The electricity sector in India supplies the world's 6th largest energy consumer,

accounting for 3.4% of global energy consumption by more than 17% of global
population. the Energy policy of India is predominantly controlled by the Government of
India's, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal and Ministry of New Renewable Energy and
administered locally by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

Ramagundam Thermal Power Station

About 70% of the electricity consumed in India is generated by thermal power plants,
21% by hydroelectric power plants and 4% by nuclear power plants.[1] More than 50% of
India's commercial energy demand is met through the country's vast coal reserves.[2] The
country has also invested heavily in recent years in renewable energy utilization,
especially wind energy.[3] In 2008, India's installed wind generated electric capacity was
9,655 MW.[4] Additionally, India has committed massive amount of funds for the
construction of various nuclear reactors which would generate at least 30,000 MW.[5] In
July 2009, India unveiled a $19 billion plan to produce 20,000 MW of solar power by
2020.[6]

Due to the fast-paced growth of India's economy, the country's energy demand has grown
an average of 3.6% per annum over the past 30 years.[2] In June 2010, the installed power
generation capacity of India stood at 162,366 MW[7] and per capita energy consumption
stood at 612 kWH.[8] The country's annual energy production increased from about 190
billion kWH in 1986 to more than 680 billion kWH in 2006.[9] The Indian government
has set a modest target to add approximately 78,000 MW of installed generation capacity
by 2012 which it is likely to miss.[10] The total demand for electricity in India is expected
to cross 950,000 MW by 2030.[11]

The Ministry of Power is the apex body responsible for coordination administration of
the electrical energy sector in India. This ministry started functioning independently from
2 July 1992; earlier, it was known as the Ministry of Energy. The Union Minister of
Power at present is Sushilkumar Shinde of the Congress Party who took charge of the
ministry on the 28th of May, 2009.

Major PSUs involved in the generation of electricity include National Thermal Power
Corporation (NTPC),Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), National Hydroelectric Power
Corporation (NHPC) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI). Besides PSUs,
several state-level corporations, such as Tamil Nadu Electricity Board(TNEB) in Tamil
Nadu, Maharashtra State Electricity Board(MSEB)in Maharashtra, Kerala State
Electricity Board(KSEB) in Kerala, in Gujarat (MGVCL, PGVCL, DGVCL, UGVCL
four distribution Companies and one controlling body GUVNL, and one generation
company GSEC), are also involved in the generation and intrastate distribution of
electricity. The PowerGrid Corporation of India is responsible for the inter-state
transmission of electricity and the development of national grid.
Demand
Electricity losses in India during transmission and distribution are extremely high and
vary between 30 to 45%.[12] In 2004-05, electricity demand outstripped supply by 7-11%.
[13]
Due to shortage of electricity, power cuts are common throughout India and this has
adversely effected the country's economic growth.[14][15] Theft of electricity, common in
most parts of urban India, amounts to 1.5% of India's GDP.[16][17] Despite an ambitious
rural electrification program,[18] some 400 million Indians lose electricity access during
blackouts.[19] While 80 percent of Indian villages have at least an electricity line, just
52.5% of rural households have access to electricity. In urban areas, the access to
electricity is 93.1% in 2008. The overall electrification rate in India is 64.5% while
35.5% of the population still live without access to electricity.[20] According to a sample
of 97,882 households in 2002, electricity was the main source of lighting for 53% of rural
households compared to 36% in 1993.[21] Multi Commodity Exchange has sought
permission to offer electricity future markets.[22]

Generation
Grand Total Installed Capacity (as on 30-09-2010) is 164,835.80 MW.

AUTOMATION IN POWER DISTRIBUTION

The demand for electrical energy is ever increasing. Today over 21% (theft apart!!) of the
total electrical energy generated in India is lost in transmission (4-6%) and distribution
(15-18%). The electrical power deficit in the country is currently about 18%. Clearly,
reduction in distribution losses can reduce this deficit significantly. It is possible to bring
down the distribution losses to a 6-8 % level in India with the help of newer technological
options (including information technology) in the electrical power distribution sector
which will enable better monitoring and control.

How does Power reach us?

Electric power is normally generated at 11-25kV in a power station. To transmit over

long distances, it is then stepped-up to 400kV, 220kV or 132kV as necessary. Power is
carried through a transmission network of high voltage lines. Usually, these lines run into
hundreds of kilometres and deliver the power into a common power pool called the grid.
The grid is connected to load centres (cities) through a sub-transmission network of
normally 33kV (or sometimes 66kV) lines. These lines terminate into a 33kV (or 66kV)
substation, where the voltage is stepped-down to 11kV for power distribution to load
points through a distribution network of lines at 11kV and lower.

The power network, which generally concerns the common man, is the distribution
network of 11kV lines or feeders downstream of the 33kV substation. Each 11kV feeder
which emanates from the 33kV substation branches further into several subsidiary 11kV
feeders to carry power close to the load points (localities, industrial areas, villages, etc.,).
At these load points, a transformer further reduces the voltage from 11kV to 415V to
provide the last-mile connection through 415V feeders (also called as Low Tension (LT)
feeders) to individual customers, either at 240V (as single-phase supply) or at 415V (as
three-phase supply). A feeder could be either an overhead line or an underground cable.
In urban areas, owing to the density of customers, the length of an 11kV feeder is
generally up to 3 km. On the other hand, in rural areas, the feeder length is much larger
(up to 20 km). A 415V feeder should normally be restricted to about 0.5-1.0 km. Unduly
long feeders lead to low voltage at the consumer end.

Bottlenecks in Ensuring Reliable Power

Lack of information at the base station (33kV sub-station) on the loading and health
status of the 11kV/415V transformer and associated feeders is one primary cause of
inefficient power distribution. Due to absence of monitoring, overloading occurs, which
results in low voltage at the customer end and increases the risk of frequent breakdowns
of transformers and feeders. In fact, the transformer breakdown rate in India is as high as
around 20%, in contrast to less than 2% in some advanced countries.

In the absence of switches at different points in the distribution network, it is not possible
to isolate certain loads for load shedding as and when required. The only option available
in the present distribution network is the circuit breaker (one each for every main 11kV
feeder) at the 33kV substation. However, these circuit breakers are actually provided as a
means of protection to completely isolate the downstream network in the event of a fault.
Using this as a tool for load management is not desirable, as it disconnects the power
supply to a very large segment of consumers. Clearly, there is a need to put in place a
system that can achieve a finer resolution in load management.

In the event of a fault on any feeder section downstream, the circuit breaker at the 33kV
substation trips (opens). As a result, there is a blackout over a large section of the
distribution network. If the faulty feeder segment could be precisely identified, it would
be possible to substantially reduce the blackout area, by re-routing the power to the
healthy feeder segments through the operation of switches (of the same type as those for
load management) placed at strategic locations in various feeder segments.
 Typical Power Transmission and Distribution Scenario with DA components

The Technology Development Mission

A Technology Development Mission on Communication, Networking and Intelligent

Automation, was jointly taken up by IIT Kharagpur and IIT Kanpur. While the mission
focus at IIT Kharagpur is to develop technology for industrial automation, IIT Kanpur
embarked upon the development of an integrated technology for power distribution
automation system.

In a distribution automation (DA) system, the various quantities (e.g., voltage, current,
switch status, temperature, and oil level) are recorded in the field at the distribution
transformers and feeders, using a data acquisition device called Remote Terminal Units
(RTU). These system quantities are transmitted on-line to the base station (33kV
substation) through a variety of communication media. The media could be either
wireless (e.g., radio, and pager) or wired (e.g., Dial-up telephone, RS-485 multi-drop, and
Ethernet). The measured field data are processed at the base station for display of any
operator selected system quantity through Graphic User Interface (GUI). In the event of a
system quantity crossing a pre-defined threshold, an alarm is automatically generated for
operator intervention. Any control action (for opening or closing of the switch or circuit
breaker) is initiated by the operator and transmitted from the 33kV base station through
the communication channel to the remote terminal unit associated with the corresponding
switch or circuit breaker. The desired switching action then takes place and the action is
acknowledged back to operator for information.

DA systems are being adopted by utilities in some developed countries in a phased

manner, primarily for reliability evaluation in a field environment. In India too, a small
beginning has been made by a few state utilities (Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala and
Rajasthan), which are confining themselves initially to the automation of 33kV
substations. Electronics Research and Development Centre, Trivandrum, and Computer
Maintenance Corporation, Hyderabad, are involved in these early experiments, the main
objective being the development of know-how and a better understanding of the issues
involved in implementing DA systems indigenously. The utility environment in India is
far different from that in most of the developed countries, because of the existing social
scenario. Hence, technological solutions available for DA in developed countries cannot
be directly implanted in India. Also, the cost of importing a DA system technology is
prohibitive.

The Mission Activities at IIT Kanpur

IIT Kanpur has embarked on an effort to develop indigenous technology for an integrated
power distribution automation system in collaboration with four industry partners (Secure
Meters Limited, Udaipur; Indian Telephone Industries, Raebareli; DataPro Electronics
Private Limited, Pune; and Danke Switchgears, Vadodara). This effort includes
development of

(a) communication and networking technology using wired and wireless media,

(b) micro-controller based remote terminal unit (RTU),

(c) remotely operable switch for 11kV and 415V feeders,

(d) application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) for electrical instrumentation,

(e) DA software to enable remote monitoring, alarm generation and remote control, and

(f) distribution network simulator (a scaled down model of a real-life distribution

network) to provide a test bed for a comprehensive testing of the developed technology,
components and software.
Some of the developments noted above are being implemented in the IIT Kanpur
distribution network as a pilot level installation for field reliability evaluation.

Salient Contributions

The technology development mission at the Institute has made the following
contributions:

Communication and Networking Technology

This enables distributed data acquisition, monitoring and control system functions.
Unlike traditional communication solutions, the approach here is to have a core
communication controller in the base station that can support diverse choices of
communication media (dial-up, RS485, Ethernet, and radio). This open approach
facilitates cost effective implementation. The base station communication controller has
cross-platform portability, supports functions for communications network management,
and permits LAN, Internet, and Intranet connectivity through Ethernet. All command
communication functions are invoked through GUI of automation software. Data transfer
from/to RTUs supports industry standard data links.

Remote Terminal Unit

The micro-controller based pole-top RTU has 32 analog and 16 digital channels, and
affords RS232 full duplex asynchronous communication. The acquired data (voltage and
current) is processed for rms and power factor calculations. Some design goals focus at
low cost, flexibility and expandability, modularity at signal conditioning level, and
communication interface.

Remotely Operable Switch

A load break switch (LBS) for 11kV operation and a moulded case circuit breaker
(MCCB) unit for 415V operation have been developed and tested as per available
specifications. The three-pole 11kV LBS opens in 80 milliseconds at the rated current of
80 A. While this switch is primarily meant for breaking load current, it can sustain 16 kA
of fault current for one second and can also close on fault. The remote operation is
through a three-phase induction motor coupled with gear mechanism. The 415V MCCB
unit, on the other hand, has an isolator on the incoming circuit and two MCCBs for two
outgoing feeders. Flexibility exists to choose the MCCB of appropriate rating
corresponding to the rated feeder current. The remote operation is through solenoid-
plunger arrangement.

Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)

ASIC supports up to four-phase analog inputs (four voltage and four current) for
applications such as tri-vectormetre, RTU, and single-phase meter. It has an option for
frequency selection (50/60 Hz) and is of 0.2 class accuracy with 16 bit A/D converter.
Sampling rate is 5000 samples per second per channel. It calculates quantities like rms
values of voltage and current (both actual and fundamental), power, power factor, total
harmonic distortion, frequency, and energy. The ASIC design is verified using Verilog
HDL simulation. While the ASIC fabrication is being finalised, the ASIC-based metering
applications have been validated using the hardware behavioural simulation of ASIC.

DA software

The DA software has the following components: (i) Distribution network software with
attributes like graphical representation of network, cross-platform portability (Windows
NT, Linux, Solaris), editing features, customizing, network validation, system topological
information, component specification, and billboard printing; (ii) Set-up utilities for
installation on different platforms; (iii) Automation software having real-time features,
cross-platform portability, alarm generation (audio/video), system monitoring (of system
quantities, equipment health and switch status), switch control commands, control
interlocks and event log report; (iv) Database with real-time attributes that conforms to
DNP3.0 library format, uses shared memory approach, provides SQL interface for
backup in standard databases for all off-line applications, permits sharing of data in
multiple processes, and has registry access for security and RTU identification; and (v)
Application software which includes packages for network re-configuration, load
shedding, volt-var control through capacitor switching, and fault detection and isolation.

Distribution Network Simulator

It is a scaled-down model of the actual IIT Kanpur distribution network, having suitably
scaled-down versions of fourteen transformers, thirty 11 kV feeders, forty one circuit
breakers represented by four-pole controllable relays (with selection for remote/local
operation), LT loads which can be varied from 0-150% in steps of 25%, communication
linkage (for Ethernet, dial-up, RS485 and radio), single generic RTU (96 digital and 128
analog channels) covering all transformers. The simulator applications include testing of
various communication systems and protocols, testing of DA software, fine tuning of
RTU and LBS control prior to field installation, and integration and testing of application
software. As the simulator provides a feel of actual physical system, it can serve as a
training tool for operators of DA system.

Closure

Most of the developments undertaken as part of the mission have been completed over
the last three years. Some of these developments have already been implemented in the
33kV substation of IIT Kanpur. Implementation at five 11kV substations in IIT Kanpur is
currently in progress, and is expected to be completed by the end of 1999. Based on this
field experience, the necessary fine tuning of the technology will be done for increased
reliability. It is expected that the technology for DA system developed through this
mission, will be marketed by the four industry partners, not just within India, but also in
the other developing countries.