Discussion Paper

Title:
Prepared By:
Number:

Substation Protection Philosophy

D. Fairchild / G. Allen
Status:
DP025
Date:

Final
Dec 7, 2009

REVISION NOTES
April 12, 2006 44 kV single phasing protection was adopted by Barrie Hydro.
November 24, 2009 Adapted for PowerStream Municipal Substation (MS) protections.

1.0

Preface

The purpose of this discussion paper is to outline PowerStreams substation protection

philosophy. Feeder, transformer and bus protections will be identified along with setting
guidelines.
General coordination goals are discussed and taken into consideration in the protection
settings. A common protection philosophy is applied to all stations. However, the
application of the philosophy will vary depending on station size and voltage.

2.0

Introduction

PowerStream currently owns and operates over 50 municipal distribution substations.

These Stations are supplied from 44 kV subtransmission circuits and 28kV distribution
circuits. They step the voltage down to one of three distribution levels. Each station
typically consists of 3 to 4 feeders, supplying a combination of three phase and singlephase loads. Typically these loads are protected with fuses at their point of connection
to the feeder.
Distribution line protection of radial feeders is performed using overcurrent (50, 51, 50N,
51N) elements. Current only, is used to detect faults on the feeders. The basic principle
lies in the fact that short-circuit currents are generally larger than load currents. In most
cases, there is a separation between the load-current region and the fault current region.
It is then possible to set the overcurrent relays to operate in the fault current region.
However depending on the electrical characteristics of the system, fault current can
approach load currents (for example at the end of a long heavily loaded feeder). Care
must be taken to ensure that this is avoided. Short circuit studies are completed in order
to determine maximum and minimum fault current levels for a given substation and its
feeders. Refer to discussion paper DP022 Municipal Station Available Fault Levels.
These values are used to select relay pickup settings, which in turn establishes zone
coverage and reach characteristics of the feeder protections.

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3.0

Protection Design Principals and Protection Settings Guidelines

A description of the Municipal Substation protection systems and associated protection

setting guidelines is described in the following sections.
3.1

Feeder Protection Design Principals

The basic principles are used in designing a distribution protection system, are as
follows:
1. The first is to treat all faults initially as temporary.
2. Second, lockout should only occur when it has been determined that a fault is
permanent.
3. Third, the smallest possible portion of line should be removed from service in
the case of a fault.
4. Fourth clear the fault as quickly as possible to minimize hazard to the public,
damage to equipment and to minimize the impact on power quality.
At the time of writing, PowerStream has implemented two feeder protection
philosophies, as follows:
Fuse saving, typically applied on rural feeders in PowerStream North A fuse saving
protection scheme allows the feeder breaker to clear non-permanent faults on the entire
feeder with out blowing sectionalizing fuses. In the event of a permanent fault beyond a
fuse, the fuse will blow to isolate the faulty section. This philosophy is currently used on
both the overhead and underground system.
A fuse saving feeder protection will operate, as follows:

Transient fault:
On the feeder, before the first fuse - The feeder will trip on 50a and
lockout.
On the feeder, beyond the first fuse - The feeder will trip on 50b and
reclose.
On the load side of a lateral fuse - The feeder will trip on 50b and reclose.
Permanent fault:
On the feeder, before the first fuse - The feeder will trip on 50a and
lockout.
On the feeder beyond the first fuse - The feeder protection will:
trip on 50b and reclose, then
trip on 51 and lockout.
On the load side of a lateral fuse - The feeder protection will:
trip on 50b and reclose, then
The fuse will clear the fault.

Trip Saving, typically applied on Urban feeders in PowerStream South A trip saving
protection scheme allows the feeder breaker to clear transient and permanent faults on
the feeder. Faults on the load side of lateral fuses are cleared by the associated lateral
fuse.
A trip saving feeder protection will operate, as follows:
Transient fault:

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On the feeder, before the first fuse - The feeder will trip on 50a and
lockout.
On the feeder, after the first fuse - The feeder will trip on 50b and
reclose.
On the load side of a lateral fuse - The fuse will blow and clear the
fault.
Permanent fault:
On the feeder, before the first fuse - The feeder will trip on 50a and
lockout.
on the feeder, after the first fuse - The feeder protection will:
trip on 50b and reclose, then
trip on 51 and lockout.
on the load side of a lateral fuse - The fuse will blow and clear the
fault.
The basic coordination strategy first established coordination pairs starting at the load
and moving towards the source. The maximum load current is then determined. The
pickup of all overcurrent devices can then be set, based on short circuit values,
maximum load current and equipment ratings.
Typically protections of underground feeders do not incorporate a reclosing scheme, in
that underground faults are nearly always permanent. It is recommended that feeders
which are 80% or more underground not be permitted to reclose. For the most part
PowerStream underground feeders have significant sections of overhead line and
therefore the aforementioned would only apply to a select few feeders on the system.

3.1.1

Feeder Phase Overcurrent Protection

Feeder phase protections are intended to operate for phase-to-phase and three phase
faults.
The pickup of a phase overcurrent relay, used to protect a primary distribution feeder,
must be greater than the maximum load that will be served. A fault to load ratio (FTLR)
of 4:1 (3:1 minimum) is generally used. The fault current magnitude, which a phase relay
measures, decreases as the distance to the fault increases. For very long feeders
where the FTLR is less than 3:1 a phase distance relay can be used.
A Time Current Curve (TCC) chart for a typical feeder phase protection, employing the
trip saving philosophy is shown below.

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Typical Feeder Phase Protection

100.00

U3: US Very Inverse

Tim e Overcurrent

Time (s)

10.00

1.00

0.10

Low Set
Definite Tim e

High Set
Instantaneous
0.01
100

1000

10000

100000

Current (A @ 27.6kV)

A discussion of the settings for each of the timed and instantaneous elements follows.
Phase Timed Overcurrent Protection (51)
The phase timed overcurrent protection (51) is designed to provide coordinated
protection with other downstream devices.
Pick-up Setting
The pickup of the phase timed overcurrent protection must be greater than the
maximum load that will be served. The feeder load current should not exceed
50% of the pickup value.
The pickup and time dial must also be set low enough to detect and clear end-ofline faults (E.O.L) in a reasonable time. The feeder phase timed overcurrent
protection is designed to protect the entire length of the feeder. This includes
laterals and sub-laterals. Multiplying the E.O.L. 3-phase fault current by 2

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provides a margin for fault resistance. For three phase faults this equates to
approximately twice the total impedance and 1.73 times the total impedance for
phase-to-phase faults (Source: SEL Prot-403).
The pick-up setting also needs to be less than 0.8 of bus backup pick-up setting.

Time Dial Setting & Inverse Timed Overcurrent Curve Type

It is recommended that end-of-line faults be cleared in 2.5 seconds maximum
under normal conditions and 3.5 seconds maximum under contingency
conditions. Normal conditions will be defined by the system configuration with all
of its normally open points in their open state. Contingency conditions will be
defined by the system configuration other than being in its normal state.
Guidelines for desired timed element operating times are, as follows:
0.3 Seconds slower than slowest tapped fuses on feeder
Clear minimum feeder end fault within 1.5 seconds
These operating times are achieved by selecting the appropriate time dial setting
and inverse timed overcurrent curve type.
A graph showing the five standard curve types is shown below.

The Extremely Inverse curve is used in most instances, because, as compared to

other curves, provides the fastest clearance of faults at higher current values.
The extremely inverse characteristic closely approximates fuse curves, to which
the feeder overcurrent relay most often must coordinate to obtain selective fault

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clearance.
The extremely inverse characteristic is also the preferable
overcurrent characteristic for feeder cold load pickup. The longer operating
time at low values of overload current, inherent with the extremely inverse
characteristic, can prevent unnecessary operations.

Once the desired curve has been selected; the time dial setting is calculated using the
formulas shown above.
A feature called electromechanical reset timing is implemented on all feeder relays at
stations with primary fusing. This feature emulates the reset characteristics of an
induction disc on an electromechanical relay. Basically the feature causes the feeder
breaker to trip faster should it re-close into a fault. In the event that a feeders low set
protections are blocked, it is possible that two timed trips could occur. The preheating
effect of the power fuse reduces its time-curve, which could result in a coordination

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problem. Electromechanical reset provides an added coordination margin between the

feeder and power fuse. This feature was implemented based on past experience.
Phase High Set Instantaneous Protection (50a)
Phase High Set Instantaneous Protection (50a) is set for fast clearance of close-in faults,
as well as protecting a portion of the feeder emanating from the station.
In order to avoid locking out a feeder for faults located downstream of a fused cutout, the
phase high set instantaneous element must be set greater than the maximum available
fault current at the first fused device.
The 50a Pick up setting is:

Greater than the - fault current available at closest tapped fuse.

Low enough to detect a fault on the station feeder egress cables.

The high set instantaneous protection shall cause the feeder breaker to lockout in the
event the element is asserted. This protection is never to be block in any protection
scheme.
Phase Low Set Instantaneous Protection (50b)
The phase low set protection (50b) is Intended for transient faults, this protection should
be blocked after a reclose, to allow coordinated time tripping. It should be set to provide
coverage of the entire feeder.
The 50b Pick up setting is:
Equal or greater than 2 times maximum load
Less than 0.5 feeder end - fault level
A Delay Setting, to implement the trip saving philosophy, is added to the 50b element to
permit tapped fuses to clear first for - faults.
Low Set Block (Field Switching)
As a result of PowerStreams sensitive ground protection, and most recently the
introduction of the phase low set instantaneous protection, there is a need to block these
elements during switching operations. Any circuit unbalance above the ground elements
minimum pick-up is seen as a fault. Typically an unbalance can be caused from single
phase switching of large load or energizing a large number of single-phase transformers
at once.
The low set instantaneous protections must be blocked remotely in order to avoid
tripping the breaker. Operating Policy and Procedure C0713 addresses this issue.
3.1.2

Feeder Ground Overcurrent Protection

Ground overcurrent relays can be set to be more sensitive than phase overcurrent relays
because their pickup can be set without regard to maximum loading. The maximum

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imbalance in the load is the only consideration to determine the pickup. The increase
sensitivity does however come at cost. The protection is so sensitive that trips can occur
during single phase switching and other temporary unbalances. PowerStream has
attempted to address this with a unique blocking scheme, discussed later.
The majority of system faults, as high as 80 to 90 percent, involve ground in one form or
another. The exception to this is three-phase and phase-to-phase faults, which are rare
occurrences. Clearly it makes good sense to employ ground protections on the
distribution system since ground fault currents almost always pose additional risk to
public safety and equipment damage.
Guidelines for feeder ground overcurrent protection settings are shown below:

Feeder Ground High Set Instantaneous Overcurrent (50Na)

A ground high set instantaneous overcurrent element is used to quickly clear temporary
ground faults.
Guideline for Ground High Set Instantaneous Overcurrent (50Na)
Pick up setting > -G fault current available at closest tapped fuse

Feeder Ground Low Set Definite Time Overcurrent (50Nb) Prior to Reclose
The ground low set definite time overcurrent element is used to clear temporary ground
faults
Guideline for Ground Low Set Instantaneous Overcurrent (50Nb)
Pick up setting:
Equal or greater than 2 times maximum load unbalance current
Less than 0.5 feeder end -G fault level
Delay Setting permit tapped fuses to clear first for -G fault-Trip Saving

Feeder Ground Timed (51N)

Guidelines for Timed Overcurrent (51N) settings, are as follows:
Pick-up Setting:
Equal or greater than 2 times maximum load unbalance current
Less than 0.5 feeder end -G fault level
Less than 0.8 ground bus backup pick-up
Time Dial Setting:
0.3 Seconds slower than slowest tapped fuses on feeder
Clear minimum feeder end fault within 1.5 seconds
Reclose (79)
All PowerStream feeders are permitted to perform a single shot reclose attempt.
Feeders that are predominately under ground (80% or more) will not attempt a reclose.

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Under ground faults are generally permanent in nature and as such a reclose attempt is
not warranted (the feeder will trip on timed over current protection).
In some stations the reclose maybe blocked locally or remotely. These two operations
are independent of each other, meaning that if the reclose is blocked remotely it can not
be unblocked locally and vise-versa.
Cold Load Pickup
The cold load pickup feature is designed to elevate the phase overcurrent pickup of the
feeder relay upon loss of load diversity.
Cold load mode is automatically enabled after the feeder breaker has been open for a
predetermined period of time, on some stations it may also be invoked remotely through
Operator control via the SCADA system. The cold load mode will remain in effect for a
predetermined period of time after the feeder breaker has been closed.
If cold load is being picked up other than from closing the feeder breaker (i.e. field
switching), the low set instantaneous elements must be blocked. Currently this blocking
feature can only be set remotely from the control room SCADA system.
Feeder Protection Logic
The feeder protection logic is shown in Appendix A

3.2

Transformer Protection

The majority of power transformers are protected with high side fuses. The larger 20
MVA power transformers on the 44/13.8 kV system are protected with high side circuit
breakers or circuit switchers.
The transformer protection is designed primarily to protect the transformer from
damaging fault currents. A certain degree of overload protection is also provided with
high side fusing. However, this is the primary job of the transformer backup protection.
The transformer protection must coordinate with both upstream and downstream
protections. Refer to discussion paper DP021 Municipal Station Transformer Fusing
for the proper selection of the power fuse.
Combined Primary Transformer/Bus Protection
Stations with either a high side circuit breaker or circuit switcher are equipped with
differential protection. Designed to detect internal transformer faults or secondary bus
faults, the energy into the transformer is compared to the energy flowing out of the
secondary bus. If this energy is greater than a predetermined set point, the differential
relay is operated, which trips off the entire station. Currently this protection is
implemented on Barries 20 MVA, 13.8 kV stations and MS415/419.

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Transformer backup phase overcurrent protection at Barrie 13.8 kV stations with

differential relays coordinate with the transformer damage curve. Current inputs come
from 44 kV current transformers.
Transformer Backup Protection
The transformer backup protection is designed to provide overload protection for the
transformer. In the case of a high side circuit breaker or circuit switcher the transformer
protection and transformer backup protection are one in the same. The main difference
being the location of the protection CTs. The bus backup relay is also provided to clear
faults on feeders where they are not cleared by the feeder protections.
Backup Phase Time Overcurrent (51B-T)
The recommended pickup setting of the phase time overcurrent element is 1.2 times the
emergency transformer rating and 0.5 times the minimum three phase fault. The time
dial is set to coordinate with both the feeder phase time overcurrent element and the
transformer power fuse. The maximum available fault current is considered when
coordinating with the feeder protection. The maximum phase to phase available fault
current is considered when coordinating with the power fuse.
Note: The 51B-T protection is intended to protect the transformer from fault conditions. It
is not intended to protect the transformer from accidental overloading.

Transformer Rapid Pressure Relay

Power transformers equipped with a rapid pressure relay are designed to isolate the
transformer in the event of an internal fault. The thermal and mechanical stress resulting
from such a fault creates a rapid rise in pressure internal to the tank. This pressure is
detected by the relay, which in turn drives an output contact tripping the entire station. In
the case of MS331, which is equipped with a rapid pressure relay, there exists no
primary device to automatically isolate the transformer.

Breaker Failure
In the rare event that a breaker should fail to clear a detected fault, the breaker failure
relay will issue a command to a lockout relay, tripping off the entire station. However
some stations are not equipped with an upstream device to trip and rely on the primary
fuse. In this case the breaker failure feature is used strictly for annunciation purposes.

3.3 Bus Protection

Municipal Substations do not typically have dedicated bus protections. In some cases
there is no bus protection and in other cases the bus protection is combined with the
transformer protection (please section 3.3). This document will discuss bus protection in
a general sense and should not be considered to be a completed coverage of MS bus
protections.

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Bus Differential (87)

Where there is a dedicated bus protection, the bus differential protection will be the
primary bus protection. The bus protection will trip all breakers attached to the bus.
Backup Phase Time Overcurrent (51B-Bus)
The bus phase overcurrent pickup is set greater than 1.2 times the maximum emergency
loading of the station; and preferably equal to 0.5 times the minimum three-phase bus
fault.
The timing is normally set to trip in 1.2 seconds under a maximum three phase bus fault.
The time dial setting should provide, at a minimum, a 0.4 second co-ordination interval
between the bus and feeder protections.
Backup Ground Time Overcurrent (51NB-Bus)
The bus ground timed overcurrent element pick-up should be set above the combined
neutral unbalance permissible at the transformer neutral. The setting should also be less
than 0.5 times the minimum line-to-ground bus fault current.
The timing is normally set to trip in 1.2 seconds under a maximum three phase bus fault.
The time dial setting should provide, at a minimum, a 0.4 second co-ordination interval
between the bus and feeder protections.

3.4

44 kV Single Phasing Protection

Based on Schweitzer discussion paper AG97-11, PowerStream implemented the

detection of single phasing. Typically such a condition occurs when a single power fuse
operates or there is a loss of a 44 kV supply phase. The resulting condition causes
unbalanced voltages to be applied to the transformer bank and its connected load. This
is an undesirable power quality condition, particularly to three phase customers with
induction motors.
The recommendation to implement this protection was adopted April 12, 2006. In the
event a single phasing condition is detected the substation is disconnected from the
power system after 10 seconds. Currently the 86 relay is used to trip the feeder
breakers. The relay must be manually reset before the breakers can be remotely
closed. It is recommended that the tripping scheme be automated such that power can
be restored remotely.

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