AB_A.

1_EGAT_EGATS CAPABILITY ENHANCEMENT ON

ELECTRICAL PROTECTION IMPROVEMENT
Mr. Pasut Sirichai (EGAT) Email: Pasut.sir@egat.co.th
Mr. Chaovanit Sosanui (EGAT) Email: Chaovanit.s@egat.co.th

1. Abstract

Deterioration and failure in electrical equipment are generally difficult to be forecasted. Deterioration may
occur in electrical equipment and probably face irregular operating conditions, which consequently result in
major failures that cannot be avoided or expected. Electrical relay protection system is the important system to
protect and limit damage of electrical equipment failure.
Electrical Maintenance Division (EMD) is the maintenance service provider, with good resources,
knowledge, and experiences on electrical relay protection system improvement for over 30 years. Many
improvement projects in Thailand had been efficiently accomplished by EGAT. Many experiences can help
EGAT staff to enhance capabilities in the electrical protection improvement and maintenance services.
Currently, EMD provides services more than 160 units of generator, both in Thailand and Laos.
This paper presents major capabilities of EGAT electrical relay protection improvement and maintenance
services accomplished by EMD experienced team. Hydro power plant protection system improvement is
selected case, which caused of expired electrical protection system. Electrical protection system has been
developed and collectively implemented with electrical simulation program, which are presented in this paper. It
shows EMD capabilities to fulfill customer satisfactions. The improvement and enhanced techniques on
electrical protection are presented in substantial accomplishment.

2. Introduction

Hydro power plant of 80 MW, located in south of Thailand, started commercial operation into the Thailand
power system for more than 25 years. And this power plant is significant to produce electricity in south of
Thailand. The electrical protection system began to deteriorate and failure due to aging. Electrical protection
system is one of the most important system to protect of electrical fault that can cause damage to the equipment
in plant, such as a generator, turbine, main transformer etc. If there is a fault in the electrical system, protection
system must be operated to isolate equipment from the system to protect equipment in plant, Also if electrical
protection was failed, low speed, low accuracy to operated it can result in equipment severely damage, Effect to
force outage for repair and maintenance that affects to power system reliability. Old protection relay in the
hydro power plant are single function static protective relay are shown in figure 1. began to fail and low
accuracy. The major problem of protection system in power plant is lack of spare part because of OEM (original
equipment manufacturers) have discontinued static protective relay.

Figure 1. Static protective relay

Recently in this project static protective relays were replaced by new digital protective relay. It uses
microprocessor to analyse input signal such as current, voltage, input signal from control process and processing
these data into protective function are shown in Figure 2. The features of digital protective relay are
multifunction, communication with user, self-test function and also provide metering current, voltage, kilowatt,
phasor diagram, event recorder, oscillograph, waveform. These advantages make engineering team to determine
the cause of incident that affect to solve problems quickly and effectively.

Figure 2. Digital protective relay

3. Activities in Protection Improvement

All of static protective relay will be replaced to digital protective relay that responsibility by electrical
maintenance division (EMD) of EGAT. These include the generator protection, main transformer protection,
excitation transformer protection, auxiliary transformer protection and station service transformer protection,
single line diagram of protection improvement project are shown in Figure 3. The concept of protection
improvement EMD team was designed a drawing for construction, configuration and setting function of
protection system works, like the original. The generator and main transformer are expensive and valuable
equipment, protection system failure was the cause of severely damaged. Consequently, to ensure the protection
system operate if fault occur in power system, two redundant digital protective relay are selected for generator
and main transformer protection system.
 Figure 3 Single line diagram for protection system

Power plant plans to install new protective relay during annual maintenance. EMD improve the protection
system within the plant by transform old static protective relay to new digital protective relay. The process of
installation was concluded as follows.

3.1 Engineering work

Engineering work is an important step in the installation of new equipment. EMD team determine technical
specification of new digital protective relay as follow, the relay shall be microprocessor base-type and also shall
be able to be operated and maintenance easily by providing a set of facilities etc.
The next step of the engineering work is verification of calculation setting. EMD team set a function of
protection system to a new digital protective relay based on the setting of the original static protective relay.
However, static protective relay is active older standard of protection may not be as suitable as today. So EMD
calculate new function based on international standard to increase power plant reliability.
After verification of calculation setting, then the next step is relay configuration. The digital protective relay
can connect through a computer via serial and Ethernet port. Software is required for configure parameter to
digital protective relay.
Finally, Drawing and wiring diagram is a key to success installation new equipment and must be properly
designed. Drawing and wiring diagram must be easy to understand for construction and also easy to operator
and maintenance of power plant. New drawing was written based on original drawing and international
standard. The drawing must be specify location to install the protective relay, specify the number of terminal
connection, identify the CT connection, identify the vector group of the transformer and identified a number of
functions within the protective relay. Which consists of protection single line diagram and protection system
schematic diagram.

1. Protection single line diagram show overall electrical equipment in the power plant and current
transformer, potential transformer installed and that the connection between instrument transformer to a
protective relay used in power plants. By writing a reference international standard.

2. Protection system schematic diagram show interconnected of wiring and internal logic which consist of
- Current transformer and potential transformer circuit for protection system.
- Contact input and output circuit of protective relay.
- Supply voltage circuit.
- Lockout relay circuit.
- Internal logical diagram of protective relay.
3.2 Relay protection replacement

Static protective relays are removed to install new digital protective relays as show in the below figure.

Figure 4. Static protective relay removal.

Figure 5. New digital protective relay under installation.

Figure 6 are shown before and after installation. (Left is old static protective relay and right is new digital
protective relay)

Figure 6. Before and after installation

3.3 Individual testing and loop check

New digital protective relay installation is likely to make mistakes due to a high amount of wiring and
terminal complex which may lead to a wiring fault protection scheme as designed, protective relay may be
malfunction due to incorrect wiring that affect to operation reliability in plant. Therefore, protective relay
individual testing after installation is essential to confirm that protective relay operate correctly according to the
calculations. EMD test procedure was concluded as follows.

- General inspection and check the tightening of the terminal.

- Check power supply source of protective relay overvoltage may cause protective relay damaged.
- Loop check input signal, output signal, current transformer wiring, voltage transformer wiring
- Secondary injection current and voltage to confirm monitor value from relay, verify polarity of current
transformer and voltage transformer.
- Recheck parameter setting in all protective relay to confirm parameter as same as calculation.
- Fault simulation by secondary injection to check as found pick up and operating time.

3.4 Function test

Generally, when a protective relay detect fault in electrical system. Relay protection will operate and send
signal to Lockout relay. And lockout relay will send contact output signal to isolated equipment such as
generator circuit breaker, field circuit breaker etc. Function test was performed by EMD team to confirm that the
protective relay operate correctly according to protection scheme of every protective function.
 3.5 Function test after generator synchronizing

The final step is synchronizing power plant to power system. This is an important step that it must be
confirm individual test before synchronization. After generator synchronized, Function test is start by simulated
protective relay operate. As a result of function test, protective relay operate to isolate equipment correctly as
designed.

4. Conclusion

Originally protection system in hydro power plant is static protective relay, which began deterioration and
failure due to aging. New digital protective relay is provided to replace old static protective relay to increase
operation reliability of plant. The scope of work includes the engineering work, new digital protective relay
installation and commissioning test. This improvement had been carried out by EMD team, which has
experience and expertise in maintenance, troubleshooting of protection systems for more than 160 plants both
Thailand and Laos. The protection system improvement project has expanded to other power plants of EGAT,
such as Bhumibol hydro power plant. Wang noi combined cycle power plants. Mae Moh thermal power plant.
Currently the power plants which improve protection system by EMD are normally operating to increase power
system reliability.

MR. PASUT SIRICHAI

Mr.Pasut Sirichai received a Bachelor's degree of Electrical Engineering

from Kasetsart University in 2014. He then join Electricity Generating Authority of
Thailand (EGAT) in 2015 as an engineer in electrical machine engineering and
protection system, he has experience in the field of protection system maintenance.

MR. CHAOVANIT SOSANUI

Mr. Chaovanit Sosanui obtained a Bachelors degree of Electrical

Engineering from King Mongkuts Institute of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand
in 2005. Since joining Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) in 2006
as an engineer in generator and motor department, he has been carried out several
works regarding problem solving on large electrical rotating machine operation and
maintenance. Joining and oral presentation in 18th CEPSI 2010 at Taipei on topic ON-
LINE INVESTIGATION AND MITIGATION MEASURES FOR OPERATION
AND MAINTENANCE OF THERMAL SENSITIVE GENERATOR ROTOR and
19th CEPSI 2012 at Bali on topic EGAT HIGH CURRENT DETECTOR
INVENTION FOR ANALYSIS OF UNBALANCED CURRENT IN MULTI-
PARALLEL STATOR WINDING. 20th CEPSI 2014 at Jeju on topic ROBOTIC
INVENTION FOR GENERATOR ROTOR-IN-PLACE INSPECTION.