1.

Power Transmission and Distribution

1. Power Transmission and Distribution

1.1 Structure of Electric Supply Systems
Electricity is generated at central power stations and then transferred to loads (i.e. Domestic,
Commercial and Industrial) through the transmission and distribution system. A combination of all these
systems is collectively known as an Electric Power System.
A power system is a combination of central generating stations, electric power transmission system,
Distribution and utilization system. Electric power is produced at the power stations which are located
at favourable places, generally quite away from the consumers. It is then transmitted over large distances
to load centres with the help of conductors known as transmission lines. Finally, it is distributed to a
large number of small and big consumers through a distribution network. A simplified representation of
an overall power system and its subsystem is shown in the below figure.

Supply system can be broadly classified into (i) DC or AC system (ii) overhead or underground system.
Nowadays, 3-phase, 3-wire AC system is universally adopted for generation and transmission of electric
power as an economical proposition. However, distribution of electric power is done by 3-phase, 4-wire
or 1-phase AC system depending on the customer’s requirement. The underground system is more
expensive than the overhead system. Therefore, the overhead system is mostly adopted for transmission
and distribution of electric power.
The large network of conductors between the power station and the consumers can be broadly divided
into two parts viz., transmission system and distribution system. Each part can be further sub-divided
into two: primary transmission and secondary transmission; primary distribution and secondary
distribution. The layout of a typical AC power supply scheme in a power system is shown in the below
figure by a single line diagram. It is not necessary that all power schemes include all the stages shown
in the figure.
1.1.1 Generating Stations
Energy is generated (transformed from one to another) at the generating stations. Generating stations
are of different type, for example, thermal, hydel, solar power, wind power, nuclear. The generated
electricity is stepped up through the transformer and then transferred over transmission lines to the load
centres.
At generating station, electric power is produced by 3-phase alternators operating in parallel. The usual
generation voltage is 11 kV. For economy in the transmission of electric power, the generation voltage
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Dr. Dipesh Kumar, Asst. Prof., EEE, BMSCE
1.1 Structure of Electric Supply Systems
(i.e., 11 kV) is stepped upto 132 kV at the
generating station with the help of 3-phase
transformers. The transmission of electric
power at high voltages has several
advantages including the saving of
conductor material and high transmission
efficiency.
1.1.2 Primary Transmission.
The electric power at 132 kV is
transmitted by 3-phase, 3-wire overhead
system to the outskirts of the city. This
forms the primary transmission.
1.1.3 Secondary Transmission
The primary transmission line terminates
at the receiving station (RS) which usually
lies at the outskirts of the city. At the
receiving station, the voltage is reduced to
33kV by step-down transformers. From
this station, electric power is transmitted at
33kV by 3-phase, 3-wire overhead system
to various sub-stations (SS) located in the
city. This forms the secondary
transmission.
1.1.4 Primary Distribution
The secondary transmission line
terminates at the sub-station (SS) where
voltage is reduced from 33 kV to 11kV, 3-
phase, 3-wire. The 11 kV lines run along
the important road sides of the city. This
forms the primary distribution.
1.1.5 Secondary Distribution
In the last stage in a Power System, the electric power from primary distribution line (11kV) is delivered
to distribution sub-stations (DS) or Distribution Transformer. These sub-stations are located near the
consumer’s localities and step down the voltage to 400 V, 3-phase, 4-wire for secondary distribution.
The voltage between any two phases is 400 V and between any phase and neutral is 230 V. The single-
phase residential lighting load is connected between any one phase and neutral, whereas 3-phase, 400
V motor load is connected across 3-phase lines directly. The secondary distribution system may consists
of feeders, distributors and service mains.

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Dr. Dipesh Kumar, Asst. Prof., EEE, BMSCE
 2. Electricity Bill

2. Electricity Bill
The amount of electricity consumed in domestic, industrial and others are expressed in kilowatt-hours
(kWh) and are commercially termed as UNIT. One kilowatt-hour is the electrical energy consumed by
an electrical appliance of power 1 kW, when it is used for one hour.
1 kWh = 1 kilowatt × 1 hour = 103 watt × 3600 s = 103 J/s × 3600 s = 3.6 × 106 J
2.1 Power Rating of Household Appliances
The power rating of any particular appliance will be available in the datasheet or power rating nameplate
of the appliance. The following table shows the wattage or power rating and total energy calculation of
some typical household appliances considering different operating hours as examples.

Sl. Name of the Wattage or No. of Total No. of Energy in

No. Appliance Power Appliances Watts (WT Hours of Whr (WT ×
Rating (W) (N) = W × N) Usage (H) H)
1. Lighting Load
(a) Incandescent Lamp 60 2 120 2 240
(b) CFL 14 2 28 2 56
(c) LED 10 2 20 2 40
(d) Tube Light 36 4 144 5 720
2. Fan 70 4 280 10 2800
3. Refrigerator 200 1 200 8 1600
4. Air-Conditioner 1000 1 1000 5 5000
5. Laptop 50 1 50 2 100
6. Television 70 1 70 3 210
7. Geyser 1000 1 1000 1 1000
8. Mixer 400 1 400 1/2 200
9. Washing Machine 500 1 500 1 500
10. Microwave Oven 1500 1 1500 1/2 750
11. Printer 25 1 25 1 25
Total Energy = 13241 Whr
From the above table, the total energy consumption per day considering different appliances for certain
operating hours is obtained to be 13241 Whr. The entire month energy consumption would be 13241 x
30 = 397230 Whr or 397.23 kWhr or 397.23 units.
Example: The domestic power load in a house comprises the following: 8 lamps of 60W each, 3 fans
of 70W each, 1 refrigerator of 200W, 1 heater of 1000W.
a) Calculate the total current taken from the supply of 230V

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2.2 Tariff
b) Calculate the energy consumed in a day if only a quarter of the above load persists all the time
on an average.
c) Calculate the total energy consumed per month.
Solution: Total load or total watt calculation is given below

Sl. Name of the Wattage or Power No. of Total Watts

No. Appliance Rating (W) Appliances (N) (WT = W × N)
1. Lamp 60 8 480
2. Fan 70 3 210
3. Refrigerator 200 1 200
4. Heater 1000 1 1000
Total load or total watt = 1890 W
a) Current, I = P/V = 1890/230 = 8.21A
b) Energy consumed per day with only a quarter of the above load = (1/4 x 1890) × 24 = 11.34kWh
c) Total Energy consumed per month = 11.34 kWh × 30 = 340.2 kWh

2.2 Tariff
The rate at which electrical energy is supplied to a consumer is known as a tariff. The tariff should
include the (a) cost of generating electrical energy (b) capital investment in transmission and distribution
systems (c) cost of operation and maintenance of electrical energy supply and (d) a reasonable profit on
the capital investment. The tariff will be fixed depending on the magnitude of electrical energy
consumed by different types of users (E.g. industrial, domestic and commercial) and their load
conditions.
2.2.1 Two-Part Tariff
When the rate of electrical energy is charged based on the maximum demand of consumer and the units
consumed, it is called a two-part tariff. This type of tariff is mostly applicable to industrial consumers
who have appreciable maximum demand.
In a two-part tariff, the total charge to be made from the consumer is split into two components, namely
fixed charges and running charges. The fixed charges depend upon the maximum demand of the
consumer while running charges depend upon the number of units consumed by the consumer. Thus,
the consumer is charged at a certain amount per kW of maximum demand plus a certain amount per
kWh of energy consumed, i.e.
Total Charges = Rs (b × kW + c × kWh)
where b = charge per kW of maximum demand and c = charge per kWh of energy consumed.

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Dr. Dipesh Kumar, Asst. Prof., EEE, BMSCE
 3. Equipment Safety Measures

2.3 Calculation of Electricity Bill for Domestic Consumers

Figure shows the sample calculation of Electricity bill for a domestic consumer.

3. Equipment Safety Measures

When a particular electric circuit or power system is overloaded or any fault occurs in the system, current
flows more than the rated current of the system and thereby the connected apparatus gets damaged. To
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Dr. Dipesh Kumar, Asst. Prof., EEE, BMSCE
3.1 Fuse
prevent this damage, the circuit has to be opened immediately or the faulty portion has to be
disconnected from the system. For this purpose, various protective devices are used in the system, which
are:
a) Ordinary fuses to protect the low voltage, low power electrical distribution system.
b) H.R.C. fuses to protect the low voltage, high power electrical distribution system.
c) Relays and circuit breakers to protect high voltage, high power transmission and distribution
systems.
d) Earth leakage circuit breakers to protect human beings from receiving shocks due to ground
fault.
3.1 Fuse
Fuse is a current interrupting device which breaks or opens the circuit (in which it is inserted) by melting
the fuse element when current exceed a certain value. It is a safety device connected in series with the
circuit, which protect other elements in the circuit.

The action of a fuse is based upon the heating effect of electrical current. During overloads or short
circuits, the fuse element gets heated up to melting point due to excessive current and breaks the circuit.
The metals or alloys used in making fuse wire include lead, tin, zinc, copper, aluminum or tin lead alloy.
There are two separate circuits in a house, the lighting circuit with a 5 A fuse and the power circuit with
a 15 A fuse. The desirable properties of a fuse wire are:
 Low ohmic loss
 Free from oxidation
 Good conductivity
 Low melting point
 Low cost element e.g., lead, tin, copper
Current Rating: It is defined as the maximum value of current that a fuse element can carry safely
without melting.
Fusing Current: It is defined as the minimum value of current at which the fuse element or fuse wire
melts and breaks the circuit. Its value will be more than the current rating of the element.
Fusing Factor: The ratio of fusing current to current rating of fuse element is known as fusing factor.
Its value is always greater than unity.
3.2 Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)
Circuit breakers are electrical switching devices which are used to protect the electrical equipments and
circuits under overload conditions and short circuit conditions. When normal current is flowing through

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Dr. Dipesh Kumar, Asst. Prof., EEE, BMSCE
 4. Personal Safety Measures
the circuit, the circuit breaker is in closed position and when over current flows, it opens so that fault
current does not flow through the circuit.
The circuit breakers that are used in residential and light commercial
installations at low voltages are referred to as miniature circuit breakers
or low voltage circuit breakers. Miniature circuit breakers are often
single pole breakers and are usually installed in a cabinet that houses a
plurality of such MCBs. MCBs may also be used for tripping during
ground faults, which includes extra ground fault detection with an
operating mechanism to open the contacts in the event of any fault.
MCB is a protective device used in domestic wiring and small equipment. It is an electromechanical
device with current rating less than 100 amps. It has two contacts: fixed and movable. When there is an
over current in the circuit, the solenoid forces the movable contact to open and MCB trips by interrupting
the flow of current. They are designed to trip within 2.5ms. They can be reset after fault clearance just
like a switch.
Following are the advantages of MCB over fuse:
 MCB is more sensitive to current than fuse
 The faulty zone of electrical circuit can be easily identified
 It is very simple to resume the supply with MCBs
 Handling MCB is electrically safer than handling a fuse
 MCB is reusable and hence has less maintenance and replacement cost. Whereas a fuse needs to
be replaced whenever it goes faulty.
Following are the demerits of MCB:
 Slow tripping
 Aging and wear
 Vulnerability to heat
 More expensive than fused switches
 Cannot protect against earth faults
 Cost of MCB distribution board is greater than that of a rewirable fuse board

4. Personal Safety Measures

4.1 Electric Shock
When a person comes into direct contact with an electrical supply or live wire, he or she receives an
electric shock. When electrical power flows through a portion of the body, it causes a shock. Exposure
to electrical power can range from no harm at all or severe damage or death.
An electric shock may be mild or severe. The severity of the shock received depends on the voltage of
the wire and the body resistance of the person. The voltage used in domestic is 230V for lighting and
heating purposes and 440V for running induction motors. These voltages can give severe shock to a
person. Still more severe shocks that may cause unconsciousness, cardiac arrest or death to a person are
the lightning strokes and high voltage wires. The human body is a good conductor of electricity,
especially when it is wet.

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Dr. Dipesh Kumar, Asst. Prof., EEE, BMSCE
4.2 Safety Measures / Precaution at Home
4.1.1 Effect of Electric Shock on Human Body
 An electric shock victim may have very little external evidence of injury or may have severe
burns.
 The points of contact with the electrical source and the ground are usually the most severely
burned.
 Common points of contact include the hands, heels, and head. Some other injuries which are
possible if the person comes in direct contact with the electrical source are a strong muscular
contraction.
 The possibility of a spine injury should be considered. Internal injuries are possible, especially
if the person is experiencing shortness of breath, chest pain, or abdominal pain.
4.1.2 Electric Current in Human Body
The human body can withstand a maximum current of 30 mA for a short time of not more than 25 msec.
The current flowing through the body of a person during a shock depends on the voltage and the body
resistance. If the body is totally wet, the body resistance is 1 kΩ. If the body is neither wet nor dry, it is
about 5 kΩ and if the body is totally dry, it is 100 kΩ.
4.2 Safety Measures / Precaution at Home
 Disconnect electrical equipment when not in use.
 Get electrical equipment repaired from qualified personnel.
 Ventilation holes of equipment should never be closed.
 Never touch electrical equipment with wet hands.
 While working with electrical equipment don’t stand on metal or wet ground.
 Stay away from broken electrical wires until power is switched off.
 Ensure proper earthing.
 Wrap the live wire with a bandage.

4.3 Earthing
Connecting the body of an electrical
equipment to earth with a wire of
very low resistance is called earthing
or grounding. In case the body of
equipment comes in contact with a
live wire, earthing brings that body of
the equipment to zero potential and
thus avoids shocks to the personnel.
The neutral of supply system is also
solidly earthed to ensure that its
potential is also zero.
4.3.1 Necessity of Earthing
 To save human life from danger of electrical shock or death when they touch faulty equipment.
 To provide a means to carry electric currents in the earth under fault conditions without exceeding
the rating of equipment.

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Dr. Dipesh Kumar, Asst. Prof., EEE, BMSCE
 4. Personal Safety Measures
 To protect buildings and machines from lightning by providing low resistance path for high current
through ground.
 To maintain line voltage at a desired constant value.
4.3.2 Types of Earthing
(i) Plate Earthing
(ii) Pipe Earthing
(i) Plate Earthing
In this type of earthing, either copper or Galvanized Iron
(GI) plate is buried into the ground at a depth of not less
than 3m from the ground level. The commonly used dimension
for copper plate is 60cm × 60cm × 3.18mm, while for GI plate is
60cm × 60cm× 6.3mm. The earth plate is embedded in
alternative layer of coal and salt for a minimum thickness
of about 15cm. The earth wire is drawn through GI pipe of
19mm diameter at about 60cm below the ground and is
perfectly bolted to the earth plate. The nut and bolts must be
made of copper for copper plate and galvanized iron for GI
plate. The earth wire (copper wire for copper plate earthing
and GI wire for GI plate earthing) used must be of sufficient
cross sectional area to carry the fault current safely. The GI
pipe is fitted with a funnel on the top. In order to have an
effective earthing, salt water is poured periodically through the funnel. The earthing efficiency, increases
with the increase in the plate area and depth of embedding. If the resistivity of the soil is high, then it is
necessary to embed the plate vertically at the greater depth into the ground. The schematic arrangement
of plate earthing is as shown in figure.
(ii) Pipe Earthing
Pipe earthing is best form of earthing and it is cheaper. In
this type of earthing, a GI pipe of 38 mm diameter and 2m
length is embedded vertically in ground to work as earth
electrode. But the depth and size of pipe depends upon the
current to be carried and the soil conditions, there is no
hard and fast rule for this. The pipe must be placed upright
and must be placed permanently in a wet ground. The pipe
at the bottom should be surrounded by broken pieces of
coke or charcoal for a distance of about 15cm around the
pipe. Charcoal, if mixed with salt, further reduces the
resistance. The usual practice is to put alternate layers of
salt and coal as shown in figure. During summer, the
moisture content of earth will be very less and hence, in
order to have effective earthing, the funnel should be filled with 3 to 4 buckets of water. The leading
wire from the body of apparatus to the earthing pit must be made of GI wire or GI strip of sufficient
cross sectional area to carry the fault current safely.

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Dr. Dipesh Kumar, Asst. Prof., EEE, BMSCE
4.4 Residual Current Circuit Breaker (RCCB)

4.4 Residual Current Circuit Breaker (RCCB)

The current operated earth leakage circuit breaker is known as residual current circuit breaker (RCCB).
This is commonly used to detect and interrupt any leakage current due to a ground fault. RCCB is also
known as ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). It is located inside the home electrical panel or the
distribution board. The use of RCCB in house wiring is required by law and so omitting it is a serious
offence. The RCCB detects a current leaking to earth and uses this current to operate a tripping
mechanism which then opens the circuit breaker and thereby cutting off the supply. The current leaking
to the earth is called residual current, which flows through an unintended path, which is also the current
in excess of the load current.

5. Introduction to Electric Vehicles

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Dr. Dipesh Kumar, Asst. Prof., EEE, BMSCE