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Power System: Basic Structure and

Functioning
Last Updated on September 21, 2018 by Muhammad Sarwar — 1 Comment (Edit)

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E
lectrical Energy is one of the most basic needs for the economic
development and progress of a country. Various functions that are
vital to present-day living may halt due to unavailability of electric
energy.
The energy supply system is called Power System. The role of electricity in the
development of modern civilization cannot be estimated. The economy of a
country depends directly on the availability of surplus electric energy. In fact,
per-capita income of a country is directly proportional to the energy consumption
per person. The greater the per capita consumption of energy in a country, the
higher is the standard of living of its people.

Energy exists in different forms in nature but the most important form is the electrical
energy. The modern society is so much dependent upon the use of electrical energy that it has
become a part and parcel of our life. In this article, we shall focus our attention on the general
aspects of electrical energy, its generation, transmission and distribution system which is
known as Power System.

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What is a Power System?

“ 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. Each one of these systems is explained in detail
in the next sections.

Fig. 1: Basic Structure of an Electric Power System (Energy Supply System)

Electric Energy Supply System

“ The transmission of electric power from a power station to consumers’

premises is known as the electric supply system.

An electric supply system consists of three principal components viz., the power station, the
transmission lines and the distribution 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, supply system can be broadly classified into (i) d.c. or a.c.
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

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done by 3-phase, 4-wire a.c. system . The underground system is more expensive than the
overhead system. Therefore, the overhead system is mostly adopted for transmission and
distribution of electric power.

Typical AC Power Supply in a Power System

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 and
primary distribution and secondary distribution. In Fig. 2, the layout of a typical AC power
supply scheme in a power system is shown by a single line diagram. It may be noted that it is
not necessary that all power schemes include all the stages shown in the figure. For example,
in a certain power scheme, there may be no secondary transmission and in another case, the
scheme may be so small that there is only distribution and no transmission.

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Fig. 2: AC Power Supply in a Power System

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 sations, nuclear. The
generated electricity is stepped up through the transformer and then transferred over
transmission lines to the load centres.

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Fig. 3: Energy Conversion Process

In Fig. 2, G.S. represents the generating station where 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 (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.

It may appear advisable to use the highest possible voltage for transmission of electric power
to save conductor material and have other advantages. But there is a limit to which this
voltage can be increased. It is because the increase in transmission voltage introduces
insulation problems as well as the cost of switchgear and transformer equipment is increased.
Therefore, the choice of proper transmission voltage is essentially a question of economics.
Generally, the primary transmission is carried at 66 kV, 132 kV, 220 kV or 400 kV.

Fig. 4: Step-up Power Transformer in a Generating Station

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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.

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 at the strategic points in the city. This
forms the secondary transmission.

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. It may be noted that big consumers (having
demand more than 50 kW) are generally supplied power at 11 kV for further handling with
their own sub-stations.

Secondary distribution
In the last stage in a Power System, the electric power from primary distribution line (11 kV)
is delivered to distribution sub-stations (DS) or Distribution Transformer. A typical pole
mounted distribution transformer is shown in Fig. 5. These sub-stations are located near the
consumers’ 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. It may be worthwhile to mention here that secondary distribution system consists of
feeders, distributors and service mains.

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Fig. 5: Pole Mounted Distribution Transformer

Fig. 6 shows the elements of low voltage distribution system. Feeders (SC or SA) radiating
from the distribution sub-station (DS) supply power to the distributors (AB, BC, CD and AD).
No consumer is given direct connection from the feeders. Instead, the consumers are
connected to the distributors through their service mains.

Fig. 6: Distribution Feeders in Power System

Summary
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We hope you’ve got the basic idea of the power system, its basic components and their
functioning. You may also want to read our articles on the implementation of protection
schemes in ETAP and Load flow analysis of a power network.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video tutorials
and project descriptions. You can also find us on Facebook . Give us your feedback
in the comments section.

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Filed Under: Energy

Tagged With: Basics, Electrical Energy, Power System, Transmission System

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About Muhammad Sarwar

Muhammad Sarwar is an Electrical Engineer by profession and a blogger by passion. He loves
to teach and share knowledge. He reads books, play games, blogs and program in his spare
time.

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Trackbacks
Basic Energy Resources for Electrical Energy Generation | EE Power School says:
November 1, 2018 at 10:51 AM Edit
[…] energy is obtained from various energy resources; the process of energy conversion is
completed at power generating stations. The energy resources may be renewable or non-
renewable and each energy resource has a different […]

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