Advanced equipment and tools will uplift substation performance

Today, the industry is addressing the latest technologies in power substations; top power experts emphasise the relevance of digitisation and the evolution of gasinsulated substations and pre-engineered and ready-fabricated substations, which are projected to increase substation demand.
Substations are essential parts of a power system. When addressing substations or other transmission technologies, we must consider the entire power system. It was initially considered merely as a power station, whether thermal, nuclear, or hydro. Transmission systems were handled differently than load regions, with a stepped-down substation built and then connected to distribution substations. Below, we shall examine the vitality of the digitalised and modern substation considering the increased construction of gas-insulated substations (GIS).
Substation trends
A gas-insulated substation (GIS) is a high-voltage substation in which the primary conducting structures are kept within a sealed environment, including an insulating medium of sulphur hexafluoride gas (SF6). A GIS requires one- tenth the space needed for a standard air-insulated substation (AIS) plant. While traditional AIS requires several feet of air insulation to isolate the conductor, SF6 requires a few inches, allowing a GIS facility to fit into a smaller area than an AIS site. According to Rajesh Suri, Head of Design and Engineering at Sterlite Power Transmission Limited, “When you look at a gas-insulated substation, we put everything indoors, whether it’s a breaker module, a disconnector module, or a busbar module.” Suppose the substation owner is hesitant to place the GIS modules outside. In that case, it is recommended that the breaker or disconnector module be kept inside the building and a normal AIS busbar be installed outdoors because it does not require an indoor atmosphere. This does not boost land supply further since the entire process is based on cost-of ownership. Furthermore, while these technologies are effective in various other countries.
On the other hand, hybrid substations are gaining traction in the electricity sector. Hybrid primarily uses GIS bay modules in the air-insulated substation (AIS), which expands its capabilities. Pre-engineered substations are also increasingly popular because of their ease of installation, little space requirements, reduction of heavy onsite civil works, and ability to be handled and maintained efficiently.
Efficient power supply in substation and modern equipment
Digital substations and sophisticated power equipment can help to reduce the amount of pollution. Explaining further, H. C. Sharma, Chief – of Business Development, Contracts, Stores & Technical Services, Tata Power-DDL, says, “We will even share our experience if a substation fails because we have ties with OEMs and would all wish to return to those folks in India as agents of those MNCs. Despite having digital technologies, we were still looking for experienced maintenance personnel. MNCs have the same problem. In this case, we must identify measures to boost the availability of skilled labour, whether for a supplier, owner, or developer.
Moreover, traditional power systems lack digital communication and remote monitoring capabilities. Furthermore, traditional substation deployment is time consuming. They are becoming increasingly inefficient due to ageing infrastructure, and maintenance is resource intensive. The system must improve operating efficiency and lower life cycle costs. Digital substations also offer greater safety due to interface separation and flexibility due to simplified architecture, making future expansion easier.
Advanced tools for fault identification
The product capabilities or the relay algorithm determines the availability of advanced digital tools. Sunish Sukumaran, Head-Design & Application Engineering, GE, elaborates further, saying, “If you take a protective relay, it has no means or algorithms to take care of these developing tools and technologies to solve these issues in India.” In other words, it depends on the type of available protection relays. This helps us comprehend its utility-scaled application area.
Challenges for design engineers
When it comes to developing a substation design, the issues that design engineers face are not limited to the location of equipment in the substation. Rajesh elaborates by citing an example of a paucity of accessible space. Second, the installation of new substations, lines, and system components raises concerns about increased short circuit levels, especially in certain older substations with buses rated for 20 normal amperes. Short-circuit currents are now approaching 52 amperes. Other NCR stations are facing this constraint, and operations are being carried out through a split bus to ensure that no untoward incident occurs in a substation.
“Another factor to consider is minimising wind costs while maintaining thorough equipment status monitoring.” Adding more substation lines and improving organisational engagement will necessitate an industrial strategy. It is tough to get those lines into a substation. “Getting those lines into a substation is a significant undertaking today,” Suri continues.
Improving operational efficiency and cost reduction
Elaborating on the significance of improving operational efficiencies and reliability from the design and engineering perspective, Sukumaran says, “Today, we consider automation and digitalisation while designing a substation right at its primitive stage. We already have conventional specifications and conventional substations for the utilities while migrating towards newer technologies. Technically, we are optimising the performance without compromising the efficiency of the performance. Secondly, we need to merge the unit yards to keep the performance uptight even during difficult environmental and geographical conditions. It is moving away from the pilot stage to an actual commercial project. Several customers have already started commercial projects.
We have numerous self-monitoring mechanisms available to ensure this. These are pre-defined based on equipment data, which may then be analysed to take preventive precautionary steps and provide the utility’s reliable output and operating efficiency. This highlights the importance of digitalisation and automation in the power sector. “Furthermore, we see widespread acceptance for the same in the Indian power sector, with utilities taking all possible steps to implement it and making room for automation, digitalisation, and other allied technologies to improve overall output,” Sharma concludes.
Moreover, the influx of renewable energy has normalised the concept of distributed generation. This further leads to the substation supplying a balanced power supply. Because renewable energy generation methods such as wind turbines, micro-hydel, solar, and biomass systems are available in a nonlinear generation, site demand has become more flexible. So, to adopt changes regularly, substation automation becomes essential. Moreover, the process of transitioning towards digitalisation has already begun.
“Adding more substation lines and improving organisational engagement will necessitate an industrial strategy.“-  Rajesh Suri, Head of Design and Engineering, Sterlite Power Transmission Limited.
“Digital substations also offer greater safety due to interface separation and flexibility due to simplified architecture.”- H. C. Sharma, Chief – of Business Development, Contracts, Stores & Technical Services, Tata Power- DDL.
“The product capabilities or the relay algorithm determines the availability of advanced digital tools.“-  Sunish Sukumaran, Head-Design & Application Engineering, GE.