Dale Douglass, PDC Doug Proctor, Proctor Engineering July 26, 2010 IEEE Special Session Tutorial

Executive Summary
Electrical losses (or carbon emissions) for transmission lines are a small part of the total system losses (emissions). Losses in both phase conductors and shield wires are proportional to their ac resistance increase with the square of line current flow. The ratio of phase conductor to shield wire losses is on the order of 100.

System Losses
According to Wikipedia, electrical losses in the US

power system amount to about 7% of transmission. Most of these losses are in distribution rather than transmission lines but the losses in transmission are not negligible. Transmission losses occur in the phase conductors and , to a much smaller extent, in the grounded Shield wire system.

115-kV Structure Configuration

500 kV Structure Configuration

Transmitted Power P = 3 V I cos

V = Line-line voltage (volts) I = Line current (amperes) Cos() = Power Factor (unitless)

Electrical Losses for 3-Phase Conductors in an Overhead Line

PLoss = 3 R(Tc ) I L
2

R(Tc) = Resistance of phase bundle at operating temperature (Ohms/mile) I = Line current (amperes) Ploss=Power Loss (watts) L = Line length (miles)

Cost of Phase Conductor Losses

$ Losses = 3 R (Tc) I L t (hrs ) $ / watt hr
2

At a cost of $0.10/kw-hr, the cost of losses in carrying 35 MW over a 10 mile-long 115kV line with Drake phase conductors for one year is $284K and the value of the transmitted energy is $52.6M

Impact of Emergency Operation

Consider the 10 mile 115-kV line with a normal current of 300a & emergency current of 1000a for 24hr per year.

Normal Losses = 0.12 300 8736 3

2

Emergency Losses = 0.15 10002 24 3

Impact of emergency operation on energy losses is small - 2830 MW-hrs to 2938 MW-hrs

Reducing AC Resistance
What are the Variables? Crossectional Area of aluminum (primary) Conductivity of conducting wires (primary) Conductor Temperature (secondary) Skin Effect (minor up to 1.5 inches) Proximity Effect (non-existent) Magnetic Core Interaction (<5% ACSR/ACSS odd layer)

IEEE TP&C Summer Meeting Minneapolis, MN

115-kV Structure Configuration

Two Step Process

Approximate method First - determine voltages induced on the shield wires by the phases.
Capacitive induction is not considered Mutual induction between shield wires is not considered The phase voltages and currents are assumed to be balanced

Second determine the currents in the shield wires

The shield wire current is confined to circulate through the

grounding system and earth return The effect of the shield wire currents on the phase currents is assumed to be minimal and is not considered The mutual induction between shield wires is now included

Step 1 - Induced Voltages

Voltage induced by mutual coupling

E x = I a Z ax + I b Z bx + I c Z cx E y = I a Z ay + I b Z by + I c Z cy
Z ax = 0.00159 f + jX ax X ax De = 0.004652 f log10 D ax

Equivalent Depth of Earth Return

The mutual impedance between the shield wire and

the phase conductors includes the earth return path associated with the shield wire circulating current The equivalent depth of the earth return is required to determine the mutual reactance:

De = 2160
Where r r 10Wrm3

Self Impedance Parameters

795 Drake

Resistance Rc= 0.1172 /mi Reactance Xc= j0.399 /mi 7#8 Alumoweld Resistance Rsw= 2.44 /mi Reactance Xsw= j0.749 /mi

Sample Calculations - Geometry

The geometry from our example:

Dax=Dcy=10.6 ft Dbx=Dby=11.7 ft Dcx=Day=21.8 ft

Sample Calculations X & Z

The calculated reactances Xax=Xcy=0.537 ohms/mi Xbx=Xby=0.525 ohms/mi Xcx=Xay=0.449 ohms/mi The calculated impedances Zax=Zcy=0.095+j0.537 ohms/mi Zbx=Zby=0.095+j0.525 ohms/mi Zcx=Zay=0.095+j0.449 ohms/mi

The Voltages Induced Are

Ex := Ia Zax + Ib Zbx + Ic Zcx
Ey := Ia Zay + Ib Zby + Ic Zcy

E x = 19.7 + j15.0 = 24.737.3 V/mi E y = 3.1 j 24.6 = 24.7 82.7 V/mi

Step 2 Induced Currents

Current induced by voltages on the shield wire has a path to ground An expression is derived considering only the voltages and currents in the shield wires.

Shield Wire Voltage Equation The voltages induced in the shield wire can also be
expressed:

E x = I x Z xx+ I y Z xy E y = I x Z xy + I y Z yy

From step 1:

E x = I a Z ax + I b Z bx + I c Z cx E y = I a Z ay + I b Z by + I c Z cy

Solving for Shield Wire Current

Express phase currents in terms of Ia
Ib = a 2 I a I c = aI a E x = I a ( Z ax + a 2 Z bx + aZ cx ) E y = I a ( Z ay + a 2 Z by + aZ cy )

Expression for Currents

( Z ax + a 2 Z bx + aZ cx ) I x = Ia Z xy Z yy ( Z ay + a 2 Z by + aZ cy )

Rearrange terms

I x Z xx + I y Z xy = I a ( Z ax + a Z bx + aZ cx )
2

I x Z xy + I y Z yy = I a ( Z ay + a Z by + aZ cy )
2

Z xx ( Z ay + a 2 Z by + aZ cy ) I y = Ia

2 Z xy

Z yy

Z xx ( Z ax + a 2 Z bx + aZ cx ) Z xy
2 Z xx Z xy

Self Impedance

Z xy

Induced Shield Wire Currents

The magnitude of the SW current in the 115kV line:

I x = 8.9 I y = 8.3

amps amps

The magnitude of the SW current in the 500kV line:

I x = 31 I y = 29

amps amps

Losses in the 115kV Example

The resistance of 7#8 Alumoweld is:

2.44 ohms/mile

Losses = I Rx + I R y
2 x 2 y

= 0.366 kW/mile

Losses in the 500 kV Example

The resistance of 7#6 Alumoweld is:

1.479 ohms/mile

Losses = I Rx + I R y
2 x 2 y

= 2.67 kW/mile

Comparison of 115 & 500 kV Phase and Shield Wire Losses

115 kV 1-Drake, 7#8AW
60 MVA power flow 300 amps R = 0.128 Ohm/mi 35 kW/mi (0.06%/mi) 2 ea 7#8 shield wires Induced current = 10 amps 370 W/mi (0.0006%/mi)

500 kV 3-Bunting, 7#6AW

1000 MVA load 1000 amps, R = 0.088/3 Ohm/mi 1 MW/mi (0.1%/mi) 2 ea 7#6 AW Induced current = 30 amps 2.7 kW/mi (0.0003%/mi)

Conclusions
Electrical losses in transmission lines are a small part of the total system losses (< 0.1% per mile). Losses in phase conductors are much larger than shield wires (100:1) Occasional system emergencies will have little impact on losses. Losses are proportional to ac resistance of conductors - largely determined by conductivity and area. Use lots of aluminum to reduce losses (paid advertisement). Lines are Green. Be proud.