Introduction to Power Systems (ECEg4117)
Chapter One
Fundamentals of power systems
10/9/2023 By: Lidetu A. (MSc.)
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1.1 Historical Developments of Power Systems
• In 1878, Thomas A. Edison began work on the electric light and formulated the concept of a
centrally located power station with distributed lighting serving a surrounding area.
• By the time of October 1879 he invented first light bulb.
• And the opening of his historic Pearl Street Station in New York City on September 4, 1882,
marked the beginning of the electric utility industry.
→dc generators, then called
→dynamos, load of 30 kW for 110-V
→incandescent lighting to 59 customers in a one-square-mile area.
• The introduction of the practical dc motor by Sprague Electric, as well as the growth of
incandescent lighting, promoted the expansion of Edison’s dc systems.
• In 1885, William Stanley, developed a commercially practical transformer.
• Limitations of maximum distance and load were overcome in 1885.
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Continued…
• Stanley installed an ac distribution system in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to supply 150 lamps.
• With the transformer, the ability to transmit power at high voltage with corresponding lower current
and lower line-voltage drops made ac more attractive than dc.
• In 1889 in Oregon, The first single-phase ac line in the United States operated between Oregon City
and Portland—21 km at 4 kV.
• In 1888, Nikola Tesla presented a paper at a meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
describing two-phase induction and synchronous motors, made evident the advantages of polyphase
versus single-phase systems.
• In 1891, The first three-phase line in Germany became operational, transmitting power 179 km at 12
kV.
• In 1893, The first three-phase line in the United States (in California) became operational, transmitting
power 12km at 2.3 kV.
• The three-phase induction motor conceived by Tesla went on to become the workhorse of the industry.
• In the same year that Edison’s steam-driven generators were inaugurated, a waterwheel-driven
generator was installed in Appleton, Wisconsin.
• Today, steam turbines account for more than 85%, whereas hydro turbines account for about 7%. Gas
turbines are for peak loads of U.S. electric energy generation. 3
Continued…
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Figure 1 Milestones of the early electric utility industry
1.2 Sources of energy
• Electrical energy is produced from energy available in various forms in nature.
(i) The Sun. The Sun is the primary source of energy.
• The sun delivers its energy to us in two main forms: heat and light.
• There are two main types of solar power systems, namely, solar thermal systems that trap heat to
warm up water, and solar PV systems that convert sunlight directly into electricity as shown in
the figure.
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Fig 1: Solar Photovoltaic
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Fig 2: Solar Thermal
(ii) The Wind. This method can be used where wind flows for a considerable length of
time.
• The wind energy is used to run the wind mill which drives a generator.
• Small, individual wind turbines can produce 100 kilowatts of power, enough to power
a home, water pumping stations.
• Slightly larger wind turbines as tall as 80 meters (260 feet) and have rotor blades that
extend approximately 40 meters (130 feet) long generates 1.8 megawatts of power.
• Even larger wind turbines 240 meters (787 feet) tall have rotor blades more than 162
meters (531 feet) long can generate anywhere from 4.8 to 9.5 megawatts of power.
❑ Once the electricity is generated, it can be used, connected to the electrical grid, or
stored for future use. 7
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Continued…
(iii) Water. When water is stored at a suitable place, it possesses potential energy because of
the head created.
• This water energy can be converted into mechanical energy with the help of water
turbines.
• The water turbine drives the alternator which converts mechanical energy into electrical
energy.
• This method of generation of electrical energy has become very popular because it has
low production and maintenance costs.
• Hydroelectric energy is the most commonly-used renewable source of electricity.
• China is the largest producer of hydroelectricity. Other top producers include the
United States, Brazil, Canada, India, and Russia.
• Approximately 71% of all of the renewable electricity generated on Earth is from
hydropower.
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Three Gorges Dam, China
Continued…
(iv) Fuels. The main sources of energy are fuels viz., solid fuel as coal, liquid fuel as oil and
gas fuel as natural gas.
• The heat energy of these fuels is converted into mechanical energy by suitable
prime movers such as steam engines, steam turbines, internal combustion engines etc.
• The prime mover drives the alternator which converts mechanical energy into electrical
energy.
• Although fuels continue to enjoy the place of chief source for the generation of electrical
energy, yet their reserves are diminishing day by day.
• Therefore, the present trend is to harness water power which is more or
less a permanent source of power. 11
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(v) Nuclear energy. Towards the end of Second World War, it was discovered that large
amount
of heat energy is liberated by the fission of uranium and other fissionable materials.
• It is estimated that heat produced by 1 kg of nuclear fuel is equal to that produced by 4500
tones of coal.
• The heat produced due to nuclear fission can be
utilized to raise steam with suitable arrangements.
However, there are some difficulties in the use of nuclear energy.
(a) high cost of nuclear plant
(b) problem of disposal of radioactive waste and
(c) dearth of trained personnel to handle the plant.
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Comparison of Energy Sources
The chief sources of energy used for the generation of electrical energy are water,
fuels and nuclear energy.
Below is given their comparison in a tabular form :
S. No. Particular Water-power Fuels Nuclear energy
1 Initial cost High Low Highest
2 Running cost Less High Least
3 Reserves Permanent Exhaustible Inexhaustible
4 Cleanliness Cleanest Dirtiest Clean
5 Simplicity Simplest Complex Most complex
6 Reliability Most reliable Less reliable More reliable
1.3 Basic structure of power systems
The main components of an electric power system are Generation, Transmission and
Distribution systems.
I) Generation system: Generation is the production of electricity at power stations or
generating units where a form of primary energy is converted into electricity.
➢ Power plants convert the energy stored in the fuel (mainly coal, oil, natural gas,
enriched uranium) or renewable energies (water, wind, solar) into electric energy.
➢ Voltage is usually no more than 6 to 40 kV.
➢ DG refers to generation that connects into the distribution system, as opposed to
conventional centralized power generation systems.
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Hydro power plant Nuclear power plant Fuel power plant
Wind power plant Solar power plant Geothermal power pla16nt
II) Transmission System: Transmission is the network that moves power from one part of
a country or a region to another.
➢ It is usually a well-interconnected infrastructure in which multiple power lines link
different substations, which change voltage levels,
➢ They can carry alternating current or direct current or a system can be a combination
of both. Also, electric current can be carried by either overhead or underground lines.
➢ Transmission lines are deployed with three wires along with a ground wire. Virtually
all ac transmission systems are three-phase transmission systems.
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III) Distribution system: A distribution system consists of all the facilities and
equipment connecting a transmission system to the customer's equipment. A typical
distribution system can consist of: Substations. Distribution Feeder Circuits. Switches.
• Distribution segment is widely recognized as the most challenging part of the smart grid
due to its ubiquity.
• Voltage levels of 132 (110 in some places) or 66 kV are usual HV levels that can be
found in (European) distribution networks.
• Voltages below that (e.g., 30, 20, 10 kV) are commonly found in MV distribution
networks.
E n d of
Chapter one
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