67 66.67%
B 66.67 166.67 100 150%
Table 3 indicates an increase on short circuit level of all the
buses. This is a great concern for protection system design
including circuit breaker capacity and relay settings.
IV. SIMULATION FOR SHORT CIRCUIT CAPACITY
Real systems are long and complex. Hence, calculation of
short circuit level will require a lot of time. Therefore,
computer programming is used to calculate short circuit level
for the large systems. General programs for such calculations
are written and required data input calculates the desired
quantities.
Simulation is a graphical method of such computer
program developed for ease of utility. PSS SINCAL

is a user
friendly graphical simulation software. Built in programs for
short circuit calculation, allow user to analyze large system
with ease. Develop model of the system under study just like a
one line diagram and insert data required to simulate and
observe the results.
In this paper, we have selected an 11 kV feeder and
collected real data for analysis. The network is used to supply
electricity to industrial consumers in SITE area of Karachi. It
starts from 11kV busbar at SITE substation and supplies
mostly industrial loads. There are 27 nodes/buses excluding the
substation busbar. Seven 11/0.4kV distribution transformers
are energized from the feeder. Total capacity of these seven
transformers is 4750kVA. In addition to these transformers five
industrial loads are directly supplied through 11kV. Total
connected load on the feeder is 6MVA. 11 kV cables are used
to interconnect different buses. Buses on main stream of
feeders are named N1 to N6. Bus B1 refers to substation in
branch network. T1 to T7 represent high voltage terminals of
distribution system and nodes L1 to L7 represent low voltage
terminals. Five loads supplied directly by 11kV are represented
by L01 to L05.
Network is modeled on PSS SINCAL and short circuit
levels are observed for different buses. Later 3MVA
synchronous machine DG has been interconnected to the
feeder at node N11. The network with DG has been simulated
for short circuit analysis and is shown in Fig. 3. Short circuit
MVA for each node has been depicted in the simulation
diagram. The feeder specifications for its line length, loading
condition and transformer positions and capacities have been
shown in the simulation platform. Results obtained for the two
cases and their comparison are arranged in Table 4.
Short circuit level is maximum at 11kV substation busbar
and decreases on main stream from N1 to N6. This decreases
on 11 kV nodes on the main stream illustrates the behavior of a
radial distribution feeder. Reason for this trend is eq.2 as
impedance of lines from source add up and increased Z
th

reduces short circuit level. Similar pattern is observed for the
network before and after DG interconnection. Fig. 4 shows
graphical comparison of short circuit MVA
buses (from N1 to N6) graphically. Trend is
the graph.
Short circuit level at all nodes have
Maximum change of 4.05% in short circuit le
node N4 which is point of DG interconne
increase decreases from N4 to N6 on the dow
Same is the case with upstream from N4 to su
Percentage increase in short circuit level
(N4, N12, N16, N18 and N21) is small when
of 11kV nodes. It is due to impedance o
which limits the flow of short circuit current.
Fig. 3. Simulation diagram for network w
A of main feeder
s also visible from
e been increased.
evel is observed at
ection. Percentage
wnstream of feeder.
ubstation.
ls for 0.4kV nodes
n compared to rest
f the transformer,

with DG
TABLE 4: Short circ
Node MVA
SC

Without
DG
With
Substation
1100.00 1116
N1 471.00 485.
T1 466.82 480.
L1 15.73 15.7
N2 431.06 444.
T2 427.52 441.
L2 15.70 15.7
B1 397.10 409.
T3 394.08 405.
L3 5.34 5.3
LO1 388.32 399.
N3 356.65 370.
T4 354.19 367.
L4 10.54 10.5
LO2 349.50 362.
LO3 349.50 362.
N4 328.38 341.
T5 326.28 339.
L5 15.56 15.5
N5 225.22 231.
T6 224.22 230.
L6 15.29 15.3
LO4 222.30 228.
LO5 222.30 228.
N6 213.95 219.
T7 213.04 218.
L7 19.91 19.9
Fig. 4. Graphical comparison of
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
0 2
M
V
A
Short Circuit M
Before DG
cuit MVA comparison
Change
In
MVA
SC

%age
Change DG
6.00 16.00 1.45%
.13 14.13 3.00%
.72 13.90 2.98%
75 0.01 0.07%
.97 13.91 3.23%
.22 13.70 3.20%
71 0.01 0.08%
.06 11.96 3.01%
.87 11.79 2.99%
35 0.00 0.03%
.80 11.47 2.95%
.13 13.48 3.78%
.50 13.31 3.76%
54 0.01 0.07%
.48 12.98 3.71%
.48 12.98 3.71%
.68 13.31 4.05%
.43 13.15 4.03%
57 0.02 0.10%
.75 6.52 2.90%
.69 6.47 2.88%
31 0.02 0.10%
.66 6.36 2.86%
.66 6.36 2.86%
.86 5.91 2.76%
.90 5.86 2.75%
94 0.03 0.14%

f short circuit level of main feeder
4 6 8
MVA Comparison
G After DG
V. CONCLUSION
Despite of various advantages offered by DG, there is a
great protection concern associated with it. Simulation results
confirm that short circuit levels increases with the
interconnection of DGs in the existing systems. This
necessities enhancement of circuit breaker capacity for safe and
reliable operation of the system. This variation in short circuit
level depends upon location, type and size of the DG. Existing
network impedance parameters will also affect the increase in
short circuit level. Therefore, short circuit analysis of each case
is different and short circuit levels must be analyzed through
simulation before any DG is interconnected to utility network.
If DGs are interconnected without analysis, results may be
dangerous and may lead to long shutdowns and expensive
maintenance or replacement of system components.
In addition to the short circuit level, relay settings may also
be changed based on the new analysis. If not done, results may
be either nuisance tripping or relay blinding. Detailed analysis
for over current relay setting on a radial distribution feeder
with DG interconnection is left for future work.
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