Chapter 1

Introduction to Energy Distribution

Systems
Main components of Power system
The Electric Power System
• Electric power systems have three main building blocks: generation,
transmission, and distribution.
• In terms of capital expenditure, Generation systems make up approximately
40% ; Transmission systems make up 20%; and Distribution systems make up
40%.
• Distribution systems are the subsystem closest to consumers.
• A distribution system starts with a distribution substation that steps down
power from a transmission level to a primary distribution level between 4.16
and 34.5 kV.
• A distribution substation has a power handling capability of 5 to 25 MVA and
may feed 2 to 8 three-phase primary feeders.
• Laterals branch off from primary feeders and power is further stepped down
to a secondary distribution level of 600 V or less via distribution transformers.
 The Electric Power System
• Generation: 1kV-30 kV
• UHV Transmission: >765kV
• EHV Transmission: 400kV-765kV
• HV Transmission: 230kV-345kV
• Sub-transmission system: 69kV-169kV
• Distribution system: 120V-35kV
• Secondary lines feed residential loads, while
commercial and industrial loads may be fed
directly from the primary level or via
secondary distribution.
• Most distribution systems are overhead due to
cost considerations, but underground systems
are becoming popular due to aesthetics and
higher reliability.
Main components of Power System

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Insulators

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Distribution line tower

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Bundled Conductor

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Comparison of Distribution and
Transmission Systems

What are the main differences between transmission and distribution systems?
• Meshed vs Radial
• Balanced vs Unbalanced
• Voltage levels
Brief History of Electric Power
• Early 1880’s –Edison introduced Pearl Street dc system in Manhattan supplying 59 customers

• 1884 –Sprague produces practical dc motor

• 1885 –Invention of transformer

• Mid 1880’s –Westinghouse/Tesla introduce rival ac system

• Late 1880’s –Tesla invents ac induction motor

• 1893 –First 3 phase transmission line operating at 2.3 kV

• 1896 –ac lines deliver electricity from hydro generation at Niagara Falls to Buffalo, 20 miles away

• Early 1900’s –Private utilities supply all customers in area (city); recognized as a natural monopoly;
states step in to begin regulation.
• By 1920’s –Large interstate holding companies control most electricity systems.

• 1935 –Congress passes Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA) to establish national regulation, breaking up
large interstate utilities
What is electric power distribution?

• Electric power distribution is the portion of the power delivery

infrastructure that takes the electricity from the highly meshed, high-
voltage transmission circuits and delivers it to customers.
• Some also think of distribution as anything that is radial or anything that is
below 35 kV.

https://www.electricaleasy.com/2018/02/radial-parallel-ring-main-interconneted-distribution.html
Layout of a Typical Distribution System

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Goals of Power System Operation
• Supply load (users) with electricity at:

 Specified voltage (220 ac volts common for residential),

 Specified frequency,

 With minimum cost (usually).

Major Impediments
• Load is constantly changing.

• Power system is subject to disturbances, such as lightning strikes.

• Engineering tradeoffs between reliability and cost.

• No ideal voltage sources exist,

Distribution systems have a variety of devices from the substation to
customer service entrances, including:

1. Substation Devices
Compensating Protection Control and
Transformers Switchgear
devices equipment monitoring

2. Primary System Components

Feeders and Compensating Protection Distribution
Laterals Switches
Devices Equipment Transformers

3. Secondary System Components

1. Substation Devices
• Distribution substations are the link between the transmission
system and the distribution system.
• Distribution substations can be located on the periphery or
inside cities, and may be part of a large transmission
substation.
• Modern distribution substations are typically gas-insulated,
with sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) being the most common gas
used.
• However, there are some environmental concerns associated
with SF6.
1. Substation Devices

The right side of figure shows the 115 kV side with incoming feeder, switching
equipment, and busbars, while the left side shows the 12.47 kV side with a
power transformer in the middle.
1.1 Power Transformers
• Power transformers receive power from the transmission system and
reduce the voltage for distribution to consumers.
• These transformers have multiple power ratings, such as 15/20/25 MVA
OA/FA/FOA, which indicate the transformer will handle:
• up to 15 MVA with cooling provided by convective flow of oil through
fins (OA),
• up to 20 MVA with additional cooling provided by fans circulating air
through fins (FA),
• and up to 25 MVA with cooling aided by forced air as well as forced oil
circulation (FOA).
• Power transformers typically have a load tap changer (LTC) on the
secondary side to adjust the low-voltage side voltage based on system load.

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1.2 Switchgear
• Switchgear refers to devices used to open or close electrical paths in a distribution
system.

• The most important part of these devices is the circuit breaker, which opens the
electrical path under fault conditions.

o Circuit breakers can use air, oil, vacuum, or gas as the media for interruption.

o High-voltage circuit breakers are typically SF6 -based, while circuit breakers in
the 15 kV class often use vacuum-based interruption mechanisms.

• Load break switches are used to interrupt a circuit, but their capacity is limited to
the maximum expected load on the circuit and cannot interrupt a circuit under fault
conditions.

• Disconnect switches are manual devices used to isolate a circuit or component that
has already been de-energized.

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1.3 Compensating Device
Compensating devices are used in a distribution system to adjust the voltage
or reactive power flow. These devices include:

• Regulators: These devices are autotransformers that can change the output
voltage by moving the tap up or down.

• Capacitors: These devices provide reactive power and can be fixed or

switched. Switch capacitors can be turned on to provide reactive power in
response to voltage, reactive power flow, or temperature, or they can have
a fixed time-based switching schedule.

• Reactors: These devices can be installed in substations to absorb reactive

power. They are not commonly used in distribution substations, but may be
used in transmission substations to compensate for the reactive power of
high-voltage transmission lines under light load conditions.

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1.4 Protection Equipment
Protection equipment in a distribution system is designed to respond to abnormal
conditions such as high current due to faults and high voltage caused by circuit
switching or lightning. These types of equipment include:
• Relays: Inverse time overcurrent and instantaneous relays are the most common
types of relays used in distribution systems. They monitor the current on
distribution feeders emanating from the substation and send trip signals to
associated circuit breakers to trip if the current exceeds a certain threshold.
• Fuses: High-voltage fuses are sometimes used on the high-voltage side of power
transformers to protect them from faults.
• Surge arresters: These devices limit voltage on equipment by discharging or
bypassing surge current created by switching or lightning.
• Static wires: These wires, which are located at the top of poles bringing an
overhead transmission line into the substation or an overhead distribution line
going out of the substation, protect substation equipment during lightning storms
by diverting lightning surges to the ground.

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1.5 Control and Monitoring Devices
• Current transformers (CTs) reduce the current flowing on lines to lower
values for meters and relays.

• Voltage transformers (VTs) or potential transformers (PTs) reduce high

voltage to a lower value for metering and protection.

• Capacitive voltage transformers (CVTs) use the capacitive principle to

reduce voltage.

• Substations have transducers to measure quantities such as ambient

temperature, oil temperatures of transformers, and dissolved gases in
transformer oil.

• Modern substations use cyber technology, including computers and

communication links (e.g. microwave, fiber optics, radio) and remote
terminal units (RTUs) to collect and convey information to the supervisory
control and data acquisition (SCADA) system in the control room.
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2. Primary System Components
• The primary distribution system
consists of feeders that extend from the
substation to distribution transformers.

• Figure on the right shows an example

of an overhead primary distribution
feeder along a city street.

• These feeders can have different

configurations and conductor types and
have associated devices for protection
and control.

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2.1 Feeders and Laterals
• Feeders and laterals in a distribution system can be overhead or
underground.

• Overhead feeders have bare conductors mounted on poles and can use
copper, aluminum, or aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR)
conductors.
o ACSR conductors are the most commonly used bare wires for overhead
distribution feeders.

• Underground feeders use insulated cables with copper or aluminum

conductors and are insulated with ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) or
cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) polymeric insulation.

• Tree wires are another option for overhead feeders and are made of
copper or aluminum conductors coated with insulation. They are used in
areas with dense vegetation and high likelihood of contact with trees.
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2.2 Switches
• Primary feeders in a distribution system are typically three-phase and have
different types of switches installed for operating flexibility.
• Manual switches are used to isolate a part of the feeder for maintenance
and can only operate on a de-energized feeder.
• Sectionalizing switches or sectionalizers isolate parts of a feeder under
fault conditions and do not have fault-clearing capabilities, but operate in
conjunction with reclosers, which do have fault-clearing capabilities.
• Sectionalizers have a counting mechanism to count the number of
times the recloser has operated, and after a predetermined number of
operations, they open when the recloser is open to disconnect the
downstream part of the feeder.
• Advanced sectionalizing switches with communication capabilities are
being deployed in automated systems to precisely locate faults and
isolate the faulted part from the rest of the system.

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2.2 Switches
• Three-phase main feeders also have a switch at the end, called a tie switch,
which is normally open and can be manual or automated.
o In modern systems, tie switches are often automated to provide higher
flexibility for system reconfiguration.

2.3 Compensating Devices

• Capacitors: Installed to inject reactive power and maintain proper voltage
on feeders under changing load conditions.
o Capacitors can be switched based on local control using time,
temperature, voltage, reactive power, or a combination of them.
o Capacitors can also be switched in coordination with other devices in
the system.

• Voltage regulators: They are like autotransformers and is used on long

feeders to boost voltage under heavy load conditions.

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2.4 Protection Equipment
• Fuses: Most common protection equipment, used on lateral branches and
main feeders, inexpensive but must be manually replaced.
o Every lateral branching off the main feeders has a fuse to protect it.
o The main feeder can have fuses in certain situations.
o They are also used to protect distribution transformers.

• Fuses are very inexpensive and have provided reliable protection for over a
century.

• A disadvantage with them is that they must be manually replaced.

• One can argue that they should be replaced by automated protective

devices, however, the cost advantage they offer outweighs any benefits an
automated protective device would provide. Hence, they will continue to
be used for protection of downstream portions of distribution systems.

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2.4 Protection Equipment
• Reclosers:
• like circuit breakers and have fault-clearing capabilities,
• unlike circuit breakers, which depend on separate relays to initiate
operation during faults, reclosers have their own fault‐detection
mechanism,
• are smaller in size and are mounted on top of poles in overhead
feeders and are mounted on poles.
• have reclosing feature which allows them to reclose a selected number
of times before locking out.
• Since many faults in distribution systems are temporary, this feature
permits fuse saving for such faults.

• Surge arresters: Protects against lightning and switching surges.

• Static lines: Protects against voltage transients.

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2.5 Control and Monitoring Devices
• Emerging distribution systems with automation have more control and monitoring devices,
including CTs, VTs, transducers, and RTUs.

• Automated distribution systems have an overly communication network for communication

between devices and the control center.

• These devices provide real-time data for optimal operating decisions at the control center.

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2.6 Distribution Transformers
• Located at the end of the primary distribution system.

• Reduce voltage to utilization level for distribution to customers.

• Pole-mounted for overhead systems, pad-mounted for underground

systems.

• Single phase for residential customers, three phase for commercial and
industrial customers, depending on the size of the load.

• Single-phase transformer typically feeds 1-8 residential customers through

the secondary part of the system.

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Types of Primary Systems

• Primary distribution systems can be public or private.

• Large consumers, such as process industries and universities, often have their own primary
distribution systems connected to the local utility.

• Ships use three-phase distribution at 60 Hz, while aircraft and space systems use 400 Hz

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3. Secondary System Components
• Connects distribution transformers to service entrance in homes and businesses.

• Overhead systems use triplex cable, underground systems use aluminum cable.

• Service entrance has a meter to record energy consumption, smart meters allow remote metering
and report loss of power to utilities.

• Customers can install their own generation and storage devices, including rooftop solar PV and
batteries for residential customers, and co-generation systems (solar, wind, batteries, fuel cells)
for industrial and commercial customers.

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Typical Distribution Circuit

Feeder
mains or mainline
Laterals (taps,
lateral taps,
branches or
branch line)

Can be 1-ph, 2-Ph,

3-ph

Fuses

Typical” distribution circuit