TRANSFORMER PRIMARY INJECTION TESTING SWP
to assess and maintain relevant exclusion zones from
1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE exposed live electrical apparatus.
The purpose of this Standard Work Practice (SWP) is to • Hold current licences for any vehicles and equipment they
standardise and prescribe the method for carrying out a primary may be required to operate.
injection test on a power transformer. Primary injection is used to
verify: Required Training
• CT ratio; Staff must be current in all Regulatory Training relevant for the
task.
• CT polarity;
Current certification Working Safely On or Near Electrical Network
• Secondary wiring connections; Infrastructure - 2941492.
• Transformer vector group; Contractors must have completed Ergon Energy's Generic
Contractor Worker Induction.
• Relay ratio, polarity, star point, vector group and zero sequence
compensation settings. 3. DOCUMENTATION
2. STAFFING RESOURCES AS2374.1.2 – Power transformers - Minimum Energy Performance
Standard (MEPS) requirements for distribution transformers.
Adequate staffing resources with the competencies to safely
complete the required tasks as per MN000301R165: 8 Level Field AS2374.3.0 – Power transformers - Insulation levels and dielectric
Test Competency. tests - General requirements.
These competencies can be gained from, but not limited to any or Electrical Safety Rules 2022 - 6503074
all of the following:
HazChat - On-Site Hazard Assessment
• Qualifying as an Electrical Fitter Mechanic P53 Operate the Network Enterprise Process
• Qualifying as a Technical Service Person SP0506 Substation Primary Plant and Secondary Systems Field
• Training in the safe use of relevant test equipment. Testing SWP
Requirement for all live work: SP0507 Current Transformer Testing
• Refer to Live Parts Safe Work Method Statement SP0508 Voltage Transformer Testing
All resources are required to: SP0511C03 Test Tool - Primary Injection
• Have appropriate Switching and Access authorisations for Test Equipment Manuals.
the roles they are required to perform and have the ability Transformer Manual / Manufacturer’s Drawings.
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TRANSFORMER PRIMARY INJECTION TESTING SWP
4. KEY TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT adjacent live plant or breaching exclusion zones. Furthermore, the
Electrical Safety Rules 2022 - 6503074 is applicable at all times for
Switching and Access Operating Equipment – PED’s, Live Line isolation and earthing.
Tester, Class 0 gloves. All equipment to be inspected and
confirmed within test date prior to use. Issue a Test Permit and follow the requirements of Electrical Safety
Rules 2022 - 6503074.
Additional PPE as required: Leather work gloves, class 00 gloves,
hearing protection, safety eyewear. All PPE to be inspected and As described in Substation Primary Plant and Secondary Systems
confirmed within test date (where applicable) prior to use. Field Testing SWP SP0506, particular safety risks applicable to
Transformers include:
Sun protection to be used when working outdoors.
• Contact with high voltage at the transformer primary
Safety barriers and warning signs. Insulating mats. connections.
High current injection leads and isolation switch. • High fault current at the transformer primary connections.
HV leads, LV leads and non-conductive string. • Unearthed CT and VT secondary winding. Refer to SWP
Generator, capacitor units, variac, multi-tap transformer. SP0507 and SP0508 for more information associated with
current transformers and voltage transformers respectively.
Shorting leads capable of carrying anticipated current.
• Open circuit CT secondary terminals.
Multimeters, including flexible tong for primary current
measurement and mA tong for secondary current measurement. • Open DLA test terminal on transformer bushing.
5. TASK STEPS • Induced voltages and currents from nearby energised / loaded
plant.
5.1. Carry out an on site risk assessment
• Stored energy in capacitors.
Prior to performing this activity any hazards associated with
prerequisite tasks at the worksite shall be identified and assessed • Working at height hazards.
with appropriate control measures implemented and documented 5.2. Preliminary steps
in accordance with HazChat on-site risk assessment.
If any risks cannot be managed or reduced to an acceptable level, Use spreadsheets Test Tool – Primary Injection to calculate the
do not proceed with the task and seek assistance from your voltage required and series capacitors required to obtain sufficient
Supervisor. injection current. All electronic relays have a threshold current
below which it is impossible to verify correct operation. This
All of the tests described in this SWP should be carried out with the threshold current varies between relay types and current ratings,
transformer de-energised and appropriate control measures in however generally 50 mA secondary current is the lowest value at
place (eg barriers, matting) to prevent inadvertent contact with which accurate results can be obtained. 10 mA is considered the
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TRANSFORMER PRIMARY INJECTION TESTING SWP
lowest value at which any meaningful data may be obtained, given 5.5. Connect primary injection source and apply short circuit
that noise will generally be 1 mA or more.
Use the Test Tool to determine the appropriate connection for the
Identify transformer to be tested. injection source (ie phase to phase or phase to neutral) and the
In a substation, ensure the transformer to be tested is de- short circuit (ie phase to phase or phase to neutral). These
energised, tested and proved dead and earthed. Erect safety connections have been determined to ensure that positive and
barriers and warning signs and issue Test Permit if applicable. In zero sequence connections are verified.
workshops, testing should be within designated test bays or Connect the injection source to the transformer via a suitably rated
barricaded and warning signed test areas. isolating switch and lead. The injection source may be a station
service supply or a generator.
5.3. Isolate protection
When connecting to a transformer neutral bushing, ensure that the
During the primary injection, sufficient current may be injected to neutral is not connected to earth or residual current protection
cause protection to operate. This protection may be related to the (safety switch) may operate. If the neutral bushing is earthed, the
transformer protection scheme under test (for example transformer injected current may find multiple parallel paths back to the
differential protection) or it may be another protection scheme that source.
is unrelated to the scheme under test but uses CT’s that will see
current during the primary injection (for example bus differential
protection). Any such protection should be isolated using an CAUTION: Ensure that the isolating switch is rated to break
isolation sheet. capacitive/inductive current particularly if series capacitors
5.4. Isolate/short CT secondaries not required for test are used. An under-rated switch may have contacts welded
closed during an opening operation. If possible arrange the
In some cases, it may be necessary to pass current through CT primary injection leads so the load current can be broken with
cores that are not required for the scheme under test – for one of the primary plant HV CBs.
example high impedance bus differential protection. In this case it
is not appropriate just to short the CT secondaries since this would
disable the protection, instead the CT core must be isolated from A suitably rated variac may be used to give control of the injection
the scheme for the duration of the primary injection and reinstated current. Alternatively, a multi ratio step up transformer may be
afterwards. On load tests should be completed after the CT is re- used to control the injection current.
connected to ensure the connections are correct. Any such If series capacitors are used, ensure that they are rated for the
temporary works should be completed using an isolation sheet. voltage rise that will occur during testing. Some capacitors (eg
All CT’s that will have primary current passing through them must single bushing capacitors) need to be insulated from earth, for
have a continuous secondary circuit. For new work being example on an insulated mat.
commissioned, this is verified by measuring the secondary circuit CAUTION: Series capacitors are used to cancel out some of
loop resistance as described in SP0507.
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TRANSFORMER PRIMARY INJECTION TESTING SWP
the inductive reactance of the transformer under test and may
give rise to high voltages.
Example 1 – no capacitors.
A 240 volt source injecting into a 100 ohm transformer gives
2.4 amps injection current.
Example 2 – 35 uF (90 ohm) capacitors.
The net impedance is now 100 – 90 = 10 ohms, with a
resultant current of 240 / 10 = 24 amps. The voltage seen at
the transformer terminals is however 24 x 100 = 2400 V.
The voltage across the capacitor is 24 x 90 = 2160 V.
Refer to Test Tool – Primary Injection for calculated voltages.
CAUTION: The associated voltages will also be induced on
the test leads including phase to phase voltages for 3 phase
testings. Use appropriately rated test leads or ensure that
sufficient air clearance is maintained between leads and other
phases/earth using non-conductive string or similar.
The dielectric strength of air is 3kV/mm but the applied
clearance should be such that it accounts for any movement
in the leads during test for wind or other weather conditions.
As a minimum, apply standard 11kV clearances, eg 160mm
ph-g and 185mm ph-ph, if the test voltage is under 11kV.
CAUTION: Ensure any capacitors are discharged before
contact.
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TRANSFORMER PRIMARY INJECTION TESTING SWP
The conductor used for shorting one winding of the transformer • Correct secondary currents in all CT’s using a mA tong or
must be suitably rated for the anticipated current. The following similar.
ratings can be used for copper stranded insulated conductor. • Correct primary and secondary metered values in all
Conductor Size (mm ) 2
Rating (Amps) protection relays, SCADA and metering.
2.5 27
4 36 CAUTION: Earthing transformers often have low continuous
current ratings. Ensure that this rating is not exceeded during
6 46 the primary injection.
10 62
25 110 Note that if series capacitors are used and the capacitive
35 140 reactance is very close in value to the inductive reactance of the
transformer, then the injection current will change significantly as
70 230 the transformer tap changes due to change in the transformer
95 280 reactance. Always commence the injection on a tap position to
minimise the current and change taps one step at a time until the
5.6. Carry out primary injection target current is reached.
It is preferable to slowly increase the injection current from zero When testing the balance of high impedance transformer
using a variac until the target current is reached. This is to avoid differential schemes, note that a high impedance scheme, if not
undue stress on equipment if the injection current is higher than balanced, can cause CT secondary measurements to look
anticipated. inaccurate. Similarly, you can expect a few mA to disappear
exciting any idle CT’s in high impedance schemes.
Nominal tap of the transformer should be used for all injections,
unless resonance problems as described below cause excessive
current on nominal tap. In this case, use a tap as close to nominal CAUTION: If a high impedance scheme is not balanced the
as possible. out of balance current will flow through the differential relay.
For each configuration in the Test Tool in turn, apply the injection This relay will probably not be rated for continuous application
voltage and confirm: of this current. It is therefore necessary to short/isolate the
relay prior to commencing injection.
• Correct primary currents in the transformer windings using a
hot tong, flexible tong or similar.
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TRANSFORMER PRIMARY INJECTION TESTING SWP
The impedance of some multimeters when on a low current range
can significantly alter the current in a CT secondary circuit. It is
preferred therefore to use a higher range (ie “Amps” not “mA”) so
that accurate readings are obtained albeit at a lower resolution. A
clip on mA tong can provide better accuracy in some situations.
It is necessary to prove any “balance” type scheme such as
differential or restricted earth fault in both the balanced and
unbalanced state. This is because a zero reading in the balanced
state may be due to a wiring or application error, not a true
balanced condition. It may be necessary to temporarily reverse or
short out CT secondaries or disconnect them from the circuit in
order to simulate the unbalanced state. Always check (by
measurements) that any temporary connection has been properly
reversed afterwards. Normally a better result is obtained by
reversing the CT connections, since this will give twice the
“operate” current compared to the “restrain” current.
Record all measurements in the Test Tool form. Use a separate
form for each test configuration. There is no need to repeat similar
measurements between tests – for example when completing test
“1a” only record the measurements that have changed from test
“1”.
5.7. Return plant to normal on completion of tests
Disconnect and remove all injection equipment.
Check all CT secondary connections are left in the correct state.
Reverse any isolation sheets.
Reverse HV isolation.
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