DECLARATION

I declare that this report is my original work based on activities I performed observations and
training done during the attachment period at Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited
Technical Services and System Control, Lessos.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like pass my sincere gratitude to Human Resource manager for giving me a chance at
their company during my attachment. I greatly appreciate the Kenya Power staff for their
willingness and to pass knowledge and skills of operation. I can never forget the inspiring and
equipping knowledge provided by Moi University’s School of Engineering Electrical and
Communications Department which enabled me to quickly adapt and learn in the work
environment.
Great appreciation also goes to my family for their material and moral support. Lastly and most
important, I would like to thank God Almighty for the good health He gave me during my
attachment period.
ABSTRACT

This report vividly describes the duties I undertook, knowledge and skills learned and working
structure of Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited. This report is mainly focuses on
different tasks performed by the Control Room, Incidents Management System and all
equipment available at Power Substation and most importantly the working principles of these
equipment.
CHAPTER 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Company Profile
The Kenya Power is a limited liability company which distributes and retails electricity
throughout Kenya. It is a public company and is listed at the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).
Mission
To efficiently distribute high quality electricity throughout Kenya at cost effective tariffs; to
achieve the highest standards of customer service; and to ensure the company’s long term,
technical and financial viability.
VISION
Provide world class power that delights out customers
VALUES
Customer First
One Team
Passion
Integrity
Excellence

The Kenya Power’s Role

Kenya power owns and operates the entire electricity transmission and distribution system in
Kenya, and sells electricity to about over a million customers. The company’s key operations
include:
Ensuring sufficient transmission capacity to meet demand
Planning, design, construction and maintenance of the distribution network
Customer service
KPLC structure
The head office is based at Stima Plaza on Kolobot Road in Nairobi’s Ngara area. The
Company’s main functions are carried out under various divisions. These include Distribution
and Customer Service; Energy Transmission; Information Technology & Telecommunications;
Human Resources and Administration; Finance; Planning, Research and Performance
Monitoring, and Company Secretary. Internal Audit; Protective Services; Transport and Stores;
Supplies and Corporate Communications departments fall directly under the Managing
Director’s office.
The Company is further divided into four administrative regions. Each region is headed by a
manager. The regions are Nairobi, Coast, Mount Kenya and Western. Services offered by the
divisions are replicated in each region.

THE CORPORATE
STRUCTURE
First and Second Level

REGIONAL COORDINATION DIVISION

NETWORK MANAGEMNET
NORTH RIFT REGION

A SHORT HISTORY

KPLC was incorporated in 1922 as the East African Power & Lighting Company (EAP&L). It
changed its name to the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Ltd. (KPLC) in 1983. The majority
shareholder in KPLC is the Government of Kenya and its institutions, while the rest is owned by
private shareholders. Before a major power sector restructuring in 1997, KPLC also managed all
generating stations on behalf of the Government. Currently, KPLC only manages some diesel-
generating stations which are owned by the government, and which are isolated from the national
interconnected grid. It recently rebranded to The Kenya Power in 2011.

Transmission and Distribution

Electricity is transmitted at high voltages. In Kenya, electrical power is generated at between 11
and 15kV. The electricity is then stepped up to 220kV or 132kV for transmission to sub-stations.
It is then stepped down to 132kV, 66kV, 33kV and 11kV at various feeder points for distribution
to consumers. Large industrial and commercial customers are supplied at these high voltages.
The electricity is stepped down to 415v/240v for other consumers.

The National Grid

The national grid is the total interconnected network of transmission and distribution lines in the
country’s power system. The total length of lines in Kenya is about 30,400 km with various
regions linked at 220kV and 132kV. A limited length of 66kV transmission lines also exists in
Nairobi.
The national grid impacts on the future growth of the electricity sector. Any additional
generation capacity must take into consideration the existing network and its capacity to carry
additional power. An adequate transmission capacity ensures that power flow requirements are
satisfied.

STAKE-HOLDERS IN THE POWER SUB-SECTOR

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC): ERC’s primary role in the power sector is to
approve contracts for electricity generation and sale of electricity, set and review electricity
tariffs and enforce safety and environmental regulations in the power sector. ERC also
safeguards the interests of electricity consumers.
The Ministry of Energy: is responsible for overall policy formulation in the energy sector. It
also grants and revokes generation and distribution licenses upon recommendation of the ERC; is
involved in settlement of disputes arising from parties aggrieved by ERC’s decision(s).
KPLC: owns all the transmission and distribution assets. The Company buys electricity from
generating companies in bulk and retails it to customers.
The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) manages all public power generation
facilities. It generates and sells electricity in bulk to KPLC. The Company is also responsible for
developing new public sector generation facilities to meet increased demand.
Independent Power Producers (IPPS) build and operate their own power stations and then sell
power in bulk to KPLC.
Rural Electrification Authority (REA)
The Rural Electrification Fund was set up in 1973 and was coordinated by the Ministry of
Energy through an ad hoc committee until 2007 when the Rural Electrification Authority was
established. The government’s policy objectives are to expand access to electricity as a means of
promoting sustainable socio-economic development.

The Electric Power Act stipulates the inter-relationships between these key players and other
stakeholders such as consumers and the government. The act further provides direction on the
development of future power systems in Kenya.

Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO)-is majorly involved in construction

of transmission lines countrywide and passes over control to The Kenya Power on completion.

Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd.(UETCL)

KPLC also has a contractual arrangement with Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd.
Under which it can purchase up to 20 MW of power every day. The contract is reviewed
periodically to take into account changing circumstances.
Geothermal Development Company
The Geothermal Development Company (GDC) is fully government-owned company in Kenya's
energy sector. GDC was formed in 2008 as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to accelerate the
development of geothermal resources in Kenya.

GDC is tasked with developing steam fields and selling geothermal steam for electricity
generation to KenGen and to private investors. Geothermal steam is an environmentally friendly
and abundant raw material used for generating electricity.
The government and several development partners have been financing risks associated with
geothermal exploration and drilling.
Supply and demand highlights
Current and future supply situation:
Kenya’s demand is expected to rise from 916 MW in 2006to 2,397 MW in 2025/26
The interconnected system installed capacity in 2005 was 1,177 MW, which provided adequate
surplus that facilitated routine shutdowns of generating plants for repairs and maintenance
operations.
By 2009/10, 201MW of additional capacity will be commissioned under projects that have
already been committed.
In 2012 KENGEN commissioned an additional 208mw geothermal power plant in Olkaria that’s
expected to boost and cater for increasing electricity demand.
Customer service
KPLC retails power to nearly a million customers. The number is growing by 6.6% every year.
In order to ensure reliability of supply to existing and new electricity customers, the Company
continuously upgrades the existing network.
Staff
In order to attain its vision and mission, Kenya Power employs highly skilled staff. All-year
training programs carried out locally and internationally to expose them to the latest customer
service trends and technical standards developments.

1.3 Brief description of duties of KPLC departments

Design and construction
This department is responsible for basic design construction of new power schemes mostly in
rural electrification projects and also involved maintenance during major shutdown.
Operation and maintenance
Emergency team- they do minor work as changing burnt fuses and also report a major work like
breakdown to the emergency desk at E-House.
Meter reading - The department does the work of reading customer power meters and giving
the resulting records to costing which calculates the bills and sends them to respective customers.
Responsive protective unit
They deal with relays that open and close under the control of another electrical circuit. They
are responsible for their maintenance in all substations.
Electricity Transmission Plant
This department is responsible for construction of high voltage lines(132kv or 220kv) that
usually run from generation stations like Olkaria II/I, Sondu Miriu, Turkwell, kipevu and seven
folks to large substations like Lanet, Lessos, Juja and Dandora.
Electrical plant
They do maintenance work on transformers like oil refilling, testing transformers whether they
are faulty or not. No other person is allowed to touch the transformers unless they get a node
from this department.
Motor vehicle fleet
This department is responsible for advertising for tenders for vehicles that the company requires
for each of its department. This department also maintains vehicles.
Material supplies
This department imports material/equipment that the company uses by the company e.g.
transformers, surge diverters, conductors, crossbars, cross arms, etc.
Stores department
This department is responsible for keeping records of all material present in company store. The
records include issue and return forms that various other departments fill while taking anything
from the store.
Human resource department
This department is tasked with hiring personnel and deploying them to respective places of work.
This office also advertises vacant positions in the company.
Marketing
This department is responsible for selling what the company is offering like ‘stima loan’ that
enables the low income persons to have their homes with electricity by paying back the loan little
by little until they clear it.
Information technology
This department is responsible for the way information is sent around the company so that the
activities of the company are not interrupted with. This department is credited with enabling the
bills to be paid through M-Pesa. This department has made sure that all the offices of the
company countrywide have been networked and has enabled communication through the
internet, cell phones and radios. Computer maintenance and installations are done in this
department.

Revenue collection
This department collects all bills paid by customers and hand over everything to finance experts
to carry out their analysis to ascertain loss or profit the company has incurred for the past one
year.

SYSTEM STABILITY
The stability of a system refers to the ability of a system to return back to its steady state when
subjected to a disturbance.
Voltage stability in the power system is defined as the ability of a power system to maintain
acceptable voltages at all bus in the system under normal condition and after being subjected to a
disturbance. In the normal operating condition the voltage of a power system is stable, but when
the fault or disturbance occurs in the system, the voltage becomes unstable this result in a
progressive and uncontrollable decline in voltage. Voltage stability is sometimes also called load
stability.
Acceptable tolerance for both voltages and frequency is +/- 6%.

Undervolatges
Undervoltage occurs when the average voltage of a three-phase power system drops below
intended levels, and is sometimes referred to as a brown-out.
Undervoltage conditions are usually be caused by undersized or overloaded utility and facility
transformers. During peak demand periods and/or when the utility is experiencing problems, the
demand for power exceeds the capability of the transformer and as a result the voltage drops.

Undervoltage problems may be alleviated by:

1. Reducing the system impedance - increase the size of the transformer, reduce the line
length, add series capacitors (capacitor banks) or increase the size of line conductors.
2. Improving the voltage profile - adjust transformers to the correct tap setting (for manual tap
changers) or install voltage regulators or automatic on-load tap changers. Voltage regulators
include the mechanical tap changing voltage regulators, electronic tap switching voltage
regulators and the Ferro resonant transformers.
3. Reducing the line current – de-load the feeder or circuit by transferring some loads to other
substations or load centres, add shunt capacitors or static VAR compensators, or upgrade the line
to the next voltage level.

Overvoltage
The main causes of these voltage surges in power system are due to lightning impulses and
switching impulses of the system. But over voltage in the power system may also be caused by,
insulation failure, arcing ground and resonance etc
Remedy
Earthing screen.
Overhead earth wire.
Lightning arrester or surge dividers.
Opening or reactors

Over frequency and under frequency

Frequency is the change in direction of the current flow in an AC (alternating current system). In
India, Europe Africa and may other countries the frequency is 50 Hertz.
The frequency is directly linked to the speed of rotation of the generators. The generators on the
50 Hz systems rotate at a speed of 3000 rpm.
Controlling the Frequency
The grid frequency is not a fixed value; it keeps changing within a narrow range. Allowable
variation of the grid frequency is in a small range of ~+mn~ 0.5 Hz or less. This is ~+mn~ 30
rpm. At any point of time all the generators connected to the grid run at the same speed or in a
"synchronized" mode.
Governors or speed controls on turbines or diesel engines control the speed of individual
generators.
As the electrical load on the grid increases the generators tend to operate at a lower speed. This is
compensated for by the turbine governors which feed more steam to the turbines, thereby
increasing the speed. If one of the turbine generators cannot increase the speed due to steam
capacity limitations, another generator on the grid will compensate for this. When all the
generators reach their input capacity limitation, the grid will start operating at a lower frequency
than the 50 Hz. This is an indication that the grid is overloaded and demand changes are
required.
RIPPLE MECHANISM
Ripple control receivers are assigned to one of several ripple channels to allow the network
company to only turn off supply on part of the network, and to allow staged restoration of supply
to reduce the impact of a surge in demand when power is restored to the grid after a period of
time off.

COMMUNICATIONS
UHF radio sub-systems
A UHF radio connection provides communications for substation SCADA RTU where
establishing optical fibre and MPLS connectivity is not economically viable. The UHF radio
connection to the substation is configured as a remote site in a point-to multipoint system
operating in the 400MHz spectrum.

Optical fibre sub-systems

Optical fibre cables are deployed both between the substations (inter-substation) and within
substations (intra-substation). For the purpose of this Standard, inter-substation fibre cables
also include cables that connect offices and field service centres.

Inter-substation optical fibre cables

Inter-substation optical fibre cables shall be single-mode and are commonly used to enable
the following functions:
• Provide communication between protection relays in different substations; and
• Provide data communications between substations and the Company’s offices.
Communication services supported are SCADA, protection, corporate voice/data,
security video surveillance and smart grid.
The inter-substation cables arrive from the remote substation(s) or offices in various forms
(OPGW, underground, ADSS), carrying protection and communication signals

Ethernet cables
Copper cabling used for the transport of Ethernet signals having rates of up to 100Mb/s shall
be Category 6, consisting of unshielded twisted pairs. These cables shall be no more than
5m in length and be restricted to within the equipment cabinets. Shielded twisted pairs shall
be used where there is a risk of electromagnetic interference.

DC power supply requirements

12V DC power
A 12V DC power supply is required for the UHF radio installed in the substation
communications equipment cabinet.
The 12V DC power supply consists of a 12V battery charged by a 12V rectifier. Where 48V
DC telecommunication batteries are available, the radio 12V DC power may be supplied
using a 48VDC/12V converter (refer to 5.6.4 for details).
5.6.1.1 12V Rectifiers
The rectifier shall have the ability to disconnect the power feed to the radio when the battery
reaches a low voltage threshold adjustable between 11V and 12V.
The rectifier supplying the battery shall have a 10A fuse (on 12V DC) with the ability to
provide a DC fail alarm contact for the SCADA system.
5.6.2 48V DC power
The 48V DC power system is used for supplying substation fibre optic communication
equipment. The 48V DC power system shall conform to the general requirements set out in
SDI 513 and the specific requirements set out in this Standard.
5.6.2.1 48V system architecture
The 48V DC power system shall consist of two (2) independent positive earthed busbar pairs
(designated A and B), feeding the load through circuit breakers to the load.
Busbars shall be supplied by independent and identically sized battery strings, which in turn
are being charged by dedicated rectifiers tuned to the parameters of the associated string.
Where the use of a dedicated communications battery is not feasible, suitable 120V DC to
48V DC converters connected to the 120V station batteries may be used subject to approval
from Manager Primary Systems.

Be capable of supplying sensitive telecommunications equipment with a maximum

allowable ripple voltage of 0.2% rms at the nominal float voltage without the battery
connected [AS4044:1992];
• Consist of multiple plug-in modules providing N-1 redundancy by being able to
recharge a fully discharged battery bank within 24 hours whilst one plug-in module is
out of service;
• Be able to limit the charging current to the maximum value specified for the battery
(nominally total battery capacity in Ampere-hours divided by 10);
• Be able to simultaneously supply 150% of the maximum initial load current and the
maximum charging current;
• Have the ability to disconnect the battery on reaching a low voltage threshold
adjustable between 36V and 48V;
• Have an integrated DC distribution board with circuit breakers on all load circuits and
the outputs to the batteries (for isolation purposes);

Batteries
The 12V and 48V batteries shall be of valve regulated lead acid type conforming to SDI513.
The 12V battery for the radio shall have a minimum capacity of 100Ahr.
Batteries constituting each 48V banks shall be sized for supplying 150% (allowing for load
growth and decline in performance), of the initial load requirement over a minimum 24 hour
normal discharge period.
DC/DC converters
120VDC/ 48VDC and 48V DC/12V converters shall:

• Have N-1 redundant configuration with hot swappable plug in units;

• Have at least 1kV DC galvanic isolation between the primary (120V DC or 48V DC)
input and the secondary output (48V DC or 12V DC);
• Be capable of output current limiting; and,
• Be supplied through dedicated circuit breakers in the 120V DC or 48V DC distribution
systems feeding the converters.
The maximum current for the converter shall be 150% of the initial load current

PROTECTION EQUIPMENT
The definitions that follow are generally used in relation to power system protection:
Protection System: a complete arrangement of protection equipment and other devices required
to achieve a specified function.
Protection Equipment: a collection of protection devices (relays, fuses, etc.). Excluded are
devices such as CT’s, CB’s, Contactors, etc.
Protection Scheme: a collection of protection equipment providing a defined function and
including all equipment required to make the scheme work (i.e. relays, CT’s, CB’s, batteries,
etc.)

RELAYS
The last thirty years have seen enormous changes in relay technology. The electromechanical
relay in all of its different forms has been replaced successively by static, digital and
numerical relays, each change bringing with it reductions and size and improvements in
functionality. At the same time, reliability levels have been maintained or even improved and
availability significantly increased due to techniques not available with older relay types.
3STATIC RELAYS
The term ‘static’ implies that the relay has no moving parts. This is not strictly the case for a
static relay, as the output contacts are still generally attracted armature relays. In a protection
relay, the term ‘static’ refers to the absence of moving parts to create the relay characteristic.
A number of design problems had to be solved with static relays. In particular, the relays
generally require a reliable source of d.c. power and measures to prevent damage to
vulnerable electronic circuits had to be devised. Substation environments are particularly
hostile to electronic circuits due to electrical interference of various forms that are
commonly found.
4DIGITAL RELAYS
Digital protection relays introduced a step change in technology. Microprocessors and
microcontrollers replaced analogue circuits used in static relays to implement relay functions.
Compared to static relays, digital relays introduce A/D conversion of all measured analogue
quantities and use a microprocessor to implement the protection algorithm. The microprocessor
may use some kind of counting technique, or use the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) to
implement the algorithm. However, the typical microprocessors used have limited processing
capacity and memory compared to that provided in numerical relays.
The limited power of the microprocessors used in digital relays restricts the number of samples
of the waveform that can be measured per cycle. This, in turn, limits the speed of operation of
the relay in certain applications. Therefore, a digital relay for a particular protection function
may have a longer operation time than the static relay equivalent.
The distinction between digital and numerical relay rests on points of fine technical detail, and is
rarely found in areas other than Protection. They can be viewed as natural developments of
digital relays as a result of advances in technology. Typically, they use a specialized digital
signal processor (DSP) as the computational hardware, together with the associated
software tools. The input analogue signals are converted into a digital representation and
processed according to the appropriate mathematical algorithm. Processing is carried out using a
specialized microprocessor that is optimized for signal processing applications, known as a
digital signal processor or DSP for short.
DISTANCE PROTECTION RELAYS
Distance protection, in its basic form, is a non-unit system of protection offering considerable
economic and technical advantages. Unlike phase and neutral overcurrent protection, the key
advantage of distance protection is that its fault coverage of the protected circuit is virtually
independent of source impedance variations. Distance protection is comparatively simple to
apply and it can be fast in operation for faults located along most of a protected circuit. It can
also provide both primary and remote back-up functions in a single scheme. It can easily be
adapted to create a unit protection scheme when applied with a signaling channel. In this form it
is eminently suitable for application with high-speed auto-reclosing, for the protection of critical
transmission lines.
PROTECTION EQUIPMENTS AND INSTRUMENTS
4.1 INSTRUMENTATION TRANSFORMERS
Whenever the values of voltage or current in a power circuit are too high to permit convenient
direct connection of measuring instruments or relays, coupling is made through transformers.
Such 'measuring' transformers are required to produce a scaled down replica of the input quantity
to the accuracy expected for the particular measurement; this is made possible by
the high efficiency of the transformer. The performance of measuring transformers during and
following large instantaneous changes in the input quantity is important, in that this quantity may
depart from the sinusoidal waveform. The deviation may consist of a step change in magnitude,
or a transient component that persists for an appreciable period, or both. The resulting effect on
instrument performance is usually negligible, although for precision metering a persistent
change in the accuracy of the transformer may be significant.
However, many protection systems are required to operate during the period of transient
disturbance in the output of the measuring transformers that follows a system fault. The errors in
transformer output may abnormally delay the operation of the protection, or cause unnecessary
operations. The functioning of such transformers must, therefore, be examined analytically.
Three main tasks of CTs and VTs
The three main tasks of instrument transformers are:
To transform currents or voltages from a usually high value to a v alue easy to handle for relays
and instruments.
To insulate the metering circuit from the primary high voltage system.
To provide possibilities of standardizing the instruments and relays to a few rated currents and
voltages.

1VOLTAGE TRANSFORMERS
There are two types of voltage transformers;
Electromagnetic voltage transformers.
Capacitive voltage transformers

Capacitive voltage transformers

The size of electromagnetic voltage transformers for the higher voltages is largely proportional
to the rated voltage; the cost tends to increase at a disproportionate rate. The capacitor voltage
transformer (CVT) is often more economic. This device is basically a capacitance potential
divider. As with resistance-type potential dividers, the output voltage is seriously affected by
load at the tapping point. The capacitance divider differs in that its equivalent source impedance
is capacitive and can therefore be compensated by a reactor connected in series with the tapping
point. With an ideal reactor, such an arrangement would have no regulation and could supply any
value of output.
A reactor possesses some resistance, which limits the output that can be obtained. For a
secondary output voltage of 110V, the capacitors would have to be very large to provide a useful
output while keeping errors within the usual limits. The solution is to use a high secondary
voltage and further transform the output to the normal value using a relatively inexpensive
electromagnetic transformer. The successive stages of this reasoning are indicated in Figure
bellow.
CURRENT TRANSFORMERS
The primary winding of a current transformer is connected in series with the power circuit and
the impedance is negligible compared with that of the power circuit. The power system
impedance governs the current passing through the primary winding of the current transformer.
This condition can be represented by inserting the load impedance.
This approach is developed in Figure bellow, taking the numerical example of a 300/5A CT
applied to an 11kV power system. The system is considered to be carrying rated current (300A)
and the CT is feeding a burden of 10VA.
Parts of a Current Transformer
CIRCUIT BREAKERS
A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical
circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. Its basic function is to detect a fault
condition and, by interrupting continuity, to immediately discontinue electrical flow. Unlike a
fuse, which operates once and then must be replaced, a circuit breaker can be reset (either
manually or automatically) to resume normal operation. Circuit breakers are made in varying
sizes, from small devices that protect an individual household appliance up to large switchgear
designed to protect high voltage circuits feeding an entire city.
Arc interruption
Miniature low-voltage circuit breakers use air alone to extinguish the arc. Larger ratings have
metal plates or non-metallic arc chutes to divide and cool the arc. Magnetic blowout coils or
permanent magnets deflect the arc into the arc chute.
In larger ratings, oil circuit breakers rely upon vaporization of some of the oil to blast a jet of oil
through the arc. Gas (usually sulfur hexafluoride) circuit breakers sometimes stretch the arc
using a magnetic field, and then rely upon the dielectric strength of the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
to quench the stretched arc. Vacuum circuit breakers have minimal arcing (as there is nothing to
ionize other than the contact material), so the arc quenches when it is stretched a very small
amount (<2–3 mm). Vacuum circuit breakers are frequently used in modern medium-voltage
switchgear to 35,000 volts.
Air circuit breakers may use compressed air to blow out the arc, or alternatively, the contacts are
rapidly swung into a small sealed chamber, the escaping of the displaced air thus blowing out the
arc. Circuit breakers are usually able to terminate all current very quickly: typically the arc is
extinguished between 30 m and 150 m after the mechanism has been tripped, depending upon
age and construction of the device.

LOCATION OF INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMERS IN A DOUBLE BUSBAR

ARRANGEMENT
3 AUTO-RECLOSERS
In electric power distribution, a recloser, or autorecloser, is a circuit breaker equipped with a
mechanism that can automatically close the breaker after it has been opened due to a fault.
Reclosers are used on overhead distribution systems to detect and interrupt momentary faults.
Since many short-circuits on overhead lines clear themselves, a recloser improves service
continuity by automatically restoring power to the line after a momentary fault.
In order to prevent damage, each station along the network is protected with circuit breakers or
fuses which will turn off power in the event of a short circuit. This presents a major problem
dealing with transient events. For instance, a tree branch that is blown off a tree during a
windstorm and lands on the line may cause a short circuit that could cause damage. However, the
fault will quickly clear itself as the branch falls to the ground. If the only protection system is the
breakers at the distribution centers, large areas of the grid would be blacked out while the repair
crew resets the breakers.
Reclosers address this problem by further dividing up the network into smaller sections. For
instance, the city grid example above might be equipped with reclosers at every branch point on
the network. Reclosers, because of their position in the network, handle much less power than
the breakers at the feeder stations, and therefore can be set to trip at much lower power levels.
This means that a single event on the grid will cut off only the section handled by the single
recloser, long before the feeder station would notice a problem. A normal breaker could also be
used for this role, but because they are distributed geographically throughout the grid, as opposed
to being centralized at feeder stations, resetting a breaker might take considerable time. For this
reason, reclosers are used to automatically re-connect after a brief interval. There is a strong
likelihood that the fault will be gone when the power is restored. If the fault is still present, the
recloser opens again.
The control system for a recloser allows a selected number of attempts to restore service after
adjustable time delays. For example a recloser may have 2 or 3 "fast" reclose operations with a
few seconds delay, then a longer delay and one reclose; if the last attempt is not successful, the
recloser will lock out and require human intervention to reset. If the fault is a permanent fault
(downed wires, tree branches lying on the wires, etc.) the autorecloser will exhaust its pre-
programmed attempts to re-energize the line and remain tripped off until manually commanded
to try again. About 80-90% of faults on overhead power lines are transient and can be cured by
autoreclosing. The result is increased availability of supply.
Autoreclosers are made in single-phase and three-phase versions, and use either oil, vacuum, or
SF6 interrupters. Controls for the reclosers range from the original electromechanical systems to
digital electronics with metering and SCADA functions. The ratings of reclosers run from 2.4–
38 kV for load currents from 10–1200 A and fault currents from 1–16 kA.
POWER TRANSFORMER
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through
inductively coupled conductors — the transformer's coils. Except for air-core transformers, the
conductors are commonly wound around a single iron-rich core, or around separate but
magnetically-coupled cores. A varying current in the first or "primary" winding creates a varying
magnetic field in the core (or cores) of the transformer. This varying magnetic field induces a
varying electromotive force (EMF) or "voltage" in the "secondary" winding. This effect is called
mutual induction.

Figure 5.1, power transformer

The development of modern power systems has been reflected in the advances in transformer
design. This has resulted in a wide range of transformers with sizes ranging from a few kVA to
several hundred MVA being available for use in a wide variety of applications.
The considerations for a transformer protection package vary with the application and
importance of the transformer. To reduce the effects of thermal stress and electrodynamics
forces, it is advisable to ensure that the protection package used minimizes the time for
disconnection in the event of a fault occurring within the transformer. Small distribution
transformers can be protected satisfactorily, from both technical and economic considerations, by
the use of fuses or overcurrent relays. This results in time-delayed protection due to downstream
co-ordination requirements. However, time-delayed fault clearance is unacceptable on larger
power transformers used in distribution, transmission and generator applications, due to system
operation/stability and cost of repair/length of outage considerations.
PROTECTION
OVERCURRENT PROTECTION
Fuses may adequately protect small transformers, but larger ones require overcurrent protection
using a relay and CB, as fuses do not have the required fault breaking capacity.
 Fuses commonly protect small distribution transformers typically up to ratings of 1MVA at
distribution voltages. In many cases no circuit breaker is provided, making fuse protection the
only available means of automatic isolation. The fuse must have a rating well above the
maximum transformer load current in order to withstand the short duration overloads that may
occur. Also, the fuses must withstand the magnetizing inrush currents drawn when power
transformers are energized.
With the advent of ring main units incorporating SF6 circuit breakers and isolators, protection of
distribution transformers can now be provided by overcurrent trips (e.g. tripping controlled by
time limit fuses connected across the secondary windings of in-built current transformers) or by
relays connected to current transformers located on the transformer primary side. Overcurrent
relays are also used on larger transformers provided with standard circuit breaker control.
Improvement in protection is obtained in two ways; the excessive delays of the HRC fuse for
lower fault currents are avoided and an earth-fault tripping element is provided in addition to the
overcurrent feature.
The time delay characteristic should be chosen to discriminate with circuit protection on the
secondary side. A high-set instantaneous relay element is often provided, the current setting
being chosen to avoid operation for a secondary short circuit. This enables high-speed clearance
of primary terminal short circuits.

5.3TRANSFORMER OVERHEATING
The rating of a transformer is based on the temperature rise above an assumed maximum
ambient temperature; under this condition no sustained overload is usually permissible. At a
lower ambient temperature some degree of sustained overload can be safely applied. Short-term
overloads are also permissible to an extent dependent on the previous loading conditions.
A temperature of about 95°C is considered to be the normal maximum working value beyond
which a further rise of 8°C-10°C, if sustained, will halve the insulation life of the unit. Protection
against overload is therefore based on winding temperature, which is usually measured by a
thermal image technique. Protection is arranged to trip the transformer if excessive temperature
is reached. The trip signal is usually routed via a digital input of a protection relay on one side of
the transformer, with both alarm and trip facilities made available through programmable logic in
the relay. Intertripping between the relays on the two sides of the transformer is usually applied
to ensure total disconnection of the transformer.
5.4 Restricted Earth Fault protection scheme (REF)
Conventional earth fault protection using overcurrent elements fails to provide adequate
protection for transformer windings. This is particularly the case for a star-connected winding
with an impedance-earthed neutral. The degree of protection is very much improved by the
application of restricted earth fault protection. This is a unit protection scheme for one winding
of the transformer. It can be of the high impedance type as shown in Figure below;
Figure 5.2, Restricted earth fault protection for a star winding
The restricted earth fault schemes depend entirely on the Kirchhoff principle that the sum of the
currents flowing into a conducting network is zero.
For the high-impedance type, the residual current of three line current transformers is balanced
against the output of a current transformer in the neutral conductor. In the biased low-impedance
version, the three phase currents and the neutral current become the bias inputs to a differential
element.
The system is operative for faults within the region between current transformers that is, for
faults on the star winding in question. The system will remain stable for all faults outside this
zone.
Earth fault protection applied to a delta-connected or unearthed star winding is inherently
restricted, since no zero sequence components can be transmitted through the transformer to the
other windings.
Differential Protection Cover the complete transformer; this is possible because of the high
efficiency of transformer operation, and the close equivalence of ampere-turns developed on the
primary and secondary windings. Figure bellow illustrates the principle. Current transformers
on the primary and secondary sides are connected to form a circulating current system.

Figure 5.3, Principle of transformer differential protection

In applying the principles of differential protection to transformers, a variety of considerations
have to be taken into account. These include:
correction for possible phase shift across the transformer windings (phase correction)
The effects of the variety of earthing and winding arrangements (filtering of zero sequence
currents).
correction for possible unbalance of signals from current transformers on either side of the
windings (ratio correction)
The effect of magnetizing inrush during initial energization
The possible occurrence of overfluxing.
5.5 COMBINED DIFFERENTIAL AND RESTRICTED EARTH FAULT SCHEMES
The advantages to be obtained by the use of restricted earth fault protection, lead to the system
being frequently used in conjunction with an overall differential system. The importance of this
is shown in Figure bellow from which it will be seen that if the neutral of a star-connected
winding is earthed through a resistance of one per unit, an overall differential system having an
effective setting of 20% will detect faults in only 42% of the winding from the line end.
OIL AND GAS DEVICES
All faults below oil in an oil-immersed transformer result in localised heating and breakdown of
the oil; some degree of arcing will always take place in a winding fault and the resulting
decomposition of the oil will release gases. When the fault is of a very minor type, such as a hot
joint, gas is released slowly, but a major fault involving severe arcing causes a very rapid release
of large volumes of gas as well as oil vapour. The action is so violent that the gas and vapour do
not have time to escape but instead build up pressure and bodily displace the oil.
When such faults occur in transformers having oil conservators, the fault causes a blast of oil to
pass up the relief pipe to the conservator. A Buchholz relay is used to protect against such
conditions. Devices responding to abnormally high oil pressure or rate-of-rise of oil pressure are
also available and may be used in conjunction with a Buchholz relay.
5.6.1 Buchholz Protection
Buchholz protection is normally provided on all transformers fitted with a conservator. The
Buchholz
relay is contained in a cast housing which is connected in the pipe to the conservator, as in
Figure bellow;
Figure 5.7, Buchholz relay arrangement
A typical Buchholz relay will have two sets of contacts. One is arranged to operate for slow
accumulations of gas, the other for bulk displacement of oil in the event of a heavy internal fault.
An alarm is generated for the former, but the latter is usually direct-wired to the CB trip relay.
The device will therefore give an alarm for the following fault conditions, all of which are of a
low order of urgency.
Hot spots on the core due to short circuit of lamination insulation
Core bolt insulation failure
faulty joints
interturn faults or other winding faults involving only lower power in feeds
loss of oil due to leakage
When a major winding fault occurs, this causes a surge of oil, which displaces the lower float
and thus causes isolation of the transformer. This action will take place for:
all severe winding faults, either to earth or interphase
loss of oil if allowed to continue to a dangerous degree
5.6.2 Oil Pressure Relief Devices
The simplest form of pressure relief device is the widely used ‘frangible disc’ that is normally
located at the end of an oil relief pipe protruding from the top of the transformer tank.
The surge of oil caused by a serious fault bursts the disc, so allowing the oil to discharge rapidly.
Relieving and limiting the pressure rise avoids explosive rupture of the tank and consequent fire
risk. Outdoor oil-immersed transformers are usually mounted in a catchment pit to collect and
contain spilt oil (from whatever cause), thereby minimising the possibility of pollution.
A drawback of the frangible disc is that the oil remaining in the tank is left exposed to the
atmosphere after rupture. This is avoided in a more effective device, the sudden pressure relief
valve, which opens to allow discharge of oil if the pressure exceeds a set level, but closes
automatically as soon as the internal pressure falls below this level. If the abnormal pressure is
relatively high, the valve can operate within a few milliseconds, and provide fast tripping when
suitable contacts are fitted.
5.6.3 Rapid Pressure Rise Relay
This device detects rapid rise of pressure rather than absolute pressure and thereby can respond
even quicker than the pressure relief valve to sudden abnormally high pressures. Sensitivities as
low as 0.07bar/s are attainable, but when fitted to forced-cooled transformers the operating speed
of the device may have to be slowed deliberately to avoid spurious tripping during circulation
pump starts.

ELECTRICAL SAFETY

All accidents are preventable and no task is so important that risk of injury to people, or damage
to the environment is justified. These regulations include:
Dangerous occurrences and electrical accidents on the System shall be
reported immediately to the System Controller and Safety in-Charge.
A failure of supply, from whatever cause, to or from any part of the High Voltage Systems, shall
be immediately reported to the System Controller.
During failures of supply all apparatus Equipment and conductors shall be regarded as being
Live until Isolated.
No person shall, without authority enter any transforming station or switching station premises
belonging to, or wholly under, the control of the Company.
All persons who may be concerned with the Operation of, and work on, the System shall make
themselves conversant with the treatment for electric shock.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Safety Equipment such as safety helmets, overall, safety boots, belts and safety ropes, which
have been provided by the employer for the protection of employees, must be properly used by
them on all appropriate occasions. Each item of safety Equipment must be examined by the user
to check that it is in good condition both before and after use. Equipment found not in good
condition must be marked “defective” and reported to the supervisor.
Safety Documents
Electrical Permit-To-Work (EPTW): A form of declaration signed and given by an Authorized
Person, to a Competent Person in charge of work to be carried out on or in close proximity to a
plant or High Voltage apparatus for the purpose of making known to such person exactly how it
has been made safe and the safety limits including points of isolation and earthing. An
Authorized Person may issue and cancel Permits-to-Work to himself.
Sanction-For-Test: A form of declaration signed and given by a Senior Authorized Person to an
Authorized Person in charge of testing on or in proximity to plant, or High Voltage Apparatus
for the purpose of making known to such person exactly what apparatus is to be tested and the
condition under which the testing is to be carried out.
Limitation-of-Access: A form issued and canceled by an Authorized Person specially
authorized to do so defining the limits and nature of work which may be carried out in the
vicinity of live Apparatus. A Limitation-of-Access may be issued when a Permit-to-Work or
Sanction-for-Test is not applicable and when verbal instructions are not considered sufficient.

Classes of Authorization
1.a. Senior Authorized Person
Duties of all classes of authorized person with the exception of HV live line work. Authority to
render interlocks inoperative.
1.b. Senior Authorized Person
Issue and cancellation of sanctions-for-test.
2. Senior Authorized Person
Authority to sanction but not to issue permits-to-work, limitation-of-access and sanctions-for-
test. Authority to issue instructions for the operation and earthing apparatus.
3. Authorized Person
To perform HV live line work.
4. Authorized Person
Operations of HV equipment with or without any form of interlock
5. Authorized Person
Testing and earthing operations on equipment without interlock but with integral earth
6. Authorized Person
Earthing of Isolated apparatus using an interlocked integral earth
7. Authorized Person
Testing of outdoor equipment to prove dead and application and removal of circuit main earths
8. Authorized Person
Operation of medium voltage outdoor switch gear. Removal and insertion of medium voltage
fuses and links.
9. Authorized Person
Issue and cancellation of permits-to-work; fixing of warning notices & devises.
10. Authorized Person
Issue and cancellation of limitation-of-access for work on auxiliary equipment; isolation of
auxiliary equipment.
11. Authorized Person
Receive sanction-for-test for purposes of testing of extra high, high and medium voltage
equipment.
12. Authorized Person
Switch from a remote position.
13. Authorized Person
Operation of high and extra-high voltage outdoor switch gear
14. Competent Person
Climbing of towers, gantries and telecommunication masts
15. Competent Person
Receive permit-to-work and limitation-of-access to test & work on high, medium and low
voltage equipment, apply & remove additional earths; supervise the use of portable ladders and
long objects where there are exposed live conductors
16. Competent Person
To work on live LV/MV equipment
17. Competent Person
Access to substation/medium-high voltage security enclosures

Definitions
Authorized Person to an Authorized Person in charge of testing on or in proximity to plant, or
High Voltage Apparatus for the purpose of making known to such person exactly what apparatus
is to be tested and the condition under which the testing is to be carried out.
Senior Authorized Person – an Authorized Person who has been appointed in writing by the
chairman of the appropriate authorization panel to issue and cancel, or sanction the issue and
cancellation of Permits-to-work, Sanctions for-Test and Limitations-of-Access. The certificate of
appointment shall state the class of operation and/or work the person is Authorized to carry out
and the section of the system to which it applies.
Circuit Main Earth – an earth of an Approved type which is applied on the instructions of the
System Controller before the Permit-to-Work or Sanction-for-Test is issued
Competent Person – a person who has sufficient technical knowledge (training) and/or
experience to enable him/her to avoid Danger and is considered knowledgeable to carry out work
on electrical equipment and to supervise others under his control. The appointment shall be
certified in writing by the chairman of the appropriate authorization panel.
Auxiliary Equipment – equipment associated to medium and High Voltage Apparatus which
include relay, control and telecommunication panel.
Additional Earth – an earth of Approved type which is applied after the issue of a Permit-to-
Work or Sanction-for-Test (for example an earth applied at a point of work)
Low Voltage Apparatus – any apparatus, Equipment and conductors that are normally operated at
a voltage not exceeding 250 volts.
Medium Voltage Apparatus – any apparatus, Equipment and conductors which are normally
operated at a voltage exceeding 250 volts but not exceeding 650 volts.
High Voltage Apparatus – any apparatus, Equipment and conductors normally operated at a
voltage exceeding 650 volts.

Safety Clearances to Live Conductors

Rated Voltage Clearance

Not exceeding
(8ft 5in)
6.6kV………………… 2.6m
Exceeding 6.6kV but not exceeding
(8ft 6in)
11kV 2.6m
Exceeding 11kV but not exceeding
(8ft 8in)
22kV 2.6m
Exceeding 22kV but not exceeding
(9ft 0in)
33kV 2.7m
Exceeding 33kV but not exceeding
(9ft 9in)
66kV 3.0m
Exceeding 66kV but not exceeding
(11ft 3in)
132kV 3.4m
Exceeding 132kV but not exceeding
(15ft 0in)
275kV 4.6m
Exceeding 275kV (18ft 0in)

Work On Overhead Line Clearance

Rated Voltage Clearance Clearance

Not exceeding Clearance
(3ft 0in)
11kV………………….. 0.9m
Exceeding 11kV but not
1.2m (4ft 0in)
exceeding 33kV
Exceeding 33kV but not
1.8m (6ft 0in)
exceeding 66kV
Exceeding 66kV but not
2.7m (9ft 0in)
exceeding 132kV
Exceeding 132kV but not
4.6m (15ft 0in)
exceeding 275kV
5.5m (18ft 0in)

To meet these objectives, fire safety systems provide the following performance elements:
Detect a fire at its earliest stage.
Signal the building occupants and/or the fire department of a fire.
Provide adequate illumination to an exit (emergency lights).
Provide illuminated exit signs.
Provide fire-separated exits within reasonable travel distances from all areas of a building. These
exits shall terminate at the exterior of the building.
Provide fire separations between building floors and high-hazard rooms to prevent the spread of
fire.
Provide passive protection to structural components to prevent their failure due to fire exposure.