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The previous Lesson was about Gas turbine Power station. The student/User is expected to remember the following from the
lesson 6.
Basics: Definition
Arrangements: components that make up a gas turbine power station.
Advantages & Disadvantages: How this station measures up
Preview: Lesson 6
This Lesson is about Variable loads on Power stations. The student/User is expected to understand the following at the end of the
lesson.
To begin this lesson we look at definitions that will be used. learn these well.
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Power_Generation/Variable_Load 1/4
3/8/2019 Power Generation/Variable Load - Wikiversity
High LF = Low MD = Low plant capacity = Low cost demands donot occur at the This indicates the reserve capacity of a plant.
per unit generated. same time thus maximum From these we can see that:
demand on power station will
always be less than the sum
of individual demands.
The power station is constructed, comissioned and operated to supply required power to consumers with generators running at
rated capacity for maximum efficiency.
we saw in lesson one that the fundamental problem in generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy is the fact
that electrical energy can not be stored. It must be generated, transmitted and distributed as and when needed.
This lesson looks at problems associated with variable loads on power stations, and discusses the complexities met in deciding the
make, size and capacity of Generators (Generating units) that must be installed in a power plant to successfully meet these
varying energy demands on a day to day basis.
Variable load:
The load on a power station varies from time to time due to uncertain demands of consumers. Energy demand of one consumer at
any given time is distinct/differs from the energy demand of another consumer. This results in the total demand on the power
station to vary over a given period of time and may necesitate the following:
A load curve is a graph showing the variation of load on the power station with respect to time. the following load curves are used
in power stations:
Daily load curve: -- Load variations captured during the day ( 24Hrs ), recorded either half-hourly or hourly.
Monthly load curve: -- Load variations captured during the month at different times of the day plotted aginst No. of days.
Yearly load curve: -- Load variations captured during the Year, this is derived from monthly load curves of a particular year.
The following must be considered when selecting the number and size of Generating units (Generators):
Number and size of units to aproximately fit the annual load curve.
Atleast 15 - 20% of extra capacity for future expansion should be allowed for.
Spare generating capacity must be allowed for to cater for repairs and overhauling of working units without affecting supply of
minimum demand.
The best method to meet load requirements on power station is to Interconnect two different power stations in paralell as follows:
More efficient Plant → Carries Base load( The unvarying load on the load curve ).
-- Generally thermal & Nuclear power stations.
Less efficient Plant → Carries Peak load ( Various load peak demands on the load curve ).
-- Generally Hydro, Pumped storage & gas turbine power stations.
Careful study of load curves must be undertaken before deciding which type of station will be used for what purpose as this is
greatly dependant on enviromental issues and availability of fuel used by a particular power station.
The power grid is constructed by connecting several generating stations together in parallel. This method has helped solve most
transmission and distribution problems facing power engineers. Below are the advantages of using a power grid:
Economical operation:
Sharing of load among stations allows for more efficient stations to work constantly at high load factors and less efficient stations
to be used for peak supply only.
Increased reliability:
If major breakdown occurs on one station, supply is maintained by other stations.
References
This resource is prepared from Lecture notes by Thuvack.
V.K Mehta & Rohit Mehta :- Principles of Power systems (1st ed.). S.CHAND .ISBN 81-219-2496-0
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Power_Generation/Variable_Load 3/4