CHAPTER I

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is twofold. We first provide a brief perspective on the development of electric power systems. This is not intended to be a detailed historical review, but rather it uses historical landmarks as a background to highlight the features and structure of the modern power systems. Following this we offer an outline of the text material.

1.1

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEMS

Electric power is one major industry that has shaped and contributed to the progress and technological advances of mankind over the past century. It is not surprising then that the growth of electric energy consumption in the world has been nothing but phenomenal. In the United States, for example, electric energy sales have grown to well over 400 times in the period between the turn of the century and the early 1970s. This
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2 Introduction growth rate was 50 times as much as the growth rate in all other energy forms used during the same period. Edison Electric Illuminating Company of New York pioneered the central station electric power generation by the opening of the Pearl Street station in 1881. This station had a capacity of four 250-hp boilers supplying steam to six engine-dynamo sets. Edison's system used a 110-V dc underground distribution network with copper conductors insulated with a jute wrapping. The low voltage of the circuit limited the service area of a central station, and consequently central stations proliferated throughout metropolitan areas. The invention of the transformer, then known as the "inductorium," made ac systems possible. The first practical ac distribution system in the United States was installed by W. Stanley at Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in 1866 for Westinghouse, who acquired the American rights to the transformer from its British inventors Gaulard and Gibbs. Early ac distribution utilized 1000-V overhead lines. By 1895, Philadelphia had about twenty electric companies with distribution systems operating at 100-V and 500-V two-wire dc and 220-V three-wire dc; single-phase, two-phase, and three-phase ac; with frequencies of 60, 66, 125, and 133 cycles per second; and feeders at 1000-1200 V and 2000-2400 V. The consolidation of electric companies enabled the realization of economies of scale in generating facilities, the introduction of a certain degree of equipment standardization, and the utilization of the load diversity between areas. Generating unit sizes of up to 1300 MW are in service, an era that was started by the 1973 Cumberland Station of the Tennessee Valley Authority. A major generating station is shown in Figure 1-1, with the turbine-generator hall shown in Figure 1-2. Underground distribution at voltages up to 5 kV was made possible by the development of rubber-base insulated cables and paper-insulated, leadcovered cables in the early 1900s. Since that time higher distribution voltages have been necessitated by load growth that would otherwise overload low-voltage circuits and by the requirement to transmit large blocks of power over great distances. Common distribution voltages in today's system are in 5-, 15-, 25-, 35-, and 69-kV voltage classes. The growth in size of power plants and in the higher voltage equipment was accompanied by interconnections of the generating facilities. These interconnections decreased the probability of service interruptions, made the utilization of the most economical units possible, and decreased the total reserve capacity required to meet equipment-forced outages. This growth was also accompanied by the use of sophisticated analysis tools such as the network analyzer shown in Figure 1-3. Central control of the interconnected systems was introduced for reasons of economy and safety. Figure 1-4 shows the control room in a system control center. The advent of the load dispatcher heralded the dawn of power systems engineering, whose

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1.2 Outline of the Text 7 objective is to provide the best system to meet the load demand reliably, safely, and economically, utilizing state-of-the-art computer facilities. Extra high voltage (EHV) has become the dominant factor in the transmission of electric power over great distances. By 1896, an 11-kV three-phase line was transmitting 10 MW from Niagara Falls to Buffalo over a distance of 20 miles. Today, transmission voltages of 230 kV (see Figure 1-5), 287 kV, 345 kV, 500 kV, 735 kV, and 765 kV are commonplace, with the first 1100-kV line scheduled for energization in the early 1990s. A prototype 1200-kV transmission tower is shown in Figure 1-6. The trend is motivated by the economy of scale due to the higher transmission capacities possible, more efficient use of right-of-way, lower transmission losses, and reduced environmental impact. The preference for ac was first challenged in 1954 when the Swedish State Power Board energized the 60-mile, 100-kV dc submarine cable utilizing U. Lamm's Mercury Arc valves at the sending and receiving ends of the world's first high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link connecting the Baltic island of Gotland and the Swedish mainland. Today numerous installations with voltages up to 800-kV dc have become operational around the globe. Solid-state technology advances have also enabled the use of the silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCR) or thyristor for HVDC applications since the late 1960s. Whenever cable transmission is required (underwater or in a metropolitan area), HVDC is more economically attractive than ac. Protecting isolated systems has been a relatively simple task, which is carried out using overcurrent directional relays with selectivity being obtained by time grading. High-speed relays have been developed to meet the increased short-circuit currents due to the larger size units and the complex interconnections.

1.2

OUTLINE OF THE TEXT

Chapter 2 lays the foundations for the development in the rest of the book. The intention of the discussion offered here is to provide a brief review of fundamentals including electric circuit analysis and some mathematical background, to make the treatment self-contained. A student with an introductory electric circuit background may safely omit this chapter. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 are sequentially structured to follow the flow of electric energy from conversion to utilization. Thus Chapter 3 treats the synchronous machine from an operational modeling point of view. Emphasis here is on performance characteristics of importance to the electric power specialist. Chapter 4 provides a comprehensive treatment of EHV transmission lines starting from parameter evaluation for different circuit

Figure 1-5. Transmission Towers for a 230-kV Line.

(Courtesy Ontario Hydro)

Figure 1-6. A Prototype 1200-kV Transmission Line Tower. (Courtesy U.S. Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration)

10 Introduction and conductor configurations. Various transmission line performance modeling approaches are covered along with a unique section on the errors involved when using simplified models over the more elaborate ones. Chapter 5 is entitled "The System Load" and deals with the power transformer as well as control and instrument transformers in addition to induction motor models as the latter is a major load component. A brief discussion of load modeling philosophy is given at the end of the chapter. Chapter 6 treats interconnected system analysis and covers aspects of network reduction, per unit systems, and the load flow problem. A comprehensive treatment of high-voltage direct-current transmission is given in Chapter 7. Here again emphasis is placed on analysis and control aspects that should be of interest to the electric power systems specialist. Faults on electric energy systems are considered in Chapter 8. Here we start with the transient phenomenon of a symmetrical short circuit, followed by a treatment of unbalanced and balanced faults. Realizing the crucial part that system protection plays in maintaining service integrity is the basis for Chapter 9. Here an introduction to this important area is given. The transient stability problem is treated in Chapter 10 from an introductory point of view. Chapter 11 introduces the subject of economic dispatch under the title "Optimal Operation of Electric Power Systems." The treatment covers thermal systems where losses are neglected, followed by a case including losses. The chapter is concluded by an introduction to hydrothermal dispatch. The text of each chapter includes a number of examples that illustrate the concepts discussed. Following each chapter there is a set of solved problems that involves, in many instances, increased sophistication, and it helps to bring together the overall thrust of the concepts and techniques treated. The student should have, then, no difficulty in dealing with the drill problems included at the end of each chapter.