Electric Power Substations Engineering

John D. McDonald, John D. McDonald

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351829809
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications
• Index: Technology & Engineering

The use of electric power substations in generation, transmission, and distribution remains one of the most challenging and exciting areas of electric power engineering. Recent technological developments have had a tremendous impact on all aspects of substation design and operation. With 80% of its chapters completely revised and two brand-new chapters on energy storage and Smart Grids, Electric Power Substations Engineering, Third Edition provides an extensive updated overview of substations, serving as a reference and guide for both industry and academia. Contributors have written each chapter with detailed design information for electric power engineering professionals and other engineering professionals (e.g., mechanical, civil) who want an overview or specific information on this challenging and important area.

This book:

• Emphasizes the practical application of the technology
• Includes extensive use of graphics and photographs to visually convey the book's concepts
• Provides applicable IEEE industry standards in each chapter
• Is written by industry experts who have an average of 25 to 30 years of industry experience
• Presents a new chapter addressing the key role of the substation in Smart Grids

Editor John McDonald and this very impressive group of contributors cover all aspects of substations, from the initial concept through design, automation, and operation. The book's chapters—which delve into physical and cyber-security, commissioning, and energy storage—are written as tutorials and provide references for further reading and study.

As with the other volumes in the Electric Power Engineering Handbook series, this book supplies a high level of detail and, more importantly, a tutorial style of writing and use of photographs and graphics to help the reader understand the material. Several chapter authors are members of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Substations Committee and are the actual experts who are developing the standards that govern all aspects of substations. As a result, this book contains the most recent technological developments in industry practice and standards.

Watch John D. McDonald talk about his book

A volume in the Electric Power Engineering Handbook, Third Edition.

Other volumes in the set:

• K12642 Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution, Third Edition (ISBN: 9781439856284)
• K12648 Power Systems, Third Edition (ISBN: 9781439856338)
• K13917 Power System Stability and Control, Third Edition (ISBN: 9781439883204)
• K12643 Electric Power Transformer Engineering, Third Edition (ISBN: 9781439856291)

1

How a Substation Happens

Jim Burke (retired)

Baltimore Gas & Electric Company

Anne-Marie Sahazizian

Hydro One Networks, Inc.

1.1 Background

1.2 Need Determination

1.3 Budgeting

1.4 Financing

1.5 Traditional and Innovative Substation Design

1.6 Site Selection and Acquisition

1.7 Design, Construction, and Commissioning Process

Station Design • Station Construction • Station Commissioning

References

1.1 Background

The construction of new substations and the expansion of existing facilities are commonplace projects in electric utilities. However, due to its complexity, very few utility employees are familiar with the complete process that allows these projects to be successfully completed. This chapter will attempt to highlight the major issues associated with these capital-intensive construction projects and provide a basic understanding of the types of issues that must be addressed during this process.

There are four major types of electric substations. The first type is the switchyard at a generating station. These facilities connect the generators to the utility grid and also provide off-site power to the plant. Generator switchyards tend to be large installations that are typically engineered and constructed by the power plant designers and are subject to planning, finance, and construction efforts different from those of routine substation projects. Because of their special nature, the creation of power plant switchyards will not be discussed here, but the expansion and modifications of these facilities generally follow the same processes as system stations.

The second type of substation, typically known as the customer substation, functions as the main source of electric power supply for one particular business customer. The technical requirements and the business case for this type of facility depend highly on the customer’s requirements, more so than on utility needs; so this type of station will also not be the primary focus of this discussion.

The third type of substation involves the transfer of bulk power across the network and is referred to as a system station. Some of these stations provide only switching facilities (no power transformers) whereas others perform voltage conversion as well. These large stations typically serve as the end points for transmission lines originating from generating switchyards and provide the electrical power for circuits that feed transformer stations. They are integral to the long-term reliability and integrity of the electric system and enable large blocks of energy to be moved from the generators to the load centers. Since these system stations are strategic facilities and usually very expensive to construct and maintain, these substations will be one of the major focuses of this chapter.

The fourth type of substation is the distribution station. These are the most common facilities in power electric systems and provide the distribution circuits that directly supply most electric customers. They are typically located close to the load centers, meaning that they are usually located in or near the neighborhoods that they supply, and are the stations most likely to be encountered by the customers. Due to the large number of such substations, these facilities will also be a focus of this chapter.

Depending on the type of equipment used, the substations could be

• Outdoor type with air-insulated equipment

• Indoor type with air-insulated equipment

• Outdoor type with gas-insulated equipment

• Indoor type with gas-insulated equipment

• Mixed technology substations

• Mobile substations

1.2 Need Determination

An active planning process is necessary to develop the business case for creating a substation or for making major modifications. Planners, operating and maintenance personnel, asset managers, and design engineers are among the various employees typically involved in considering such issues in substation design as load growth, system stability, system reliability, and system capacity; and their evaluations determine the need for new or improved substation facilities. Customer requirements, such as new factories, etc., should be considered, as well as customer relations and complaints. In some instances, political factors also influence this process, as is the case when reliability is a major issue. At this stage, the elements of the surrounding area are defined and assessed and a required in-service date is established.

It is usual for utilities to have long-term plans for the growth of their electric systems in order to meet the anticipated demand. Ten year forecasts are common and require significant input from the engineering staff. System planners determine the capacities of energy required and the requirements for shifting load around the system, but engineering personnel must provide cost info on how to achieve the planners’ goals. Planners conduct studies that produce multiple options and all of these scenarios need to be priced in order to determine the most economical means of serving the customers.

A basic outline of what is required in what area can be summarized as follows: System requirements including

• Load growth

• System stability

• System reliability

• System capacity

Customer requirements including

• Additional load

• Power quality

• Reliability

• Customer relations

• Customer complaints

• Neighborhood impact

1.3 Budgeting

Part of the long-range plan involves what bulk power substations need to be created or expanded in order to move large blocks of energy around the system as necessary and where do they need to be located. Determinations have to be made as to the suitability of former designs for the area in question. To achieve this, most utilities rely on standardized designs and modular costs developed over time, but should these former designs be unsuitable for the area involved, that is, unlikely to achieve community acceptance, then alternative designs need to be pursued. In the case of bulk power substations, the equipment and land costs can differ greatly from standard designs. Distribution stations, however, are the most common on most systems and therefore have the best known installed costs. Since these are the substations closest to the customers, redesign is less likely...