Study and Design of Primary

and Secondary Distribution

Networks
Lecture 1
Introduction
• Customers install all types of energy consuming devices
which can be connected in all sorts of combination and at
times of their choice.
• The size and locations of the loads are decided by the
customers not the distribution engineers so the power
distribution systems should concentrate on gathering
functions rather than distributing.
• Starting from the individual customers and loads distribution
proceeds through several stages with increasing number of
customers with each stage.
Introduction
• In general, the distribution system is the electrical system
between the substation fed by the transmission system and
the consumer end.
• Distribution systems usually employ such equipment as
transformers, circuit breakers, and protective devices.
• Basically we can say, that part of power system which
distributes electric power for local use is known as
distribution system.
→Generating stations
→Transmission lines
→Bulk power stations
→Sub transmission
→Distribution substation
→ Primary feeders
→Distribution transformers
→ Secondaries
→ Services
Distribution Substation
Distribution systems begin at distribution substations.
Distribution Substation
Distribution systems begin at distribution substations.
Distribution Substation

Figure 1.5. The left substation is a typical design with two subtransmission lines and two transformers.
The right substation is a very reliable design with a primary ring bus, motor operated switches, an
energized spare power transformer, and a secondary transfer bus.
Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• High Voltage Disconnect Switches - Switches used to visibly
isolate parts of a substation during maintenance or repair periods.
Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• High Voltage Bus — rigid conductor used to interconnect primary
equipment.
Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• High Voltage Circuit Breakers — switches that can interrupt fault
current.
 Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• Circuit Switchers — combination devices consisting of a visible
disconnect switch and circuit breaker.
Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• Voltage and Current Transformers — these devices step down
high voltages and currents to levels usable by meters and
relays.
Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• Power Transformers — devices that step down transmission
and subtransmission voltages to distribution voltages.
 Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• Medium Voltage Switchgear — refers to switches, breakers, and
interconnecting buswork located downstream of power
transformers.
Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• Protective Relays — these devices receive information about
the system and send signals for circuit breakers to open and
close when appropriate.
Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• Substation Automation — this term refers to supervisory
control and data acquisition (SCADA) equipment located in
distribution substations.
Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• Gas Insulated Substations — substations that enclose high
voltage bus, switches, and breakers in containers filled with
SF6 gas.
Distribution Substation
Substation Component
• Mobile Substations — substations that have a primary circuit
breaker or fuse, a transformer and secondary switchgear mounted
on a trailer.
Primary System
• The part of the electrical utility lying between the distribution
substation and distribution transformer.
• It is made up of circuits known as primary feeders or primary
distribution feeders that deliver power from distribution
substations to distribution transformers.
• Operates at voltages somewhat higher than general utilization
and handles large blocks of electrical energy than the average
low-voltage consumer uses.
Primary System
• The voltage used for primary distribution depends upon the
amount power to be conveyed and the distance of the
substation required to be fed.
• The most commonly used primary distribution voltages are
11 kV, 66kV and 33kV, but this differs from country to
country.
Primary System
Feeders:
• Any of the medium-voltage lines used to distribute electric
power from a substation to consumers or to smaller
substations are called feeders.
• A feeder usually begins with a feeder breaker at the
distribution substation.
• The main trunk is routed around the feeder service territory
and may be connected to other feeders through normally-
open tie points.
Primary System
A FEEDER INCLUDES :
• Main or main feeder – A 3-Φ 4-wire circuit.
• Branches or laterals - 1-Φ or 3-Φ circuits tapped off the
main(sub-laterals may be tapped off the laterals).
• A given feeder is sectionalized by reclosing devices at
various locations in such a manner that only a very small part
of the faulted circuit is removed such that only few
consumers are affected.
Primary System
Lateral Tap
• Lateral taps off of the main trunk are used to cover most of a
feeder’s service territory. These taps are typically single
phase, but may also be two phases or three phases.
• Laterals can be directly connected to main trunks, but are
more commonly protected by protective devices such as
fuses, re-closers, or automatic sectionalizers.
 Primary System
Factors affecting selection of primary feeder rating
• The nature of the load connected. • The type of regulating equipment
• The load density of the area served. used.
• The growth rate of the load. • The quality of service required.
• The need of providing spare • The continuity of service required.
capacity for emergency operation.
• The type & cost of circuit
construction employed.
• The design and capacity of
substation involved.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Poles • Voltage Regulators
• Overhead Lines • Pole-Mounted Transformer
• Sectionalizing Switch • Lighting Protection
• Fuse Cutouts • Feeder Automation
• Reclosers
• Sectionalizers
• Capacitors
Overhead Feeder Components
• Poles
Poles support overhead distribution equipment and are an
important part of all overhead systems. Most poles are treated
wood, but concrete, steel, composite, and other materials are
also used.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Poles
Overhead Feeder Components
• Overhead Lines
Wires that carry load current in an overhead system.
Major classifications are by insulation, size, stranding,
material, impedance, and ampacity.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Overhead Lines
Overhead Feeder Components
• Sectionalizing Switch
Devices that can be opened and closed to reconfigure a
primary distribution system. Like substation disconnect
switches, they are rated as either load break or no-load break.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Fuse Cutouts
Fuse cutouts are containers that
hold expulsion fuse links. Since
expulsion fuses are not able to interrupt
high fault currents, fuse cutouts may be
fitted with a backup current-limiting
fuse. Since current-limiting fuses will
clear faults quickly by forcing a current
zero, they have the additional advantage
of greatly reducing the energy of a fault.
 Overhead Feeder Components
• Reclosers
Self-contained protection
devices with fault interrupting
capability and reclosing relays.
Interruption capability is lower
than for a circuit breaker, and
applications are typically away
from substations where fault
current is lower
Overhead Feeder Components
• Reclosers

Figure 1.14. Typical reclosing sequence.

Overhead Feeder Components
• Sectionalizers
Protection devices used in
conjunction with reclosers (or
breakers with reclosing relays) to
automatically isolate faulted sections
of feeders. Sectionalizers do not
have fault interrupting capability.
Rather, they count the number of
fault currents that pass and open
after a specified count is reached.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Capacitors
Devices used to provide reactive current to counteract
inductive loads such as motors. Properly applying capacitors
will reduce losses, improve voltage regulation and allow a
distribution system to deliver increased kilowatts.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Capacitors
Typical distribution systems utilize fixed capacitors
(unable to be switched on and off) during light loading
conditions and turn on switched capacitors during heavy
loading conditions. Switched capacitors are typically turned on
and off automatically based on temperature, timers, current,
voltage, reactive power, or power factor measurements.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Voltage Regulators
Transformers with load tap changers used on feeders to
support voltage. They are becoming less common as the use of
higher voltages, large wire, and capacitors becomes more
common.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Voltage Regulators
Overhead Feeder Components
• Pole-Mounted Transformer
Step down voltage to utilization levels and are
characterized by voltage and kVA rating.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Lighting Protection
Refers to voltage transient protection accomplished with
surge arresters and static ground wire. Surge arresters are
nonlinear resistors that have high impedances at normal
voltages and near-zero impedances at higher voltages. They
protect equipment by clamping phase to ground voltages.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Lighting Protection
Static ground wires are strung above phase wires to
intercept lightning strokes. If ground impedance is too high,
high current flowing into the ground can cause a large
ground potential rise resulting in a backflash.
Overhead Feeder Components
• Feeder Automation
refers to SCADA and locally controlled devices on
feeders. This includes faulted circuit indicators (FCIs), remote
terminal units (RTUs), intelligent electronic devices (IEDs),
automatic meter reading (AMR), capacitor control, automatic
reconfiguration, and a host of other functions.
Underground Feeder Components
• Riser Poles
• Cable
• URD Cable
• Cable Terminations
• Cable Splices
• Load Break Elbows
• Pad-mounted Distribution Transformer
Underground Feeder Components
• Riser Poles
Poles that transition overhead
wire to underground cable. Wire
will typically terminate at a
pothead, transition to cable and be
routed down the riser pole in
conduit.
Underground Feeder Components
• Cable
Wires covered with a dielectric insulation characterized
by voltage rating, current rating, and material. Typical voltage
ratings for distribution cable are 5 kV, 15 kV, 25 kV, and 35 kV.
The most common insulating materials are paper-
insulated lead-covered (PILC), ethylene propylene rubber
(EPR), and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE).
Underground Feeder Components
• Cable
Underground Feeder Components
• URD Cable
Abbreviation for underground residential distribution
cable. Typically single phase XLPE or EPR cable with a
concentric neutral that is direct buried to supply pad-mounted
distribution transformers in residential neighborhoods.
Underground Feeder Components
• Cable Termination
Devices placed on the end
of cables so that they can be
connected to other equipment.
Cable terminations are
connected with bolts and must
be de-energized to connect and
disconnect.
Underground Feeder Components
• Cable Splices
devices used to connect
two cables together and must
be compatible with the cable
insulation material.
Transition splices are
designed to connect cables
with different types of
insulation (e.g., PILC and
XLPE).
Underground Feeder Components
• Load Break Elbows
Cable terminations that can be
connected and disconnected while
energized (typically up to 200 amps).
These can be properly referred to as
1φ load break switches, but are almost
always called elbows due to their “L”
shape
Underground Feeder Components
• Pad-Mounted Transformers
Metal containers containing distribution transformers,
cable terminations, and switching equipment (nonmetallic
containers are also possible). Pad refers to the concrete slab
that the devices are installed on. For public safety reasons, pad-
mounted equipment must be tamper resistant and have no
exposed energized parts. Typical sizes range from 10 kVA to
500 kVA for single-phase units and from 75 kVA to 5000 kVA
for three-phase units.
Underground Feeder Components
• Pad-Mounted Transformers
Primary System
Classification of distribution System
according to scheme of connection
1. Radial Type
2. Primary Type
3. Primary Selective
4. Secondary Selective
5. Spot Network
 The simplest primary
distribution system consists of
independent feeders with each
customer connected to a single feeder.
It is common for low-density
rural areas where more complex
Systems are cost prohibitive.

Advantages of Radial System

•Its initial cost is minimum.
•It is the simplest distribution system.
Disadvantages of Radial System
•The end of the distributor nearest to the
feeding end would be heavily loaded.
•The consumers are dependent of single
feeder and distributor. Therefore, when a
fault occurs on the feeder or distributor, the
supply is cut off to all the consumers who are
on the side of the fault away from the
substation.
•The consumers at the far end of the
distributor would be subjected to serious
voltage fluctuations because of changing the
load on the distributor.
• A slightly more common
configuration connects two
feeders together at their
endpoints with a normally open
tie switch.
• This primary loop increases
reliability by allowing customers
downstream of a fault to receive
power by opening an upstream
switch and closing the tie switch.
The only customers that cannot
be restored are those in
switchable section where the
fault occurred.
Primary selective service connects each
customer to a preferred feeder and an
alternate feeder. If the preferred feeder
becomes de-energized, a transfer switch
disconnects the preferred feeder and
connects the alternate feeder.
 Secondary selective service achieves
similar results by using switches on
secondary voltages rather than primary
voltages. With secondary selective
service, each distribution transformer
must be able to supply the entire load for
maximum reliability benefits.
 Secondary selective service achieves
similar results by using switches on
secondary voltages rather than primary
voltages. With secondary selective
service, each distribution transformer
must be able to supply the entire load for
maximum reliability benefits.
SECONDARY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
Secondary systems connect distribution transformers to
customer service entrances. They can be extremely simple, like
overhead service drop, and extremely complex, like a
secondary network.
SECONDARY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
Secondary Mains and Service Drops
Customers are connected to distribution systems via
service drops. In the US, service is typically 1φ 3-wire
120/240V, 3φ 4-wire 120/208V, or 3φ 4-wire 277/480V.
Customers close to a distribution transformer are able to have
service drops directly connected to transformer secondary
connections. Other customers are reached by routing a
secondary main for service drop connections. These two types
of service connections are shown in Figure 1.19.
SECONDARY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
SECONDARY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
• Secondary Networks is a complex power grid with a web of
multiple parallel sources of power to each customer. The
benefit for customers connected to these systems is they
should rarely experience interruptions in power.
SECONDARY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
Primary Feeder Voltage Level
• It is the most important affecting the design, cost & operation.
• Design & operation aspects getting affected are:
1. Primary feeder length
2. Primary feeder loading
3. No. of distribution substations
4. Rating of distribution substations
5. No. of sub-transmission lines
6. No. of consumers affected by a specific outage
7. System maintenance practices
8. Extent of tree trimming
9. Joint use of utility poles , type of pole design , appearance of pole line
Certain Design Considerations
• Primary feeders located in low load density areas are restricted in
length and loading by permissible voltage drops rather than by
thermal limits.
• For those located in high load density areas may be restricted by
thermal limitations.
• Voltage square rule: According to this the feeder length and loading
are a direct functions of feeder voltage level for a given voltage
drop.
• If the feeder voltage is doubled then for the same voltage drop it
can supply the power 4 times the distance. • Feeder with increased
length feeds more load.