POWER TRANSMISSION

ENGR. KEVIN D. DUGAY

2017-2018 - 1st Term

Mapua Institute of Technology Laguna

TRANSMISSION LINE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
• An overhead transmission line consists of:
• Conductors
• Insulators
• Support structures
• Shield wires

EE135 – Power System Protection

CONDUCTORS
• Aluminum has replaced copper as the most common conductor
metal for overhead transmission.
• Also the supply of aluminum is abundant, whereas that of copper is
limited.

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CONDUCTORS
• One of the most common conductor types is aluminum conductor,
steel-reinforced (ACSR)
• The use of steel strands gives ACSR conductors a high strength-to-
weight ratio.
• For purposes of heat dissipation, overhead transmission-line
conductors are bare (no insulating cover).

EE135 – Power System Protection

CONDUCTORS
Advantages of Stranded Conductors
• Easier to manufacture, since larger conductor sizes can be obtained
by simply adding successive layers of strands.
• Easy to handle and flexible than solid conductors.

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INSULATORS
• Insulators for transmission lines above 69
kV are typically suspension-type
insulators, which consist of a string of
discs constructed porcelain, toughened
glass, or polymer
• The standard disc has a 10-in. (0.254-m)
diameter, 5 3/4-in. (0.146-m) spacing
between centers of adjacent discs, and a
mechanical strength of 7500 kg.

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SUPPORT STRUCTURES
• Transmission lines employ a variety of support
structures.
• Double-circuit 345-kV lines usually have self-
supporting steel towers with the phases arranged
either in a triangular configuration to reduce tower
height or in a vertical configuration to reduce tower
width
• Wood frame configurations are commonly used for
voltages of 345 kV and below.

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SHIELD WIRES
• Shield wires located above the phase conductors protect the phase
conductors against lightning.
• The number and location of the shield wires are selected so that
almost all lightning strokes terminate on the shield wires rather
than on the phase conductors.
• Shield wires are grounded to the tower. As such, when lightning
strikes a shield wire, it flows harmlessly to ground, provided the
tower impedance and tower footing resistance are small.

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ELECTRICAL FACTORS
• Electrical design dictates the type, size, and number of bundle
conductors per phase.
• Phase conductors are selected to have sufficient thermal capacity
to meet continuous, emergency overload, and short-circuit current
ratings.
• For EHV lines, the number of bundle conductors per phase is
selected to control the voltage gradient at conductor surfaces.

EE135 – Power System Protection

ELECTRICAL FACTORS
• Conductor spacings, types, and sizes also determine the series
impedance and shunt admittance. Series impedance affects line-
voltage drops, I2R losses, and stability limits.
• Shunt admittance, primarily capacitive, affects line-charging
currents, which inject reactive power into the power system.
• Shunt reactors (inductors) are often installed on lightly loaded EHV
lines to absorb part of this reactive power, thereby reducing
overvoltages.

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MECHANICAL FACTORS
• Mechanical design focuses on the strength of the conductors,
insulator strings, and support structures.
• Conductors must be strong enough to support a specified thickness
of ice and a specified wind in addition to their own weight.
• Suspension insulator strings must be strong enough to support the
phase conductors with ice and wind loadings from tower to tower
(span length).

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ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
• Environmental factors include land usage and visual impact. When
a line route is selected, the effect on local communities and
population centers, land values, access to property, wildlife, and
use of public parks and facilities must all be considered.

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ECONOMIC FACTORS
• The optimum line design meets all the technical design criteria at
lowest overall cost, which includes the total installed cost of the
line as well as the cost of line losses over the operating life of the
line.
• Utilities and consulting organizations use digital computer
programs combined with specialized knowledge and physical
experience to achieve optimum line design.

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 VOLTAGE CLASSES AND
LINE DESIGN PARAMETERS
ENGR. KEVIN D. DUGAY
2017-2018 - 1st Term

Mapua Institute of Technology Laguna

PRIMARY DISTRIBUTION VOLTAGE LEVELS
• Primary Distribution Voltages are between 4 kV and 35 kV
• Four Major Voltage Classes are 5, 15, 25, and 35 kV
• A voltage class is a term applied to a set of distribution voltages and
the equipment common to them; it is not the actual system voltage.

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HIGHER VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION
Advantages
• Voltage drop –A higher-voltage circuit has less voltage drop for a
given power flow.
• Capacity–A higher-voltage system can carry more power for a given
ampacity.
• Losses–For a given level of power flow, a higher-voltage system has
fewer line losses.
w/o transformer w/ transformer
Load voltage (VL) 453.772 V 479.724 V
Transmission losses 1,482.532 W 16.569 W

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HIGHER VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION
Advantages
• Reach–With less voltage drop and more capacity, higher voltage
circuits can cover a much wider area.
• Fewer substations –Because of longer reach, higher-voltage
distribution systems need fewer substations.

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HIGHER VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION
Disadvantages
• Reliability–An important disadvantage of higher voltages: longer
circuits mean more customer interruptions.
• Crew safety and acceptance –Crews do not like working on higher-
voltage distribution systems.
• Equipment cost–From transformers to cable to insulators, higher-
voltage equipment costs more.

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HIGHER VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION
Some fundamental relationships are
• Power–For the same current, power changes linearly with voltage

𝑉2
𝑃2 = 𝑃1
𝑉1

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼2 = 𝐼1

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HIGHER VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION
Some fundamental relationships are
• Current– For the same power, increasing the voltage decreases
current linearly.
𝑉1
𝐼2 = 𝐼1
𝑉2

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑃2 = 𝑃1

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HIGHER VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION
Some fundamental relationships are
• Voltage drop –For the same power delivered, the percentage voltage
drop changes as the ratio of voltages squared

2
𝑉1
𝑉%2 = 𝑉%1
𝑉2

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑃2 = 𝑃1

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HIGHER VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION
The squaring effect on voltage drop is significant. It means that
doubling the system voltage quadruples the load that can be supplied
over the same distance (with equal percentage voltage drop); or,
twice the load can be supplied over twice the distance; or, the same
load can be supplied over four times the distance.

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HIGHER VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION
 Article 6.47 of Philippine Electrical Code (PEC) states that voltage
drop of any sensitive electronic equipment shall not exceed 1.5%
 Article 2.10.2.1 of PEC states that conductors for branch circuits
defined in Article 1.0 was sized to prevent a voltage drop of 3%
 Article 6.95.1.7 of PEC states that the voltage at the motor terminals
shall not drop more than 5 percent below the voltage rating of the
motor

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EE135 – Power System Protection
 UNDERGROUND
TRANSMISSION
ENGR. KEVIN D. DUGAY
2017-2018 - 1st Term

Mapua Institute of Technology Laguna

UNDERGROUND TRANSMISSION
• Municipalities have passed laws requiring new distribution facilities
to be placed underground.
• For aesthetic reasons
• To increase property values (5-10% according to some studies)
• Cost covered by developers and ultimately paid by property owners.
• Provide better protection from storm damage and improve reliability
of power supply.

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CONSTRUCTION AND STORM PROTECTION
• Underground construction can improve the reliability of the electric
power system by minimizing damage to the system from:
• High winds
• Ice and snow storms
• Falling trees
• Restoration of system is faster

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CONSTRUCTION AND STORM PROTECTION
• Underground construction is not immune from all form of damage
• Flooding
• Hurricane Damage
• Earthquake Damage
• Lightning Damage
• Rodent and Human Damage (dig up)

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POWER SYSTEM COMPONENTS
• Transmission System
• 69,000 Volts and Above
• Less than 2% of all outages are due to transmission system
outages.
• Subtransmission System
• 35,000 Volts
• Sometimes 69,000 Volts
• Distribution System
• 25,000 Volts and below
• Most outages occur here
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PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS OF UNDERGROUND LINES
• The main argument against constructing underground systems is
usually financial. But costs are not the only limitation.

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PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS OF UNDERGROUND LINES
• Capacitance
• Capacitance causes current to flow even when no load is
connected to the cable. This is called “line charging current”
• Underground line capacitance for power cables is far higher than
overhead line capacitance.
• Wires are closer to each other
• Wires are closer to the earth (within a few inches).
• This will severely limit its ability to deliver power.

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PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS OF UNDERGROUND LINES
• Length
• A typical 345,000V transmission line will be able to deliver no
power when the line becomes about 26 miles long.
• The longest underground circuits at 230,000 or 345,000V are 20
miles long

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35 kV UNDERGROUND SUBTRANSMISSION
• Underground 35kV is becoming common.
• Wind farms
• Some cities have installed 35kV underground distribution.

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15 kV AND BELOW UNDERGROUND DISTRIBUTION
• 80% of all outages occur on the distribution system.
• 15kV underground distribution is becoming very common for new
lines.
• The number of outages due to underground distribution are far less
than overhead distribution

EE135 – Power System Protection