Sem : 6th (Third Year)

BTEEOE605 (B) : POWER PLANT ENGINEERING (Gr. - E)

Unit: 5

Grid Interface of Different Power Plants

Concept of Parallel Operation of various Generating Sources:

Alternator is really an AC generator. In alternator, an EMF is induced in the stator (stationary

wire) with the influence of rotating magnetic field (rotor) due to Faraday’s law of induction. Due to the
synchronous speed of rotation of field poles, it is also known as synchronous generator.
Interconnection of the electric power systems is essential from the economical point of view
and also for reliable and Parallel Operation. Interconnection of AC power systems requires synchronous
generators to operate in parallel with each other. In generating stations, two or more generators are
connected in parallel. The alternators are located at different locations forming a grid connected
system.
They are connected parallel by means of transformer and transmission lines. Under normal
operating conditions all the generators and synchronous motors in an interconnected system operate
in synchronism with each other. A machine has to be adjusted for optimum operating efficiency and
greater reliability if the generators are connected in parallel.
As the load increases beyond the generated capacity of the connected units, additional
generators are parallel to carry the load. Similarly, if the load demand decreases, one or more machines
are taken off the line as per the requirement. It allows the units to operate at a higher efficiency.

Reasons of Parallel Operation:

Alternators are operated in parallel for the following reasons:
 Several alternators can supply a bigger load than a single alternator.
 One or more alternators may shut down during the period of light loads. Thus, the remaining
alternator operates at near or full load with greater efficiency.
 When one machine is taken out of service for its scheduled maintenance and inspection, the
remaining machines maintain the continuity of the supply.
 If there is a breakdown of the generator, there is no interruption of the power supply.
 Number of machines can be added with disturbing the initial installation according to the
requirement to fulfill the increasing future demand of the load.
 Parallel operation of the alternator, reduces the operating cost and the cost of energy
generation.
 It ensures the greater security of supply and enables overall economic generation.

There are some conditions to be satisfied for parallel operation of the alternator. Before entering
into that, we should understand some terms which are as follows.
 The process of connecting two alternators or an alternator and an infinite bus bar system in
parallel is known as synchronizing.
 Running machine is the machine which carries the load.
  Incoming machine is the alternator or machine which has to be connected in parallel with the
system.

Necessary Conditions for Parallel Operation of the Alternator:

Most synchronous machines will operate in parallel with other synchronous machines. The
process of connecting one machine in parallel with another machine or with an Infinite Busbar system is
known as Synchronizing. The machine carrying load is known as Running Machines while the alternator
which is to be connected in parallel with the system is known as the Incoming machine.

The following conditions should be satisfied for parallel operation are as follows:-

 The phase sequence of the Busbar voltages and the incoming machine voltage must be the
same (identical).
 The Busbar voltages(or already running machine) and the incoming machine terminal voltage
must be in phase.
 The terminal voltage (The RMS line voltage) of the incoming machine and the alternator which
is to be connected in parallel or with the Busbar voltage should be equal (same).
 The frequency of the generated voltage of the incoming machine and the frequency of the
voltage of the Busbar should be equal.
 The Voltage phase angle of the two systems should be equal. (The waveforms should be
matched such that they rise and fall together. There should be no angle difference and the
potential difference between the phases should be zero.)
 Phase rotation: For three phase systems, each of the three phases must be matched. This
prevents excessive mechanical and electrical stresses as well as avoiding power surges.
  Phase number: The two systems should have the same number of phases, either three or single
phase.

Electrical Grid

Definition:
The connection of several generating stations in a network of particular transmission voltage
level is commonly known as electrical grid system. That means it is an interconnected network
for delivering electricity from producers to consumers. A large amount of power is transmitted from the
generating station to load centre at 220kV or higher. The network form by these high voltage lines is
called the super grid.
An extensive network of transmission lines has been developed over the years for evacuating
power produced by different electricity generating stations and distributing the same to the consumers.
The nominal Extra High Voltage lines in vogue are ± 800 kV HVDC & 765 kV, 400 kV, 230/220 kV, 110 kV
and 66 kV AC lines.
In other words - an electrical grid, electric grid or power grid, is defined as the network which
interconnects the generation, transmission and distribution unit. It supplies the electrical power from
generating unit to the distribution unit.
It consists of:
 generating stations that produce electric power
 electrical substations for stepping electrical voltage up for transmission, or down for distribution
 high voltage transmission lines that carry power from distant sources to demand-centers
 distribution lines that connect individual customers
 Power stations connected to grids are often located near energy resources such as a source
of fuel or to take advantage of renewable energy resources, and away from heavily-populated areas. A
bulk-power transmission network is therefore used to move the power long distances, sometimes
across international boundaries, until it reaches its wholesale customer (usually the organization that
owns the local electric power distribution network). The electric power is therefore stepped up to a
high voltage for the electric power transmission system. On arrival at a substation, the power will be
stepped down from a transmission level voltage to a distribution-level voltage. As it exits the substation,
it enters the distribution wiring. Finally, upon arrival at the service location, the power is stepped down
again from the distribution voltage to the required service voltage(s).
Need of Interconnection between Different Power Plants:
The power system network is an interconnected network. It means all generators are connected
with the grid. Therefore, if one generator is overloaded the load can be transferred on other generators.
There are many advantages and disadvantages of the interconnected system.

Importance of Grid / Advantages of the Interconnected Power System:

 Use of older plants
 Economical operation
 Increase the reliability of power supply
 Exchange of peak load
 Increase the diversity factor
 Reduce plant reserve capacity
 Reduce capital and operating cost
Use of Older Plants
In the power system network, there are some old and insufficient generating stations. These
stations have the capacity to carry short peaks of the load. But these generating stations are not
sufficient to run on a continuous basis.

If the system is interconnected than these plants are also connected in a system with a
transmission line and we can use these plants to meet the peak load demand. So, to achieve this
purpose, these generating stations are used with modern plants.
In this way, we can meet peak load demand without giving extra burden on modern plants with
the help of old and insufficient generating station.

Economic Operation
All the generating stations are working on the same frequency and same voltage level. Because
of the sharing of load among the power plants are done in such a way that all generating stations can
work continuously with high efficiency and high-power factor.
The less efficient and old generating stations are not used continuously and these plants are used only
at peak hours. Therefore, in an interconnected system makes the economical operation of the power
stations.

Increase the Reliability of Power Supply

In the interconnected power system, the entire load has more than one supply. If one supply is
failed or in maintenance, in this condition load is supplied by another source.
So, if a major breakdown occurred in the power station, then the load is transferred to other healthy
power station. Hence, the load is always connected with an uninterrupted power supply and increases
the reliability of the system.

Exchange of Peak Load

In the summer season, the use of inductive load like air-conditioner is increase. Therefore, in
this season, the load curve of the power station shows a peak demand.
This peak demand is more than the capacity of that power system. In this condition, an extra load must
be shared by other power station, otherwise, overload relay may operate and load shedding will be
done to reduce the burden on a power station.
In the interconnected system, the peak load is transferred to the old generating station. So, the
load curve will remain flat in peak demand conditions.

Increase Diversity Factor

It is a ratio of the sum of the individual maximum load of various plants of the system to the
maximum demand of the entire system.
The load curve is not the same for all generating stations connected in the interconnected
power system. In this way, the maximum demand for the system is reduced as compared to the sum of
individual maximum demands on various power stations. And the diversity factor of the system is
improved. Therefore, the effective capacity of plants is increased.

Reduce Plant Reserve Capacity

Every power plant has a standby unit for emergencies. In the interconnected system, all plants
are connected in parallel. So, the reserve capacity of the system is reduced and it increases the
efficiency of the system.
 Reduce Capital and Operating Cost
In an interconnected system, the efficiency of plants is increased and the cost of power
generation is reduced. In this system, capital cost and operating cost is reduced. So, per kW price is also
reduced.

Disadvantages of Interconnected System:

 Expensive tie line
 Expensive circuit breaker
 Synchronizing problem
 Metering and instrumentation

Conditions to interface different power Plants to grid / Problems Associated with the Interconnected
system:
The interconnected system has more advantages than disadvantages. That is the reason; the
actual power system is the interconnected network.
But there are some problems that are associated with satisfactory implementation.
 Voltage control
 Communication
 Frequency control
 Metering and instrumentation
 Shortage of reserve capacity
 Synchronizing problem

Voltage Control
In the interconnected system, the voltage is an important parameter and it must remain
constant at any point of the network. The system voltage may decrease due to high inductive load
demand.
Generally, this problem is occurring in the summer season because of the use of air-
conditioners, water pumps, and fans. This problem can be solved by meeting the reactive power
requirement. For this purpose, the shunt capacitance is used at the load centers.

Communication
The communication facility is not sufficient to provide better operation in the interconnected
power system because of the available frequency spectrum is congested.
This problem is occurring in the present communication technique that is the Power Line Carrier
Communication (PLCC) technique. To overcome this problem, we have to use other communication
techniques like fiber optics and multiple system digital microwave system.

Frequency Control
The frequency is inversely proportional to the load demand. If load demand is increasing
frequency is decreased and vice versa. In the case of peak load demand, the frequency is very low. The
system frequency should maintain between 48.5 to 50.5 Hz.
If system frequency is not in this range, in this condition frequency relay will operate and
disconnect the load.
 Metering and Instrumentation
At a different stage of power system network, meters and sensors placed to measure the
quantities like voltage, current, frequency, active power, reactive power, etc.
These meters and instruments are very costly. For load forecasting and future calculation, a
record of this measurement we required. So, it is necessary to install a sequential recorder, disturbance
recorder, etc.
Shortage of Reserve Capacity
In the case of peak load, the load demand is more than the power generation. In this condition,
if every power station has a certain amount of reserve power then it can be used to meet demand. This
is also useful to meet minute to minute variation in load and load forecasting error.
This can be classified into two types: clod reserve and an operating reserve.

Synchronizing Problem
In an interconnected power system, all the generators are connected in parallel and it must
operate at the same frequency.
If this does not happen than any generator of the system may go to out of step condition
because of the synchronization breakup.
In the worst condition, the blackout condition may create. So, it is a necessary condition to
operate all the generating stations in the synchronized manner.

Types of Grid :
The power station of the grid is located near the fuel source which reduces the transportation
cost of the system. But it is located far away from the populated areas. The power which is generated at
high voltage is stepped down by the help of step down transformer in the substation and then supply to
the consumers. To meet the electrical power demand of any area, several generating stations are
constructed at suitable locations from where Electrical power need to be transmitted through
transmission lines near load centers and further through sub transmission and distribution lines
electricity is supplied to consumers.
The electrical grid is mainly classified into two types.
They are
1. Regional Grid – The Regional grid is formed by interconnecting the different transmission system of a
particular area through the transmission line. One generating station cannot meet the whole demand
so for better stability and to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the consumer , in case failure of
any generating station, power line or any other equipment, all generating stations of the state /
interstates interconnected through transmission lines, are called Regional grid
2. National Grid – It is formed by interconnecting the different regional grid means, further regional grids
are interconnected to each other are called national grid.

National Grid consists of national load dispatch centre (NLDC) operated from Delhi. This control
centre monitors and controls all major lines that interconnect between the Regions and act as a master
controller to the regional load dispatch centre. Main NLDC is located in Delhi while a backup NLDC is
located in Kolkata.
NRLDC, SRLDC, ERLDC, WRLDC, NERLDC are regional load dispatch centers at North, South, East, West
and North-East.
 SRLDC located at Bangalore
 NERLDC located in Shillong
 NRLDC located in Delhi
  WRLDC is located in Mumbai
 ERLDC is located in Kolkata

These regional load dispatch centres have control over state load dispatch centers of those states
that are present within their region.
Ex: NERLDC control all the North eastern states,
SRLDC control over Kerala, karnataka, TN, AP, Telangana, Puducherry.

They are called as system operators in technical term. They decide the power wheeling and proper
dispatch of power to the loads. They help in planning the expansion and maintenance scheduling, power
transfer between the buyers and sellers.
The owner ship and operation of grid is mainly held by the state government and Generation is
deregulated to a certain extent. Deregulation means involvement of private players in the grid
development and operation and also separation of Electricity board into generation, transmission,
distribution and independent system Operation Company.

Evolution of National Grid:

 Grid management on regional basis started in sixties.
 Initially, State grids were inter-connected to form regional grid and India was demarcated into 5
regions namely Northern, Eastern, Western, North Eastern and Southern region.
  In October 1991 North Eastern and Eastern grids were connected.
 In March 2003 WR and ER-NER were interconnected .
 August 2006 North and East grids were interconnected thereby 4 regional grids Northern,
Eastern, Western and North Eastern grids are synchronously connected forming central grid
operating at one frequency.
 On 31st December 2013, Southern Region was connected to Central Grid in Synchronous mode
with the commissioning of 765kV Raichur-Solapur Transmission line thereby achieving 'ONE
NATION'-'ONE GRID'-'ONE FREQUENCY'.

Requirement of Grid / Reason for an Interconnection:

The interconnection of the grid provides the best use of power resource and ensures great
security to supply. It makes the system economical and reliable. The generating stations are
interconnected for reducing the reserve generation capacity in each area. If there is a sudden increase in
load or loss of generation in a zone, then it borrows from the adjacent interconnected area. But for the
interconnections of the network certain amount of generating capacity known as the spinning reserve is
required. The spinning reserve consists generator running at normal speed and ready to supply power
instantaneously.

Types of an Interconnections :
The interconnection between network is mainly classified into two types, i.e., the HVAC link and
HVDC link.
HVAC (High Voltage Alternating Current) Interconnection:
In HVAC link the two AC systems are interconnected by an AC link. For interconnecting the AC
system, it is necessary that there should be sufficiently close frequency control on each of the two
systems.
For the 50Hz system, the frequency should lie between 48.5 Hz and 51.5 Hz. Such an
interconnection is known as synchronous interconnection or synchronous tie. The AC link provides a
rigid connection between two AC system to be interconnected. But the AC interconnection has certain
limitations.

The interconnection of an AC system has suffered from the following problems.

1. The interconnection of the two AC networks is the synchronous tie. The frequency disturbances in one
system are transferred to the other system.
2. The power swings in one system affect the other system. Large power swing in one system may result
in frequent tripping due to which major fault occurs in the system. This fault causes complete failure of
the whole interconnected system.
3. There is an increase in the fault level if an existing AC system is connected with the other AC system
with an AC tie line. This is because the additional parallel line reduces the equivalent reactance of the
interconnected system. If the two AC system are connected to the fault line, then the fault level of an
each AC system remains unchanged.

HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) Interconnection:

The DC interconnection or DC tie provides a loose coupling between the two AC system to be
interconnected. The DC tie between two AC systems is non-synchronous (Asynchronous). The DC
interconnection has the certain advantages.
They are as follows.
1. The DC interconnection system is asynchronous thus the system which is to be interconnected is either
of the same frequency or at the difference frequency. The DC link thus provides the advantages of
interconnection of two AC network at different frequencies. It also enables the system to operate
independently and to maintain their frequency standards.
2. The HVDC links provide fast and reliable control of magnitude and direction of power flow by
controlling the firing angle of converters. The rapid control of power flow increases the limit of
transient stability.
3. The power swings in the interconnected AC networks can be damped rapidly by modulating the power
flow through the DC tie. Thus, the stability of the system is increased.

Nowadays, the customary grids are replaced by the smart grids. The smart grid uses the smart
meter and appliances which improves the efficiency of the system.

Grid at a Glance : Knowledge Point of View

Transmission Lines:
All Users, RLDC, SLDC, State Transmission Utility (STU), Central Transmission Utility (CTU) and NLDC will
have to take all possible measures to ensure that the grid voltage always remains within the following
operating range.

Sr. Nominal System Voltage Maximum Minimum

No. (kV rms) (kV rms) (kV rms)

765 800 728

1.

400 420 380

2.

220 245 198

3.

132 145 122

4.

110 121 99
5.

66 72 60
6.

33 36 30
7.
Distribution Lines;
The distribution segment continues to carry electricity from the point where transmission leaves
off, that is, at the 66/33 kV level. The standard voltages on the distribution side are therefore 66kV, 33
kV, 22 kV, 11 kV and 400/230 volts, besides 6.6 kV, 3.3 kV and 2.2 kV.
Depending upon the quantum of power and the distance involved, lines of appropriate voltages
are laid. The main distribution equipment comprises HT and LT lines, transformers, substations,
switchgears, capacitors, conductors and meters. HT lines supply electricity to industrial consumers while
LT lines carry it to residential and commercial consumers.