National Transmission & Despatch

Company Limited

Preventive Maintenance of Grid Station

Equipment using Standard Operating Procedure

AMEER ULLAH KHAN

Roll No: 3
Sector Specific Course TSG Kot Lakhpat Lahore
 SOP FOR MAINTENANCE OF SUBSTATION
EQUIPMENT
To keep Electrical power system of NTDCL in safe,
reliable & operating condition…..

Standard Operating Procedures are formulated to

 Operate & Maintain system properly to perform

desired functionality.
 Describe work activities & implementation
frequency
 Adopt Safety precautions to avoid work related
incidents.
Contents List

 Concept of Maintenance
 Electrical Equipment Details of Grid Station
1. Power Transformer
2. High Voltage Circuit Breakers
3. Instrument Transformers
4. Isolators
5. Surge Arrestors
6. DC Supply System
7. Fire Fighting Equipment
8. Telecommunication Equipment
o Preliminary operation before Preventive Maintenance
o Preventive Maintenance of Grid Station
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE OF GRID STATION
EQUIPMENT USING SOP
Lack of Maintenance may result in failure of
Operation
MAINTENANCE

Breakdown or
Preventive Maintenance
Corrective Maintenance
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
 Is undertaken to ensure smooth and efficient
working of system, equipment

 This type of Maintenance is undertaken as per

schedule before breakdown of a system or
equipment

 Repair or replacement are made to ensure that

no breakdown occurs during any time in service
 For Substation equipment, Preventive
Maintenance is recommended as failure of
Substation equipment can not be permitted.
INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRIC GRID
The Grid System:
An Electric Grid is interconnected network for
delivering Electricity from producer end to
consumer end

Major Components of Power System:

 Generating Station produce Electric Power

 HV Transmission Lines carry Power from distant

sources to load centers
 Grid Station Step down Voltage according to need

 Distribution Lines connect individual consumers

OBJECTIVES OF GRID STATION MAINTENANCE

The main objectives of Maintenance of Grid Station

include:
o Efficient running of Grid Station equipments

o Prolong the equipment’s useful life

o Control and prevent the system disruption

Transformer Asset Management
Transformer
An Electrical device that transforms electrical
energy from one Voltage level to another as per
requirement keeping frequency same.

 Transformer is Costly & Essential component of

Grid Station
 Maintenance activities required for High
Performance and Long Functional life
 Unplanned failures at any point in Transformer
life cycle have major consequences
 Preventive maintenance can avert Breakdowns
MAINTENANCE OF AUTO TRANSFORMER
 Reading of MOG of Main & Conservator Tank
 Color of Silica Gel in Breather

 Auto, Remote and Manual functions of Cooling

system
 Inspection of Transformer Oil & Winding
temperature Indicator
 Inspection of Buchholz Relay and Pressure Relief
Valve
MAINTENANCE OF AUTO TRANSFORMER….
Routine Tests
Following Tests should be carried out routinely to
ensure the Healthiness of Auto Transformer:
 C&DF Test

 TTR Test

 Electrical protection (Protective Relay Testing)

(Differential Relays, Thermal Overload, Over

excitation, Over current relays etc.)
 Mechanical Protection tests (Main Buchholz, Oil &
Winding Temperature indicator)
AUTO TRANSFORMER MAINTENANCE (CONTD.)
o Visual Inspection
o Reading of MOG (Oil level)
 Main/Conservator Tank
 OLTC
 Bushing
o Cooling System
 Fans
 Oil Pump
In case of troubles, investigate control circuit and
physical conditions of fans & Pump
o Temperature Gauges
 Oil
 Windings
AUTO TRANSFORMER MAINTENANCE (CONTD.)
o Ground Connections
 Main Tank
 Body
 Neutral
 Tertiary Winding Terminal
o Color of Silica Gel
 Breather of Transformer
If Color of Silica Gel becomes Pinkish, it should be
replaced.
o Oil Leakage
 Main Body
 Radiator Tubes
 Bushing
 OLTC
Major causes of Transformer Failure
TRANSFORMER OIL
 Transformer oil serves three purposes
• Provide Cooling

• Provide Insulation

• Help Extinguish Fire

o Transformer oil loses its Dielectric Strength due

to dissolved gases generated by Oil degradation,
Moisture and Cellulose deterioration
Dissolved Gas Analysis Application
 DGA Test performed to evaluate that Mineral Oil
used in:
• Oil immersed Transformer

• Oil immersed Shunt Reactors

• Oil Circuit Breakers

• Oil type OLTC

• Oil type Instrument Transformers

is performing its desired functionality.

o DGA test to be performed Annually as
Preventive Maintenance to determine
Incipient Faults for corrective measures in
Grid Station equipment.
FAULT TYPES INDICATED BY GDA
Auto Transformer Maintenance (Contd.)
 The Transformer Oil must be checked every Six
months for:
 Dielectric Strength
 Moisture Content
 Acidity
 Flash Point
 DDA
 IFT
o Bushing Terminal Connections
Cleaning by soft cotton cloths & Checking for cracks
o Insulation Resistance and Polarization Index

Must be Checked with battery operated 5KV Megger

C&DF TEST
 Quality and nature of Insulation
 Dissipation factor is measure of loss of insulation.
Df should be kept minimum.
 Different conclusions drawn from C&DF test
CIRCUIT BREAKER
Circuit Breaker
Automatically operated electrical switch designed to
protect an electrical circuit from damage by
interrupting current flow after a fault is detected.

Types of Circuit Breakers

 SF6 Circuit Breaker
 Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker
 Air Blast Circuit Breaker
 Vacuum Circuit Breaker
 MAINTENANCE OF CIRCUIT BREAKER
 Visual Inspection
 HV Terminals Connection

Dismantle Connection, Clean properly, Apply Corrosion

inhibitor. Should not show Hotspot during Thermo Scan
 Earth Connections should be OK and Porcelain
Bushing free from cracks.
 Lubrication of Moving and Bearing parts of C.B
MAINTENANCE OF CIRCUIT BREAKER
(CONTD.)
Opening / Closing Timing Test

 Permissible difference between timings of 3 Poles of CB are:

• Closing Time 5ms (1/4 Cycle)
• Opening Time 3.33ms (1/6 Cycle)

o SF6 Dew Point Test

 Dew Point should be > -15 Degree Centigrade
 Moisture Content should be < 350 ppm
oSF6 Gas Purity Test
SF6 gas purity should be greater than 95%.
 Contact Resistance Test
Made between Upper fixed contact and lower
contact with 100A DC.
 CB contacts contamination
 Chemical residue due to decomposition of SF6 gas

 Min DC Voltage Trip & Closing Trip

 Vidar Test
INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMERS
Instrument Transformers are designed to transform V
or I from high values to low values for utilization in
low voltage metering devices.
o Applications
 Metering (Billing purpose)
 Protection Control (System protection)
o Types of Instrument Transformers
• Current Transformer CT
• Potential Transformer PT
o Typical Output Levels
 CT (1-5 Amp)
 PT (115-120 Volt)
 INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMERS
MAINTENANCE
 Visual Inspection
 Thermo Vision Scan of Primary terminal of Live CT &
PT to check Hotspot
 Secondary Terminal and Ground Connection should
be tight and secured
 Porcelain Bushing is intact with no cracks.

 Dielectric Strength Test of Oil

 >30KV, 40KV, 50KV at 2.5mm gap for 66KV,132KV &220/500KV
 Insulation resistance test of Windings
 Primary winding Insulation test with 2.5 or 5KV Megger
 Secondary winding with 500V Megger
INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMERS
MAINTENANCE
 C&DF test
 Current Ratio & Accuracy Test

 High Frequency Earthing point should be checked

in case not used for PLCC communication
GRID STATION GROUNDING SYSTEM
 Metal mat (Ground Mesh) increase contact with
earth and reduce impedance to drain leakage
current.
 Equipment Ground Connections

 Laying of Overhead Ground Shield/Sky wire and

its connections with Earth Mesh
 Earth Resistance Test (less than 2 Ohm)
ISOLATOR
Isolator is an offload device used to ensure that an
Electrical circuit is completely De-energized for
maintenance or service.

It isolates circuit after opening of Circuit breaker &

discharge residual charge through Earth switch.
ISOLATOR MAINTENANCE
o Contact Resistance test
o Contact Alignment /Grip
o Lubrication of sliding/moving/rolling parts
LIGHTNING SURGE ARRESTOR
o A surge arrester is a device to protect electrical
equipment from over-voltage transients caused
by external (lightning) or internal (switching)
events.

o To protect a unit of equipment from transients

occurring on an attached conductor, a surge
arrester is connected to the conductor just
before it enters the equipment.
LIGHTNING SURGE ARRESTOR MAINTENANCE
o Visual Inspection (HV terminal connections,
Porcelain condition, Ground Connections etc.)
o Operation counter
o Leakage Current Monitoring Test
 Should be less than 200 micro ampere
 DC SUPPLY SYSTEM
DC source comes from Rectifier & Battery that are
connected in parallel to the load.
Main Components of DC system are:
 Battery Charger
 Battery Bank
 DC Distribution Box
 DC system is backbone of Grid Station Protection.
 Used for operating of Protection Relays, Control
(DC 110V & 220V) and SCADA Telecom (DC 48V).
 Need of reliable DC system is more evident in
Faults and Disturbances.
DC SYSTEM MAINTENANCE
 Monitoring of DC system is vital to ensure
reliability of System.

Battery Charger
 Abnormal Sounds and Smell
 Front Panel Indication Lamps
 Float/ Boost voltage settings
 Under / Over Voltage protection
 Current limiter settings
 Body ground connections
DC SYSTEM MAINTENANCE
Battery Bank
 Electrolyte level in cells (Distilled water for fluid level)
 Specific Gravity of Cells (Hydrometer)
 Cells terminals Cleaning
 Manual Boost Charge (Initial Charging)
 Battery Impedance Test
 Battery AH capacity Test
 Exhaust Fan in Battery room
Battery Maintenance Tools & Accessories
(Hydrometer, Voltmeter, Thermometer, Insulated
Spanner, Plastic Jug, Plastic Funnel)
TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM
 Telecom Depot provides following three services:
 Speech
 Data
 Teleprotection
o Telecommunication Equipment Installed at Grid
Station include:
 RTU
 PABX
 DPLC (HF / Coaxial)
 SDH/PDH (Fiber Optic cable)
 Outdoor Coupling Equipment (Wave Trap, CVT, LMU)