ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION III

(ELD331T)
 Chapter 7: Supply Systems

by

Chaise Khumalo

Department of Electrical Engineering

 Overview:

• Electric Supply System

• Typical A.C Power Supply Scheme

• Comparison of D.C and A.C Transmission

• Advantages of High Transmission Voltage

• Various Systems of Power Transmission

Chapter Overview
 Overview:

• Comparison of Conductor Material in Overhead

System

• Comparison of Conductor Material in Underground

System

• Comparison of Various Systems of Transmission

• Elements of a Transmission Line

Chapter Overview
 Overview:

• Economics of Power Transmission

• Economic Choice of Conductor Size

• Economic Choice of Transmission Voltage

• Requirements of Satisfactory Electric Supply

Chapter Overview
 Learning Outcomes:
• On completion of this learning module
the student should be able to:

a) Know what electric power supply

system is.

b) Draw a single line diagram of a typical

a.c power supply scheme.

c) Determine the economic transmission

voltage.

Learning Outcomes
 Learning Outcomes (Cont.):

d) Advantages & disadvantages of d.c

transmission over a.c transmission.

e) Discuss the advantages of high

transmission voltage.

f) State & prove Kelvin’s Law for size of

conductor for transmission.

Learning Outcomes
 Introduction:

• Demand of electrical energy in early days.

• P.S built to supply lighting & heating loads.

• Produce bulk electrical energy economically

& efficiently.

• Increased demand is met by building big P.S.

• Site is where fuel is available in abundance.

Introduction
 Introduction (Cont.):

• Network of conductors between P.S &

consumers, which is divided into:

Transmission
Distribution

• MAIN FOCUS

• Various aspects of transmission of electric

power.

Introduction
 Electric Supply System:

• Defined as the conveyance of electric power from a power

station to consumers’ premises.

• Three principle components of an electric supply system:

Power Station

Transmission Lines

Distribution system
 Electric Supply System (Cont.):

• Electric power is produced at the power stations.

• Located quite away from the consumers.

• Transmission lines transmits power over large distances

to load centers (27 770 km).

• Distribution networks distributes power to a large

number of small & big consumers (325 000 km).
 Electric Supply System (Cont.):

• The electric supply system is classified into:

D.C System or A.C System

Overhead or Underground System

• 3-phase, 3-wire a.c system is used for:

Generation & Transmission of electric power.

 Electric Supply System (Cont.):
• 3-phase, 4-wire a.c system is used for:

Distribution of electric power

• The underground system is more expensive than the

overhead system.

• Overhead system is adopted for transmission &

distribution of electric power.
Typical Power Supply Scheme:
 Comparison of D.C & A.C
Transmission:

1. D.C Transmission:

• Advantages

a) It requires only two conductors

b) No inductance, capacitance,
phase displacement & surge problems.

c) Better voltage regulation

 Comparison of D.C & A.C
Transmission (Cont.):
d) There is no skin effect in a d.c system.

e) D.C line requires less insulation.

f) Less corona loss & reduced interference with

communication circuits.

g) Free from dielectric losses, particularly in the case of

cables.

h) No stability problems & synchronizing difficulties

 Comparison of D.C & A.C
Transmission (Cont.):

• Disadvantages

a) Electric power cannot be generated at high d.c voltage

due to commutation problems.

b) D.C voltage cannot be stepped up for transmission of

power at high voltages.

c) D.C switches & circuit breakers have their own

limitations.
 Comparison of D.C & A.C
Transmission (Cont.):

2. A.C Transmission:

• Advantages

a) Power can be generated at high voltages

b) Maintenance of a.c sub-station is easy & cheaper.

c) A.C voltage can be stepped up or down by transformers

with ease & efficiency.
 Comparison of D.C & A.C
Transmission (Cont.):
• Disadvantages

a) A.C line requires more copper than a d.c line

b) Construction of a.c transmission line is more

complicated.

c) The effective resistance of the line is increased due to

skin effect in the a.c system.

d) A.C line has capacitance.

 Advantages of High
Transmission Voltage:
 Advantages of High
Transmission Voltage:
 Advantages of High
Transmission Voltage:
 Advantages of High
Transmission Voltage:
 Advantages of High
Transmission Voltage :
 Limitations of High
Transmission Voltage:

• High transmission voltage results in:

a) The increased cost of insulating the conductors

b) The increased cost of transformers, switchgear & other

terminal apparatus.

• The choice of proper transmission voltage is a question of

economics.
 Various Systems of
Power Transmission:

• The different possible systems of

transmission are:

1. D.C System

a) D.C. two-wire

b) D.C. two-wire with mid-point earthed.

c) D.C. three-wire
 Various Systems of
Power Transmission:

2. Single-phase A.C System

a) Single-phase two-wire

b) Single-phase two-wire with mid-point earthed.

c) Single-phase three-wire
 Various Systems of
Power Transmission:

3. Two-phase A.C System

a) Two-phase four-wire

b) Two-phase three-wire
 Various Systems of
Power Transmission:

4. Three-phase A.C System

a) Three-phase three-wire

b) Three-phase four-wire
 Various Systems of
Power Transmission:

Which System is the Best?

• The cost of conductor material is one of the important

charges in a system.

• The best system for transmission of power is that for

which the volume of conductor material required in
minimum.
 Example:

• A 50 km long transmission line supplies a load of 5 MVA

at 0.8 p.f lagging at 33 kV. The efficiency of transmission
is 90%. Calculated the volume of aluminium conductor
required for the line when;

a) Single-phase, 2-wire system is used

b) 3-phase, 3-wire system is used

• The specific resistance of aluminium is 2.85 X 10^-8 Ωm.

Solution:
Solution:
Solution:
Solution:
 Elements of a
Transmission Line:
• The principal elements of a high-voltage transmission
line are:

a) Conductors – material used is aluminium reinforced

with steel

b) Step-up & step-down transformers – permits power to

be transmitted at high efficiency

c) Line insulators – mechanically support line conductors

& isolate them electrically from the ground.
 Elements of a
Transmission Line:

d) Support – which are generally steel towers & provide

support to the conductors

e) Protective devices – ground wires, lightning arrestors,

CB, relays, etc.

f) Voltage regulating devices – maintain the voltage at

the receiving end within permissible limits.
 Economics of Power
Transmission:

• There are two fundamental economic principles which

influence the electrical design of transmission line:

a) Economic choice of conductor size

b) Economic choice of transmission voltage

 Economic Choice of
Conductor Size:

• The cost of conductor material is a very considerable part

of the total cost of a transmission line.

• The most economical area of conductor is that for which

the total annual cost of transmission line is minimum.

• This is known as Kelvin’s Law, after Lord Kelvin who first

stated it in 1881.
 Economic Choice of
Conductor Size (Cont.):
 Economic Choice of
Conductor Size (Cont.):
 Economic Choice of
Conductor Size (Cont.):

• Kelvin’s Law can also be stated as the most economical

area of conductor that for which the variable part of annual
charge is equal to the cost of energy losses per year.

Variable part of annual charge = Annual cost of energy wasted

 Limitations of Kelvin’s Law :

• Theoretically Kelvin’s Law holds good, but in practice the law

has the following limitations:

a) Difficult to estimated the energy loss in the line without

actual load curves.

b) Interest & depreciation on capital outlay cannot be

determined accurately.
 Limitations of Kelvin’s Law:

c) Method does not take into account factors like

mechanical strength, corona, etc.

c) The conductor size determined in this way may not

always be practicable.

d) Interest & depreciation on the capital outlay cannot be

determined accurately.
 Economic Choice of
Transmission Voltage:

• Increase in transmission voltage results in a reduction in

the volume of conductor material required.

• Results in a decrease in the expenditure on the conductor

material.

• Causes an increase in the cost of insulating the

conductors, cost of transformers, switchgear & other
apparatus.
 Economic Choice of
Transmission Voltage:

• The transmission voltage for which the cost of

conductors, cost of insulators, transformers, switchgear &
other terminal apparatus is minimum is called
economical transmission voltage.
 Requirements of Satisfactory
Electric Supply:

• The power station delivers power to consumers through

its transmission & distribution systems.

• The power delivered must be characterized by the

following:

a) Voltage regulation – constant or nearly constant.

 Requirements of Satisfactory
Electric Supply:

b) Dependability – uninterrupted service.

c) Balanced voltage – balanced loads connected.

d) Efficiency – improve the load p.f

e) Frequency – maintained constant

 Requirements of Satisfactory
Electric Supply:

f) Sinusoidal waveform – sine wave a.c voltage

g) Freedom from inductive interference – free from

electrostatic & electromagnetic field disturbances.
THANK YOU!!!