585

Circuit Configuration Optimization

Joint Working Group

B3/C1/C2.14

June 2014
CIRCUIT
CONFIGURATION
OPTIMISATION
JWG B3/C1/C2.14

Members
Gerd Lingner (DE) - (Convenor), Antonio Sánchez Esteban (ES), Colm Twomey (IE),
Erik Mortensen (DK), Enrico Colombo (IT), Hans-Erik Olovsson (SE),
Hanna Abdalla (US), Kim Søgaard (DK), Laurie Curro (AU), Philp Koenig (ZA)
Copyright © 2014

“Ownership of a CIGRE publication, whether in paper form or on electronic support only infers right
of use for personal purposes. Unless explicitly agreed by CIGRE in writing, total or partial
reproduction of the publication and/or transfer to a third party is prohibited other than for personal
use by CIGRE Individual Members or for use within CIGRE Collective Member organisations.
Circulation on any intranet or other company network is forbidden for all persons. As an exception,
CIGRE Collective Members only are allowed to reproduce the publication.

Disclaimer notice

“CIGRE gives no warranty or assurance about the contents of this publication, nor does it accept
any responsibility, as to the accuracy or exhaustiveness of the information. All implied warranties
and conditions are excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law”.

ISBN : 978-2-85873-281-4
 JWG B3/C1/C2.14

Circuit Configuration Optimization

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .........................................................................................................5
1. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................7
2. SCOPE .........................................................................................................................9
3. MAIN PARTS OF CIRCUIT CONFIGURATIONS......................................................... 11
3.1 Main parts of circuit configuration .......................................................................................11
3.2 Switching devices .....................................................................................................................11
3.2.1 Circuit Breaker ....................................................................................................................12
3.2.2 Disconnector ........................................................................................................................12
3.2.3 Earthing switch ....................................................................................................................13
3.2.4 Switch-Disconnector............................................................................................................13
3.3 Non-switching devices .............................................................................................................13
3.3.1 Instrument Transformer ......................................................................................................13
3.3.2 Current transformer ...........................................................................................................13
3.3.3 Voltage transformer ..........................................................................................................13
3.3.4 Combined Transformer .....................................................................................................13
3.3.5 Surge arrester (Lightning arrester) .................................................................................14
3.3.6 Wave Trap (Line trap) ......................................................................................................14
3.4 Busbar ........................................................................................................................................14
3.4.1 Switchable busbar .............................................................................................................14
3.4.2 Disconnectable busbar ......................................................................................................15
3.4.3 Transfer busbar ..................................................................................................................15
3.5 Bay (of a substation) ...............................................................................................................15
3.6 Feeder bay ...............................................................................................................................15
3.7 Coupler bay..............................................................................................................................15
3.7.1 Bus coupler bay ..................................................................................................................15
3.7.2 Bus-section coupler bay ....................................................................................................15
3.7.3 Sectionaliser ........................................................................................................................16
4. APPROACH TO CIRCUIT CONFIGURATION ASSESSMENT ...................................... 17
4.1 Method for evaluation of the different circuit configurations .........................................17
4.6 Description of assessment criteria .........................................................................................17
4.2.1 Service security ...................................................................................................................17
4.2.2 Availability during maintenance .....................................................................................21
4.2.3 Operational flexibility of a substation .........................................................................22
4.3 Other implications for selecting circuit configurations ......................................................24
4.3.1 Technology implications ....................................................................................................24
4.3.2 Life Cycle Costs ..................................................................................................................25
5. CLASSICAL CIRCUIT CONFIGURATION ASSESSMENT ............................................. 27
5.1 Single busbar configuration (SB) ..........................................................................................27
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................28

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Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................28

Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................28
5.2 Sectionalisable (disconnectable) single busbar (SSB) ..............................................................28
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................29
Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................29
Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................29
5.2 H-configuration.........................................................................................................................30
5.2.1 H3-configuration (H3) ..............................................................................................................30
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................31
Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................31
Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................31
5.2.2 H4-configuration (H4) ..............................................................................................................32
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................32
Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................32
Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................32
5.2.3 H5-configuration (H5) ..............................................................................................................33
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................33
Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................33
Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................34
5.3 Double bus bar with coupler bay (DBC) .............................................................................34
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................35
Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................35
Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................35
5.4 Double busbar and transfer busbar (DBT) .........................................................................37
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................38
Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................38
Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................38
5.5 Triple busbar (TB) ....................................................................................................................38
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................39
Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................39
Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................40
5.6 Ring configuration (R) ..............................................................................................................40
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................41
Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................41
Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................41
5.7 One-and-a-half Circuit Breaker (OHCB) ............................................................................42
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................43
Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................43
Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................43
5.8 Two Circuit-Breaker configuration (2CB).............................................................................44
Service security: ....................................................................................................................................45
Availability during maintenance: .......................................................................................................45
Operational flexibility: ........................................................................................................................45
6. APPLICATION OF CIRCUIT CONFIGURATIONS ....................................................... 47
6.1 Substation configuration .........................................................................................................47
6.2 Substation connecting to a Power Station ...........................................................................47
Service security .....................................................................................................................................47

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Availability during maintenance.........................................................................................................48

Operational flexibility .........................................................................................................................48
6.2 Interconnection substation .......................................................................................................48
Service security .....................................................................................................................................48
Availability during maintenance.........................................................................................................48
Operational Flexibility ........................................................................................................................48
6.3 Step-up/down substations .....................................................................................................49
Service security .....................................................................................................................................50
Availability during maintenance.........................................................................................................50
Operational Flexibility ........................................................................................................................50
7. NEW ALTERNATIVE CONFIGURATIONS .................................................................. 51
7.1 Switchgear solutions ................................................................................................................51
7.2 Two circuit breaker configuration (2CB) using Disconnecting CB (DCB) ........................54
7.3 Renewal of sectionalised busbar using Disconnecting CB (DCB) ....................................56
7.4 Four section configuration (4SC) using Disconnecting CB (DCB) ......................................57
7.5 Extension of DB GIS substation by using OHCB GIS ........................................................ 59
7.6 Extension of 2 BB GIS substation by using 2CB GIS .........................................................60
7.7 Rebuild of U-shape DB system (3 physical busbars) to OHCB .......................................61
8. SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENTS.................................................................................. 64
8.1 Service security assessment ....................................................................................................64
8.2 Availability during maintenance assessment ......................................................................65
8.3 Operational flexibility assessment .......................................................................................66
8.4 Assessment of applications.....................................................................................................66
8.5 Explanation of tables ..............................................................................................................66
8.6 Assessment of selected alternative solutions.......................................................................68
8.7 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................69
ANNEX 1 APPLICATION GUIDELINES ........................................................................... 71
A1.1. Selecting a circuit configuration .........................................................................................71
A1.2. Case Study Example ............................................................................................................72
ANNEX 2 MAINTENANCE OF HIGH VOLTAGE EQUIPMENT ......................................... 76
A2.1. Background ............................................................................................................................76
A2.2. Investigations..........................................................................................................................76
A2.3. Maintenance on the whole bay ..........................................................................................76
A2.4. Live disconnection of equipment connected to a busbar ...............................................76
A2.5. Maintenance intervals ..........................................................................................................76
A2.6. Future possibilities with Hybrid switchgear ......................................................................77
A2.7. Maintenance issues related to AIS .....................................................................................77
A2.8. Maintenance issues related to GIS ....................................................................................78
Maintenance Reference about GIS in Red Eléctrica de España (REE) ...........................................78
Removal of a busbar DS .....................................................................................................................80
GIS modified with additional support insulators and gas barriers ...............................................81
HV Testing .............................................................................................................................................81
GIS with Maintenance Isolating Devices (MIDs) ..............................................................................81
HV test with MID ..................................................................................................................................82
A2.9. Utility 1 Maintenance procedures .....................................................................................82

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A2.10. Utility 2 Maintenance procedures...................................................................................83

A2.11. Utility 3 Maintenance procedures...................................................................................85
A2.12. Utility 4 Maintenance procedures...................................................................................85
A2.13. Utility 5 Maintenance procedures...................................................................................87
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................88
ANNEX 3 CONFIGURATION OVERVIEWS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................ 89
A3.1. Circuit configurations - overview .......................................................................................89
A3.2. Assessment criteria – overview...........................................................................................91
A3.3. Assessment results – overview ............................................................................................93
BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES ............................................................................................ 95

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this brochure is to develop criteria to provide high level guidance for evaluating and comparing
substation configurations and the impact that different applications may have on the characteristics of the
substation performance. The assessment is applied to both classical well known configurations plus some new and
proposed configurations based around modern switchgear design and current maintenance practice.

Substations, that were built 30 years or more ago, were designed with high voltage apparatus which is quite
different from today’s equipment. Circuit breakers (CB) required more frequent maintenance and the main function
of circuit configurations was to enable access to CBs by surrounding them with disconnectors. This is still the basis
of many substation designs today.

A joint working group from Study Committees B3, C1 and C2 was tasked to investigate the factors influencing the
decisions substation designers need to make when deciding on the choice of a substation configuration. The
objective of this Joint Working Group JWG B3/C1/C2-14 was to elaborate on criteria and technical guidance for the
selection and comparison of circuit configurations to support the choice of an optimized substation solution. The
work has also been developed to serve as material for a tutorial.

The brochure examines historical substation configurations and the influence of technological developments of
switchgear and grid networks and it’s impact on substation configurations. The role of primary plant and switchgear
is defined by reference to international definitions. The functionality of this plant on substation design and operation
is then assessed based on the assumption that all necessary control, protection and auxiliary systems are
operating correctly.

The brochure defines and describes some fundamental classical circuit configurations for substations. These are
used as the basis for further analysis and discussion in the brochure. New developments in switchgear and their
influence on substation configurations, with reference to specific examples used by some utilities are also
reviewed.

The role of life cycle cost on the selection of a substation configuration is also described qualitatively as an
important topic when planning a substation, but is not further considered in the quantitative assessment of the
circuit configurations.

A formalised and quantifiable process has been used to assist the designer in the selection of an appropriate
substation configuration to address their particular concerns. This is based around assessing three fundamental
factors which have an influence on the substation configuration:

• Service security analyses the substation configuration in terms of availability of supply to the network.

• Availability during maintenance analyses the ability of the substation configuration to maintain feeders
energized during maintenance of disconnectors and circuit breakers.

• Operational flexibility analyses the ability of the substation configuration to allow feeders to be rearranged
or the substation to be split into two or more parts.

Different substation applications are reviewed (generator, switching, step-up etc), and the three criteria are
allocated percentage relative weights for each of these substation applications. This assessment includes the
various classical configurations as well as new arrangements defined in the brochure. This process establishes
weighting factors and a scoring system to compare the above-mentioned criteria.

Finally, an objective rating matrix is developed considering all the aforementioned ratings and scores for the
various configurations used in different applications. This matrix can be used by the designer as an aid in an
objective decision process during the selection or optimization of a substation configuration.

The authors emphasise that this matrix is to be used only as a guideline and should not be applied dogmatically,
further more it does not specifically include costs.

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A process using this matrix to determine the optimal substation configuration has been developed and examples
are shown on a case study basis to demonstrate the application.

The brochure introduces some alternative substation configurations based on compact switchgear solutions and
combinations of different circuit configuration used in substation extensions. These combinations can improve the
service security of the whole configuration.

To find and select the optimal circuit configuration for a specific requirement, besides the information provided in
this brochure, additional topics need to be considered, such as:

• cost-benefit analysis

• influence of credible & permissible situations (e.g. loss of whole substation)

• determination of appropriate weighting factor for substation application

• application of different utilities’s performance standards

• operational issues and maintenance procedures

• control and protection philosophies.

It needs to be recognized that the maintenance and operation policy applied to equipment can have a significant
lifetime impact on substation design and must be considered from the beginning of the planning process. The
resulting network availability of the substations depends on this, however because of the huge variety of equipment
and manufacturers used in numerous substation configurations and different asset owners with different
maintenance philosophies, it was not feasible to consider these aspects in the evaluation given in this brochure.
Some samples of maintenance procedures used in different utilities are shown in the Appendix and information on
maintenance of high voltage equipment is provided in the body of the document.

As a result of increasing integration of functionality and compacting of switchgear, there is a trend towards
developing maintenance policy around the whole bay instead of individual equipment. The role and interpretation
around isolation requirements for maintenance activities in substations is moving away from the traditional concept
of using disconnectors on either side of the circuit breaker to allow maintenance. Instead focus is moving towards
having isolation methods for the whole bay and performing any necessary corrective work quickly by replacing the
unit and repairing the unit offline.

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1. INTRODUCTION
Whenever new substations are planned or existing substations are extended, refurbished or replaced, the Asset
Owner needs to decide whether to continue with existing classical circuit configurations and high voltage
equipment or to apply innovative and compact high voltage apparatus and possibly change the circuit configuration
philosophy of the substation.

Substations, that were built some 30 years or more ago, were designed when the characteristics and the design of
high voltage apparatus were quite different from today’s equipment. Circuit Breakers (CB) needed frequent
maintenance and the main function of circuit configurations was therefore to enable access to CBs by surrounding
them with disconnectors (DS). This is still the basis of most substations today.

Modern CBs have a recommended maintenance interval of 15 years or more, while for air insulated switchgear
(AIS) the DS can have a substantially shorter maintenance interval, especially for locations exposed to pollution,
e.g. industrial, salt, sand etc. The disconnecting function for maintenance purposes is still needed today but is more
related to maintenance of non-switchgear switching equipment, e.g. power transformers, feeder circuits etc. in the
substation. Disconnection may also be required for operational purposes, for example to limit short circuit currents
in substations in meshed networks with large power infeeds.

Circuit configurations of high voltage substations are strongly influenced by many factors such as operational
requirements, security standards, availability, maintainability, the need for sectionalising, control and protection
systems and regulations.

The development of switchgear with longer and longer maintenance intervals, based on a “sealed for life” design
concept, the maintainability emphasis changes the substation design purpose. At the same time today’s society is
getting more and more dependent on electric power supply for all its functions. This results in less tolerance
towards quality of supply issues and black-outs, which will require designers to put more emphasis on high security
(i.e. fault tolerance) and availability requirements for substations.

The basic purpose of a chosen circuit configuration is to facilitate the operational functions of a substation inside an
electrical network. In the past, maintainability and accessibility of high voltage equipment was very important due to
the requirements for frequent maintenance. Different types of circuit breaker design such as oil-filled breakers, air-
blast breakers and also the different types of operating mechanisms required regular maintenance with short
intervals. These requirements meant that various configurations and arrangements of substations were developed
to isolate the circuit breaker and current transformer in a complete bay for maintenance while ensuring availability
of supply on adjacent equipment. Disconnectors were required to deal with safety requirements and provide
physical isolation during long term maintenance activities.

The developments in the design of high voltage devices and new switchgear components using different design
principles with higher reliability or integrated functions, mean that the reliable and efficient circuit configurations of
the past may not be necessary and may result in onerous life-cycle-cost requirements for utilities.

From a product point of view, new high voltage switchgear components are being developed based either on air
insulated technology (AIS) or on gas insulated technology (GIS) or on a combination of both, the so-called Mixed
1
Technology Switchgear (MTS). CIGRE working group WG B3-20 has published comparative information to aid the
selection of the most effective equipment solutions for new or existing distribution or transmission substations.

In addition, life-cycle costs of high voltage substations were studied and reported in referenced papers. These
papers analyse costs for AIS, GIS and MTS solutions and provide information on cost models and forms as well as
a comparison between the technologies.

In recent years, environmental requirement aspects have become more relevant and important, and have to be
considered when planning high voltage substations. However minimising the impact on the environment of
materials and practices used in a substation needs to be balanced with the requirement for equipment to be able to
withstand severe environmental and climatic conditions.

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Nearly every utility has developed their own version of national Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) regulations.
These are driven by personnel safety and country-specific statutory regulations to ensure substations are
accessible and maintenance operations are safe.

The location where power will be generated is another factor influencing the configuration of a substation. Wind
power is expanding all around the world starting on land but moving more and more offshore for higher efficiency.
This trend will require special applications where the substations are located on offshore platforms. These
substations will need special solutions using minimum space with high security and availability and minimum
maintenance requirements. These special applications will not be elaborated on this paper, there is however
2
Technical Brochure 483 addresses the issues associated with offshore substations and provides design
guidelines.

Although there is a growing number of conference papers which describe examples of successful change of circuit
configurations, there are no guidelines to date on how to support this total decision process.

The objective of this joint working group JWG B3/C1/C2.14 was to elaborate technical guidelines and to provide
information for the selection and comparison of Circuit Configurations to support the selection of an optimised
solution with regard to the specific requirements with weighting factors for various locations and functional
requirements.

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2. SCOPE
The scope of this brochure is to develop criteria to provide high level guidance for evaluating and comparing circuit
configurations and the variation that different applications have on the characteristics of these configurations. The
assesment criteria can be applied to classical and known circuit configurations and their applications. It is also the
intention that this work provides a guide for new and proposed configurations.

In order to provide a common basis for understanding descriptions are included of the main parts of a circuit
configuration and terms and function of individual equipment and their combinations, which are used during the
function of the switchgear.

A summary of the common (classical) circuit configurations provides an understanding of the functions and
application of their use worldwide. There are variations in these common configurations to allow for local
requirements and the switchgear technology.

The selection of an appropriate circuit configuration and its possible extension for a particular substation is an
important initial step of the design of a substation. In developing criteria to aid in the selection of the most
appropriate configuration the following performance factors are analysed and evaluated:

• service security

• availability during maintenance

• operational flexibility.

The evaluation of criteria for the different circuit configurations will be summarised to give an overview for the
selection of the optimal circuit configuration for the required function, considering the properties of the high voltage
technologies.

The circuit configuration alone will not be sufficient to determine an adequate configuration for a substation. The
location of the substation in a network and its purpose will also need to be taken into account.

Substations are nodes or hubs for interconnections between regions, countries, etc. in the network and also
transform power between networks of different voltages and at infeed (generation) and load points of the network.

There are three different functions of transmission and distribution networks:

• Transmission of electric power from generating stations (or other networks) to load centers.

• Interconnection , which improves security of power supply and allows a reduction in generation costs, since
different regions, countries etc. can share common resources. One example is utilising different load
profiles reducing the peak power needed in each region.

• Grid supply function which consists of supplying the electric power to sub-transmission or distribution
transformers and in some cases to customers directly connected to the transmission network.

These functions can be realised through different circuit configurations and are categorized by the following
substation types:

• Step-up substations, which can be of two types:

o attached to traditional large power stations

o connecting distributed smaller renewable power sources

• Interconnection substations

• Step-down (EHV/HV, EHV/MV, HV/MV) substations for power feeding into lower voltage networks. The
increasing installation of renewable and embedded generation means these types of substation also can
start to experience power flow back into the transmission network in some instances.

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The network characteristics together with a particular substation type lead to the proposals for different circuit
configurations.

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3. MAIN PARTS OF CIRCUIT CONFIGURATIONS

Substations are a key and integral part of electrical power transmission networks. Depending on the function of the
substation there can be a great variety of different circuit configurations available. The single line diagram gives an
overview of each circuit configuration and is the basic document required to plan a high voltage substation.
3
A guiding definition from IEC 61936-1 is as follows:

“7.1.1 Circuit arrangement

7.1.1.1.

The circuit arrangement shall be chosen to meet operating requirements and to enable implementation of the
safety requirements in accordance with 8.3 (IEC). The continuity of service under fault and maintenance
conditions, taking into account the network configuration, shall also be considered. The circuits shall be
arranged so that switching operations can be carried out safely and quickly”.

Circuit configurations determine the functionality. Together with the HV equipment properties, failure and
maintenance rate and frequency, they determine reliability, availability, operational flexibility and security,
whichinfluence system control and costs.”

Substation (of a power system)

the part of a power system, concentrated in a given place, including mainly the terminations of transmission
or distribution lines switchgear and housing and which may also include transformers. It generally includes
facilities necessary for system security and control (e.g. the protective devices)

NOTE – According to the nature of the system within which the substation is included, a prefix may qualify it.

Examples: transmission substation (of a transmission system), distribution substation, 400 kV substation, 20
kV substation. [IEV 605-01-01]

3.1 Main parts of circuit configuration

For ease of comparison this section provides definitions for use within each configuration. The main parts of a
circuit configuration are:

• switching devices;

• non-switching devices

• busbar

• bay

• incoming and outgoing feeders.

Generally, these main parts are the same for Air-Insulated- (AIS), Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS) and Mixed
Technology Switchgear (MTS).

There are a number of manufacturers of high voltage equipment available on the market and also a large variety of
different techniques, materials and quality standards.
4
The following sections contain definitions taken from the IEV – International Electrotechnical Vocabulary .

3.2 Switching devices

A device designed to make or break the current in one or more electric circuits [IEV 441-14-01]

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Switching devices are high voltage equipment used within a substation and are necessary for the operation of the
substation within a network.

3.2.1 Circuit Breaker

A mechanical switching device, capable of making, carrying and breaking currents under normal circuit conditions
and also making, carrying for a specified time and breaking currents under specified abnormal circuit conditions
such as those of short-circuit. [IEV 441-14-20]

Circuit breakers are used to connect or disconnect bays from a busbar and/or to connect different busbars or
busbar sections. They are the most important element of high voltage equipment, because they are able to control
the energy flow in the network and to break fault currents, i.e. to disconnect a faulty part of the network. Because of
this important function the reliability of a circuit breaker needs to be high. There are two main designs of CBs, Live
Tank and Dead Tank. Live Tank CBs have the breaking chamber at network potential and are purely used for AIS
applications. Dead Tank CBs have an earthed metal enclosure around the breaking chamber and are used for both
AIS and GIS applications.

3.2.2 Disconnector
A mechanical switching device which provides, in the open position, an isolating distance suitable to meet specified
electrical withstand requirements.

It is capable of opening and closing a circuit when either negligible current is broken or made, or when no
significant change in the voltage across the terminals of each of the poles of the disconnector occurs. It is also
capable of carrying currents under normal circuit conditions and carrying for a specified time currents under
abnormal conditions such as those of short-circuit. [IEV 441-14-05]

Disconnectors are important to ensure adequate isolation safety conditions inside a substation, particularly during
work or maintenance.

For AIS they give a visible isolating gap and hence a galvanic disconnection. However, to ensure safety, it is
essential that the part to be worked on is earthed since dangerous voltages can be induced even if the part is
isolated. AIS disconnectors have relatively high maintenance requirements due to the mechanical operating
mechanisms and the exposed primary contact system, especially in areas with pollution.

For GIS confirmation of the isolation condition can be given by a visible isolating gap or a secure indication system.
Both are covered by IEC-standards. Actual solutions can vary between manufacturers. The maintenance interval
for GIS DS is usually equal to that of the CBs.

Disconnectors in multiple busbar substations need the capability to also switch commutating currents.
Commutating currents appear when load is switched from one busbar to the other due to the voltage drop over the
current path. The voltage values are different for AIS and GIS applications. For GIS substations the voltage
required is lower than for AIS substations, because of the shorter physical length of the busbar and equipment
connections (current path). However the AIS values have to be considered for substations with MTS since the
5
distances are in line with AIS substations. (AIS and GIS values acc. to IEC 62271-102 )

Additional commutating contacts can normally be supplied on AIS disconnectors in order to minimize the arcing
during this load change over between busbars.

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3.2.3 Earthing switch

A mechanical switching device for earthing parts of a circuit, capable of withstanding for a specified time currents
under abnormal conditions such as those of short circuit, but not required to carry current under normal conditions
of the circuit

NOTE – An earthing switch may have short-circuit making capacity. [IEV 441-14-11]

This requirement is valid for normal maintenance earthing switches, which are used to earth de-energised live parts
so that work may be performed safely. As GIS is enclosed and the primary conductor is not accessible, each
section must be provided with an earthing switch, which means that the number of earthing switches usually is
higher than in AIS. The earthing switch in the incoming and outgoing feeders in a GIS normally is designed to be
capable of closing onto, and withstanding for a specified time, the short-circuit current, a so called high-speed
earthing switch.

3.2.4 Switch-Disconnector
A mechanical switching device which provides, in the open position, an isolating distance in accordance with
specified requirements. [IEV 441-14-12]

It is also capable of making, carrying and breaking currents under normal circuit conditions. It is also capable of
carrying currents under normal circuit conditions and carrying for a specified time currents under abnormal
conditions such as those of short circuit.

3.3 Non-switching devices

Non-switching devices are used to support measurement, protection and communications within the operation of a
substation and in case of fault conditions.

3.3.1 Instrument Transformer

A transformer intended to transmit an information signal to measuring instruments, meters and protective or control
devices

NOTE – The term "instrument transformer" encompasses both current transformers and voltage transformers. [IEV
321-01-01] An essential property of an instrument transformer is that it isolates primary voltages from the
accessible parts of the secondary system.

3.3.2 Current transformer

An instrument transformer in which the secondary current, in normal conditions of use, is substantially proportional
to the primary current and differs in phase from it by an angle which is approximately zero for an appropriate
direction of the connections [IEV 321-02-01]

Current transformers are specified by their primary and secondary rated current and their accuracy class which is
selected according to their service requirement.

3.3.3 Voltage transformer

An instrument transformer in which the secondary voltage, in normal conditions of use, is substantially proportional
to the primary voltage and differs in phase from it by an angle which is approximately zero for an appropriate
direction of the connections [IEV 321-03-01]

Voltage transformers are either of the electromagnetic (VT) [IEV 321-03-07] or capacitor type (CVT [IEV 321-03-
14]). They are used primarily for metering or synchronising purposes and/or in three-phase sets for protection and
revenue metering.

3.3.4 Combined Transformer

An instrument transformer consisting of a current and a voltage transformer in the same case. [IEV 321-01-03]

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The main advantage of these transformers is that only one structure and foundation is required in the switchyard.
Care should be paid to the possible effect on the protection function of the position of installation of a combined
transformer unit in respect to the bay circuit-breaker.

3.3.5 Surge arrester (Lightning arrester)

A device designed to protect the electrical apparatus from high transient overvoltages and to limit the duration and
frequently the amplitude of the follow-on current [IEV 604-03-51]

The effectiveness of any surge protection device is dependent on the quality of the earthing system and the
geometrical arrangement of the device. In particular, the surge impedance, the length of the connection between
the protected object conductor and the earthing system and the earth resistance play an important role.

3.3.6 Wave Trap (Line trap)

A filter especially used to reject certain unwanted signals and so to reduce interference with wanted signals in a
radio receiver [IEV 713-10-37]

A wave trap is a device intended for series insertion into a high-voltage line. Consisting of a reactor in conjunction
with a coupling capacitor, it forms a parallel, resonant circuit. Its impedance must be negligible at the power
frequency so as not to disturb the power transmission, but must be relatively high over any frequency band
appropriate to carrier transmission. The signals transmitted at high frequency between substations via CVTs or
capacitor dividers, are confined by the wave traps into the appropriate circuit.

With the introduction of fibre optic transmission technology, usually via an optical fibre in the overhead line earth
wires or phase conductors, the use of wave traps is likely to decrease. However they could be used to enable a
duplicate communication path via power line carrier (PLC).

3.4 Busbar
Busbars (commonly called busbar) - In a substation, the busbar assembly necessary to make a common
connection for several circuits [IEV 605-02-02]

The busbar represents the central point in the substation. It collects and distributes the power through the incoming
and outgoing feeders. The circuit configuration and the number of busbars will be selected according to the
importance of a substation, that is, its required reliability and availability in the network. It is therefore essential to
clear any fault on a busbar as quickly as possible. The number of busbars with or without transfer bus is a factor for
the flexibility and security of the substation.

3.4.1 Switchable busbar

A busbar including a switch (or a circuit-breaker) in series, intended to connect or disconnect two sections of that
busbar [IEV 605-02-06]

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3.4.2 Disconnectable busbar

A busbar including disconnector(s) in series intended to connect or disconnect two sections of that busbar, off load
[IEV 605-02-07]

3.4.3 Transfer busbar

A back-up busbar to which any circuit can be connected independently of its bay equipment (circuit-breaker,
instrument transformer), the control of this circuit being ensured by another specific bay, available for any circuit
[IEV 605-02-05].

The transfer busbar is an additional busbar which is not used for the main power distribution in the substation.
Substations are designed with transfer busbars to allow CB maintenance to be carried out without any circuit
outages being required. Substations forming critical nodes in the HV network, or where the network is weakly
meshed, are usually designed with transfer busbars.

The bay whose circuit breaker requires maintenance is switched onto the transfer busbar complete with the
protection devices. The circuit breaker in the original bay position can now be switched out and maintained, while
the line or transformer bay is kept live and the customer experiences no interruption in supply.

The transfer busbar is normally connected to the other busbar(s) of the substation by means of a bus-coupler type
bay, see bus-coupler bay description below.

3.5 Bay (of a substation)

The part of a substation within which the switchgear and control-gear relating to a given circuit is contained

NOTE – According to the type of circuit, a substation may include: feeder bays, transformer bays, bus coupler
bays, etc. [IEV 605-02-09]

A bay includes nearly all of the different switching and non-switching devices required to fulfill the functionality of
the circuit configuration and to meet network requirements.

3.6 Feeder bay

In a substation, the bay relating to a feeder or a link to a transformer, a generator or another substation [IEV 605-
02-10]

The feeder bays are circuits connected to the busbar. Generally they are grouped into incoming and outgoing
feeders via transmission lines and cables as well as for connection of transformers, reactors or filters.

3.7 Coupler bay

Coupler bays are used for the interconnection of different busbars and busbar sections which is necessary for the
flexible operation of the substation in the network and to secure the reliability of power supply for consumers in
case of failures or maintenance.

There are different types of coupler bays:

3.7.1 Bus coupler bay

The coupler bay is a complete bay for interconnection of two busbars with a bus-coupler circuit breaker.

Bus coupler circuit-breaker

In a substation a circuit-breaker which is located between two busbars and which permits the busbars to be
coupled; it may be associated with selectors in case of more than two busbars [IEV 605-02-40]

3.7.2 Bus-section coupler bay

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The bus-section (bus-tie) coupler bay is a complete bay for interconnection of two sections of one busbar with a
switched busbar circuit breaker.

Switched busbar circuit-breaker

In a substation a circuit-breaker, connected in series within a busbar, between two busbar sections [IEV 605-02-41]

3.7.3 Sectionaliser
The sectionaliser is an interconnection between two busbar sections only with bus section disconnectors.

Busbar section disconnector

A disconnector which is connected in series between two busbar sections, in order to disconnect them from each
other [IEV 605-02-45]

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4. APPROACH TO CIRCUIT CONFIGURATION ASSESSMENT

The selection of the most appropriate substation configuration for the utility or asset owner can be assisted by
defining criteria based on areas of specific importance to utilities and other substation owners. These criteria
should be based on network performance and can therefore be used to compare substation configurations
regardless of which technology is being used. However, the choice of technology cannot be totally ignored, as it
could influence the configuration type, or even result in new types of configuration. The evaluation criteria defined
in this section enables the reader to assess various types of substations in an objective manner.

4.1 Method for evaluation of the different circuit configurations

The method described in this chapter uses a common evaluation criteria to compare various substation
configurations, thereby resulting in a comparison baseline. For examples of application of these various substation
configurations, refer to chapter 5 of this document.

The assessment criteria are as follows:

• Service security

• Availability during maintenance

• Operational flexibility.

There are other factors which may influence the decision to choose a configuration such as cost, but the method
described in this brochure is principally a technical evaluation tool and consideration of costs is outside the scope
of this report.

To provide objectivity and a degree of customisation for the user weighting factors, based on importance, are
allocated to each assessment criterion.These allow the user to assign the degree of significance to a particular
element if it is more critical than other features.

4.6 Description of assessment criteria

The criteria against which each of the various substation configurations are to be assessed are described and
defined in the paragraphs below. The definitions of the criteria are based on IEC definitions, where applicable. All
others are described for the purpose of the assessment.

4.2.1 Service security

IEC definitions:

Security
Ability of a substation configuration (primary and secondary) to operate in such a way that credible events do not
give rise to loss of load, stresses of system components beyond their ratings, bus voltages or system frequency
outside tolerances, instability, voltage collapse, or cascading [IEV 191-21-03]

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Service security
The capability of a power system at a given moment in time to perform its supply function in the case of a fault [IEV
606-05-03]

Load shedding

The process of deliberately disconnecting preselected loads from a power system in response to an abnormal
condition in order to maintain the integrity of the remainder of the system [IEV 603-04-32]

Some contingencies considered in the system security analysis of the network are based on N-1 criteria and N-2
criteria

• N-1: single failure in any system element (line, transformer, generator or reactor)

• N-2, simultaneous double failure in any system element (line, transformer, generator or reactor)

As a general rule, acceptable network conditions may be as follows:

• N-1: A system has to be able to support an 1 contingency without exceeding dynamic and static limits such
as:

o allowable thermal limit in lines due to permanent over currents

o allowable permanent over current in transformers in relation to the nominal power.

• N-2: A system has in addition to be able to support some specific simulataneous or sequential
contingencies such as the following:

o Simultaneous loss of some double lines

o Simultaneous or subsequent loss of the higher generation group in an area and an interconnection line
of this area with another area.

These definitions are related to the network and cannot be considered in a direct way in the configuration security
study. It has to be noted that the loss of one high voltage substation element can mean the loss of one (N-1) or
more elements (N-2, N-x) in the network.

This document focuses on the consequences to the network of the behaviour of the substation under contingency
situations. If the configuration is able to support a contingency with no effect on the system, the substation will
provide the highest level of service security for this situation.

Failure
The termination of the ability of an item to perform a required function [IEV 191-04-01]

Fault
The state of an item characterized by inability to perform a required function, excluding the inability during
preventive maintenance or other planned actions, or due to lack of external resources

Note 1 – A fault is often the result of a failure of the item itself, but may exist without prior failure [IEV 191-05-01]

Fault (in electric power system)

An unplanned occurrence or defect in an item which may result in one or more failures of the item itself or of other
associated equipment [IEV 604-02-01]

Line fault

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A fault occurring at a more or less well-localized point of an electrical line [IEV 604-02-17]

Busbar fault
A fault located on a substation bus-bar

NOTE – For protection purposes the limits of the line and the busbar are usually given by the location of the current
transformers. [IEV 604-02-18]

Failure to operate
The failure of a device to change its existing operational state when required to do so [IEV 604-02-07]

Circuit-breaker failure protection (EN), Breaker failure protection (US)

A protection which is designed to clear a system fault by initiating tripping of other circuit-breaker(s) in the case of
failure to trip of the appropriate circuit-breaker. [IEV 448-11-18]

Primary failure
A failure of an item, not caused either directly or indirectly by a failure or a fault of another item [IEV 191-04-15]

Internal fault
Power system fault within the protected section [IEV 448-13-03]

External fault
Power system fault outside of the protected section [IEV 448-13-04

Considering the circuit breaker as the dividing element, two main contingency groups will be evaluated based in the
location of the fault:

• External faults on the outside (object side) of the circuit breaker (e.g. transmission line, transformer, etc.)

• Internal faults on the inside (busbar side) of the circuit breaker.

Service security is the analysis of the substation’s configuration in terms of availability of supply to the network after
internal (busbar side of CB) and external faults (object side of CB), prior to any switching operations.
An internal or external primary fault leads to a trip signal to the appropriate circuit-breaker. This means that the
condition N-1 is considered. If there is a circuit breaker failure after a single primary fault, i.e the appropriate circuit
breaker fails to trip, breaker failure protection acts by opening all the circuit breakers around the breaker that failed
to open and an N-2 condition is considered.

Assumptions

To be able to compare different configurations using the same rules, some protection operation consequences
related to the number or location of current transformers such as the cases listed below won’t be considered

• One or two current transformers per bay

• The relative position of current transformer and circuit breaker

• The behaviour with a fault located between current transformer and circuit breaker (“blind spot”.

This means that for the purpose of analysing configuration, protection zones are considered perfect, i.e. for object
side faults trip signals will be given only to the circuit breaker(s) feeding the object.

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Accordingly for faults on the busbar side of the circuit breaker, trip signals will be given to the object breaker(s)
together with all other circuit breakers connected to this busbar.

Both object side and busbar side type primary faults will be studied with and without breaker failure when a trip
signal is sent to the appropriate circuit breaker(s).

The scores in the table are: 1 the worst outcome, i.e. the highest impact; 6 best outcome, i.e. the lowest impact.

Score Possible consequences to the network because Possible consequences to the network because
of a primary fault of a primary fault when breaker fails to open
1 Possible loss of the whole substation Loss of the whole substation

2 Loss of one or more feeders but not the whole Loss of more than one feeder or the whole
substation substation

3 Loss of one or more feeders but not the whole Loss of more than one feeder but not the whole
substation substation

4 Loss of one feeder Loss of one feeder and always one feeder more
but not the whole substation

5 Loss of none or one feeder Loss of one feeder and possibly one feeder
more but not the whole substation

6 Loss of none or one feeder Loss of one feeder

Table 4.1: Evaluation criteria with matching score for service security

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4.2.2 Availability during maintenance

IEC definitions:

Availability
The ability of an item to be in a state to perform a required function under given conditions at a given instant of time
or over a given time interval, assuming that the required external resources are provided. [IEV 191-02-05]

The state of an item of being able to perform its required function [IEV 603-05-04]

Maintainability
The ability of an item under given conditions of use, to be retained in, or restored to, a state in which it can perform
a required function, when maintenance is performed under given conditions and using stated procedures and
resources [IEV 191-02-07]

Dependability
The collective term used to describe the availability performance and its influencing factors : reliability performance,
maintainability performance and maintenance support performance [IEV 191-02-03]

Maintainability is defined as a calculation of the statistics of disconnection of a feeder connected to a substation

when high voltage components must be maintained. This is normally used to calculate the unavailability of feeders
based on failure.

The availability depends on the reliability of the individual equipment. It will be calculated (using probabilistic
calculation) as the outage time required in hours per 1000 years.

Because of the variety of circuit breaker and disconnector types and the variety of availability and maintenance
data the study will consider the availability during maintenance. This will define the consequences for the network
due to maintenance of disconnectors and circuit breakers in the substation. The result of this calculation will vary,
based on the substation’s configuration and weighting factors applied.

Availability during maintenance is a function of the substation configuration’s and ability to maintain feeders
energized while maintaining disconnectors and circuit breakers.
Assumptions

No switching risks and no primary faults during maintenance operations have been considered. It should be noted
however, during construction or maintenance is a time when the likelihood of substation faults may increase. The
switching can be done using the CB or DS depending on the particular configuration.

Maintenance on circuit DS (object side of CB) always leads to outage of the circuit. This is common for all circuit
configurations and is therefore not mentioned in the table below. This element will impact on the ability to provide
supply security for switching time.

The scores are listed in the table below, and have the following values:

• 1 - the worst consequences in the network: outage of whole substation

• 7 - the least consequence in the network: no network element is disconnected and the network topology is
not weakened

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Score Maintenance of Consequence

1 Any busbar disconnector Outage of whole substation

2 Sectionaliser Disconnector Outage of whole substation

3 Any busbar or sectionaliser disconnector Outage of half the substation

4 Any busbar disconnector Outage of one busbar, remaining objects in

service on the same busbar

5 Any busbar disconnector Outage of one busbar, remaining objects in

double busbar configuration

6 Any busbar disconnector Remaining circuits in service

Open ring

Split up of the substation

Circuit breaker Split-up of the substation and all circuits in service

7 Any busbar disconnector Outage of one busbar, all objects in service on the
same busbar

Circuit breaker all circuits remain in service

Table 4.2: Evaluation criteria with matching score for availability during maintenance of CBs
and DSs

4.2.3 Operational flexibility of a substation

IEC definitions:

There is no IEC definition for this terminology.

The proposed definition of operational flexibility from a planning and operation point of view is as follows:

• The ability to split the substation, for the following reasons:

o To limit the consequences in case of a primary fault in the substation such as not losing both circuits
feeding a supply point, e.g. two power transformers or a double overhead line, etc. can be connected
to different busbars so that for a busbar fault or a feeder fault with following breaker failure only one of
the feeders is lost. In these cases the two parts of the substation are usually electrically connected
together in normal service, e.g. by a closed bus-coupler or bus-section CB, which will give the highest
availability and best use of the busbar;

o To limit the short circuit current. In that case bus coupler CB or bus section CB will kept in the open
position;

o To prevent load current from exceeding the rated values of the busbars; and

o The ability to arrange the incoming and outgoing feeders to match system conditions.

Note: The ability to arrange incoming and outgoing feeders can be done at two stages:

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o During the design phase: the feeders are physically connected to the substation with an initial plan to
match system conditions; and

o During the operation phase: the arrangement can be changed to match changing system conditions.

Operational flexibility is the analysis of the substation ability to reconfigure the feeders and split up the substation.
Some configurations allow the substation to be split up into more than two parts. However, for the purpose of this
report we consider flexibility by focusing only on the ability to split the substation in two separate electrical parts.
This will help to manage and balance power flows to meet network security, stability and efficiency targets.

The scores are defined as follows:

• 1 – it is not possible to split the substation into two separate electrical parts

• 6 –it is possible to split the substation into two separate electrical parts and there is a high level of flexibility
about how to do it.

Scores Definition

1 Not possible to split

2 Non-energized split (DS only), no flexibility

3 Energized split (with CB), No flexibility

4 Energized split (with CB), Low flexibility

5 Energized split (with CB), High flexibility, switching with DS

Energized split (with CB),

6 High flexibility, switching with CB’s

Highest flexibility, switching with DS

Table 4.3: Evaluation criteria with matching score for flexibility

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4.3 Other implications for selecting circuit configurations

In addition to the three main assessment criteria for circuit configurations described in the previous paragraph,
there are some technical and economical implications which also have to be considered. These do not form a part
of the discussions in this document since they are project and utility specific.

4.3.1 Technology implications

The technology choice is often made at the start of the planning cycle and can be influenced by:

• extension of an existing substation

• familiarity and good experience with particular equipment

• long term procurement contracts

• environmental protection issues such as gas and oil leakage, material recycling, physical aesthetic etc.

• use of a particular technology due to environmental reasons e.g. proximity to salt water, lightning-prone
area or space limitations, etc.

If the choice of technology is driven by one of the above reasons, prior to deciding on the substation configuration,
then the following issues may play an important part in deciding the configuration. Alternatively, a higher weighting
could be allocated to these issues for a particular site or installation.

• maintainability, maintenance frequency and duration

• repair time, outage time

• access

• cost (capital)

• AIS – independence between HV devices since the insulation is ambient atmosphere

• GIS – dependencies may exist between HV devices depending on the arrangement of the gas
compartments (for details please see Appendix A2.8)

• MTS – sometimes more than one HV device in the same gas compartment, which leads to reduced
functionality for maintenance and repair activities.

If however, the configuration is selected before the technology is chosen, then other factors may play a larger part
in the technology selection. These may include but are not limited to:

• flexibility/extendibility

• arrangement of feeders (possibility to split up)

• number of busbar and/or busbar sections

• physical locationf busbars

(e.g. avoid risk of having one fault in the substation affecting both busbars (2 CB configuration))

• testing

• civil works

• engineering complexity

• aesthetics/Visual Impact

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• construction complexity

• safety

• •physical security
(e.g. reduce number of switching operations of CBs (shunt reactor switching in 2 CB configuration)

• Life cycle cost

4.3.2 Life Cycle Costs

The great diversity of high-voltage switchgear technologies leads to many approaches for the evaluation of the
benefits available to the customer. In the past the initial investment costs were mostly considered as the key
evaluation criteria for comparing different solutions, nowadays the focus is increasingly on minimising the life cycle
costs (LCC) and managing risk.

This means, that besides all the technical discussions of the function of a substation, the cost aspects have also to
be taken into consideration. LCC is too subjective to be considered in a generic sense and because of the
complexity and differences between utilities and countries, an assessment of LCCs is not considered in detail in
this brochure. LCC can only be achieved by a detailed knowledge of the specific parameters that influence the
LCC. Sensitivity analyses can then be used to indicate which cost element and which configuration has the best
outcome. Issues around project delivery also need to be considered.

In addition to the existing solutions for high voltage substations (GIS and AIS), mixed technology switchgear
concepts (MTS) have appeared on the scene. The main drivers for these developments exist due to a stronger
focus on asset management in the liberalized market. Criteria for evaluation and optimization of the assets are
needed in choosing the optimum solution for the individual substation.

The generic requirements for a LCC evaluation are summarized in figure.4-1 A suitable cost structure, a calculation
method and qualified data sources have to be agreed in order to build up the life cycle cost model for high-voltage
6
substations. For further details please refer to the relevant standard IEC 60300 .

Figure 4.4: Cost breakdown structure (CBS)

The different concepts of high-voltage switchgear necessitate efficient evaluation and selection methods. Life cycle
cost considerations serve to optimise the configuration and the operating strategy of high-voltage substations. The
basis is a suitable cost breakdown structure and a reliable dataset of values for investment and maintenance costs.

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A sustainable basis for maintenance data can be derived from the Cigré data collections. Generic life cycle cost
calculations help to identify the relevant cost elements and assist in their optimisation.

Concrete measures for optimisation of a high voltage substation can only be achieved by calculations using
individual parameters. Individual calculations assist in optimising for example the layout of the substation, the
technology used, the redundancy concept, the maintenance strategy, the monitoring concept or the renewal
planning.

Life cycle cost considerations are a useful method to support efficient asset management. The life cycle cost
analyses assist in theinvestigation of the cost structure of high voltage substations in order to achieve lowest life
7
cycle costs consisting of lowest investment costs and lowest operating costs .

The life cycle costs including factors such as maintenance and outages can be assessed for different circuit
configurations in a similar way as the technical aspects described in section 4.2 of this document.

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5. CLASSICAL CIRCUIT CONFIGURATION ASSESSMENT

This chapter uses the assessment criteria defined in chapter 4, and applies these to various substation
configurations. As a great variety of substation circuit configurations exist, only the basic configurations which can
also be considered the basis for any other configurations have been selected for study. Thus, any conclusions that
may be drawn from these will also apply for other configurations which are variations of these.

General notes for comparative purposes:

• A basic substation containing 4 lines and 2 power transformers has been selected for this evaluation, from
which general conclusions are derived for a variety of configurations.

• Some customers do not use the disconnectors marked with ”*”.

5.1 Single busbar configuration (SB)

IEC definition:

A substation in which the lines and transformers are connected to one busbar only [IEV 605-01-16]

This configuration is the simplest, cheapest and easiest to operate. However it also has the least flexibility and
lowest level of security.

It has little security against busbar faults in that a fault on the busbar, a busbar disconnector or any circuit breaker
results in the loss of the complete substation.

There are a number of possible variations of the basic configuration which provide some increase in flexibility and
security, some of which are described in the following sub-sections of 5.1. Alternatively a single busbar with
transfer busbar or single busbar installations connected as a ring of substations offer improved flexibility but limit
the service security.

Single busbar arrangements are more commonly used for HV/MV substations.

AT1 L2 AT3 L4

B1

L1 L3

Figure 5.1: Single bus bar configuration

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Service security:
• This configuration is based in a common point for all the feeders that is the busbar; that means that a
primary fault in the busbar will cause the loss of the whole substation.

• Each circuit is connected to the busbar with only one circuit breaker; that means that a primary fault on any
of the outgoing feeders when the circuit breaker fails to open will cause the loss of the whole substation.

Availability during maintenance:

• The characteristic of this configuration based on only one busbar, means that any busbar disconnector
maintenance requires an outage of the whole substation. This situation is signficant as all feeders have
only one busbar disconnector. A likely consequence is that busbar disconnectors will not be maintained
due to operational restrictions associated with arranging busbar outages.

Operational flexibility:
• This configuration doesn’t offer any flexibility from the operational point of view. There is no possibility of
splitting up the substation and there are no possibilities to reduce short-circuit levels.

The evaluation criteria with the associated scores for this configuration are given below:

Criteria Score

Service security 1

Availability during maintenance 1

Operational flexibility 1

Table 5.1: Evaluation criteria for single busbar configuration

5.2 Sectionalisable (disconnectable) single busbar (SSB)

IEC definition:

A busbar including disconnector(s) in series intended to connect or disconnect two sections of that busbar, off load
[IEV 605-02-07]

The concept of a disconnectable busbar (sectionalisable busbar) can be applied to all busbar configurations. The
installation of a disconnector in the busbar or busbars of a substation provides benefits for the availability and
flexibility of the configuration.

As this is a general possibility for all busbar configurations, this study will be developed as an example only for the
single busbar configuration (SSB).

This configuration has the same basic characteristics of the single bus bar with the added advantages provided by
the disconnector in certain operational situations.

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AT1 L2 AT3 L4

B1A B1B

L1 L3

Figure 5.1: Disconnectable single busbar configuration

Service security:
• The normal operation of this configuration has to be considered with all elements closed. In this mode the
configuration has the same level of service security as the single busbar configuration.

Availability during maintenance:

• The presence of the sectionaliser disconnector means that it is possible (by means of switching) to allow
maintenance of a line or transformer bay busbar disconnector with only a half-substation outage rather
than the full substation outage required for a single busbar configuration without such a disconnector.

• However maintenance of the sectionaliser disconnector itself still requires a full substation outage (unless a
second sectionaliser disconnector is added in series with the first one).

Operational flexibility:
• It is possible to split the substation by opening the sectionaliser disconnector.

• There is no flexibility in the choice of the feeders that will be connected to each section of the busbar.

• An outage of all the circuits on one side of the sectionaliser disconnector is needed to allow operation of
the sectionaliser disconnector.

• The substation designer does need to consider from the beginning which circuits are to be connected to
each of the busbar sections.

The evaluation criteria with the associated scores for this configuration are given below:

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Criteria Score

Service security 1

Availability during maintenance 2

Operational flexibility 2

Table 5.2: Evaluation criteria for disconnectable single busbar configuration

5.2 H-configuration
The following H-configurations (H3, H4, H5) are single busbar arrangements with specific arrangements (H-shape)
which are normally used to connect a user to an existing transmission line where the line will be looped through via
the busbar and the transformers step down e.g. a connection to a new factory or alternatively to provide a method
to connect generation e.g. a windfarm into a transmission line.

All three have a disconnectable busbar with H4 using a disconnector only while H3 and H5 use a circuit breaker.

The H configuration has 4 feeders only: usually 2 lines and 2 power transformers. It is designed with no provision
for future extension.

5.2.1 H3-configuration (H3)

H3 is a specific single busbar configuration with a disconnectable busbar and 2 feeders with circuit breaker and 2
feeders without circuit breakers. It depends on the customer philosophy whether the feeder circuit breakers are in
the line feeders or in the transformer feeders. If the line feeders are overhead lines, it can be expected to have
more frequent primary faults compared to the transformer circuits, therefore it might be advantageous to locate the
circuit breakers on the line feeders. For line faults only one circuit breaker will need to be tripped and auto-
reclosed, while the transformers remain in service fed through the remaining feeder.

The saving in circuit breakers comes at the expense of more complicated feeder protection which now must be
arranged to trip two circuit breakers to clear a fault on a feeder which doesn’t have its own circuit breaker. This will
also lead to the disadvantage of losing one additional object for primary faults on the feeder without its own circuit
breaker.

The sectionaliser circuit breaker allows the possibility of keeping half of the station in service following a fault on the
busbar, a busbar disconnector or any feeder circuit breaker. It also provides an easy method of obtaining a half
station outage for maintenance of busbar disconnectors.

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OPTION A OPTION B

L3 L4 L3 L4

AT1 AT2 AT1 AT2

Figure 5.2: H3 configuration (CB in transf.) Figure 5.3: H3 configuration (CB in OHL)

Service security:
• This configuration is based on the use of three circuit breakers for four feeders. This means that two
feeders are connected to the substation with circuit breakers and the two other feeders are connected
without their own circuit breaker. The third circuit breaker acts as a sectionaliser breaker. This means that
the bays without circuit breaker need to trip two circuit breakers in the case of a primary fault. With this
solution a fault on the feeder without its own circuit breaker will cause the loss of one additional feeder.

• As there is no common point for the feeders there is no possibility of losing the whole substation because
of a primary fault on any of the feeders.

• However a fault on the sectionaliser circuit breaker or a failure of this circuit breaker to open will result in
the loss of the whole substation.

Availability during maintenance:

• Maintenance of any busbar disconnector or of any sectionaliser disconnector will require a half-substation
outage.

• The maintenance of the sectionaliser circuit breaker will require the substation to be split into two
independent sections.

Operational flexibility:
• It is possible to split the substation by opening the sectionaliser circuit breaker, an operation that can be
done with the whole substation energized.

• There is no flexibility in the choice of the feeders that will be connected to each section of the busbar.

• The substation designer does need to consider from the beginning which circuits are to be connected to
each of the busbar sections.

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The evaluation criteria with the associated scores for this configuration is given below:

Criteria Score

Service security 2

Availability during maintenance 3

Operational flexibility 3

Table 5.3: Evaluation criteria for H3 configuration

5.2.2 H4-configuration (H4)

H4 is a specific single busbar configuration with a disconnectable busbar and all of the incoming/outgoing feeders
equipped with circuit breakers. It is further developed from the H3 configuration and is a smaller version of the
single busbar.

The H configuration has 4 feeders only: usually 2 lines and 2 power transformers. It is designed with no provision
for future extension.

L3 L4

AT1 AT2

Figure 5.4: H4 configuration

Service security:
• The normal operation of this configuration has to be considered with all elements closed. In this mode the
configuration has the same level of service security as the single busbar configuration

Availability during maintenance:

• The maintenance of the central busbar disconnector is the only situation that leads to the outage of the
whole substation, unless a second sectionaliser disconnector is added in series with the first one.

• Any maintenance of any feeder disconnector will require only a half-substation outage.

Operational flexibility:
• It is possible to split the substation by opening of the sectionaliser disconnector.

• There is no flexibility in the choice of the feeders that will be connected to each section of the busbar.

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• An outage of all of the circuits on one side of the sectionaliser disconnector is needed to allow operation of
the sectionaliser disconnector.

• The substation designer does need to consider from the beginning which circuits are to be connected to
each of the busbar sections.

The evaluation criteria with the associated scores for this configuration are given below:

Criteria Score

Service security 2

Availability during maintenance 3

Operational flexibility 3

Table 5.4: Evaluation criteria for H4 configuration

5.2.3 H5-configuration (H5)

H5 is a specific single busbar configuration with a sectionaliser circuit breaker and all feeders equipped with a
circuit breaker.

The H configuration has 4 feeders only: usually 2 lines and 2 power transformers. It is designed with no provision
for future extension.

L3 L4

AT1 AT2

Figure 5.5: H5 configuration

Service security:
• This configuration is based on five circuit breakers for four feeders. That means all feeders are connected
to the substation with one circuit breaker and there is a central circuit breaker in the sectionaliser. With this
solution the only primary fault which could cause the loss of the whole substation is a fault on the
sectionaliser circuit breaker itself.

• A failure of the sectionaliser circuit breaker to open in response to a primary fault will also mean the loss of
the whole substation.

Availability during maintenance:

• Maintenance of any busbar disconnector or of any sectionaliser disconnector will require a half-substation
outage.

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• The maintenance of the sectionaliser circuit breaker will require the substation to be split into two
independent sections.

Operational flexibility:
• It is possible to split the substation through the opening of the sectionaliser circuit breaker, an operation
that can be done with the whole substation energised.

• There is no flexibility in the choice of the feeders that will be connected to each section of the busbar.

• The substation designer does need to consider from the beginning which circuits are to be connected to
each of the busbar sections.

The evaluation criteria with the associated Scores for this configuration are given below:

Criteria Score

Service security 2

Availability during maintenance 3

Operational flexibility 3

Table 5.5: Evaluation criteria for H5 configuration

5.3 Double bus bar with coupler bay (DBC)

IEC definition:

Double busbar substation

A substation in which the lines and transformers are connected via two busbars by means of selectors [IEV 605-01-
17]

The above mentioned IEC definition can be paraphrased to:

Double busbar with coupler bay

A substation in which the lines and transformers are connected to either of two busbars by means of selector
disconnectors.

The double busbar arrangement is recommended for large substations where security of supply is important.
These are particularly suitable for highly interconnected power networks in which switching flexibility is important
and multiple supply routes are available. They are also used for splitting networks, which are only connected in
emergency cases.

The coupler circuit breaker allows the possibility of keeping half of the station in service following a fault on the
busbar, a busbar disconnector or any feeder circuit breaker.

The configuration provides flexibility by allowing each circuit to be connected to either of the two busbars. It is also
possible to move circuits from one busbar to the other while they are energised.

Additional flexibility can be provided by adding sectionaliser disconnectors into each busbar.

Maintenance of all equipment in a circuit requires only a single circuit outage and an outage of one busbar at a
time: it is possible to keep all other circuits in service by connecting them to the other busbar and by changing them
from one busbar to the other as required to allow busbar disconnector maintenance. The security provided by the
double busbar configuration is however lost while the substation is in this situation.

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The double busbar configuration also allows additional circuits to be added to the station without any need for
outages on the existing circuits.

AT1 L2 AT3 L4

B1
B2

L1 L3

Figure 5.6: Double busbar with coupler bay configuration

Service security:
• This configuration is based on two busbars which are connected together by a coupler bay i.e. a primary
fault (with the exception of a fault on the coupler circuit breaker will not cause the loss of the whole
substation.

• A primary fault in one busbar where the coupler circuit breaker fails to open will cause the loss of the whole
substation.

Availability during maintenance:

• Maintenance of any busbar disconnector will require the outage of the feeder and of the relevant busbar.
However the double busbar configuration allows all other feeders to remain in service connected to the
other busbar.

• The maintenance of coupler circuit breaker will cause the two busbars to be separated i.e. for this period
the substation will have to operate as one or two single busbar substations.

Operational flexibility:
• The ability to split the substation into two single busbars with the opening of the coupler circuit breaker
provides very good flexibility. The addition of sectionaliser disconnectors provides even more possibilities
for circuit rearrangement.

• The two busbar disconnectors on each circuit make it possible to decide at any time to which busbar the
circuit is to be connected.

• Even with this level of flexibility the substation designer may still need to consider from the beginning where
circuits are connected to the busbar, particularly when sectionaliser disconnectors are used.

• Splitting the substation into two single busbars or moving circuits from one busbar to another can all be
carried out with the substation fully energised.

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The evaluation criteria with the associated scores for this configuration are given below:

Criteria Score

Service security 2

Availability during maintenance 4

Operational flexibility 5

Table 5.6: Evaluation criteria for double busbar configuration

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5.4 Double busbar and transfer busbar (DBT)

IEC definition:

A back-up busbar to which any circuit can be connected independently of its bay equipment (circuit-breaker,
instrument transformer), the control of this circuit being ensured by another specific bay, available for any circuit.

Note – This transfer busbar is generally not counted as one of the busbars within a "double" or "triple" busbar
substation configuration. [IEV 605-02-05)

This arrangement has the same characteristics and functionality of the double busbar configuration but it is
recommended for use when there is a requirement to keep circuits in service during maintenance or repair of the
circuit breaker or the busbar disconnectors. A circuit outage is however still required for maintenance of the line
and transfer (by-pass) disconnectors.

Connection of a circuit to the transfer busbar requires that its protection be transferred to the bus coupler circuit
breaker i.e. any fault on the circuit will result in the bus coupler circuit breaker being tripped.

Provision of this transfer facility adds complexity to the design of the circuit protection and also to the design of the
bus zone and circuit breaker failure protection systems.

Similar to the double busbar configuration this configuration also allows additional circuits to be added to the station
without any need for outages on the existing circuits.

AT1 L2 AT3 L4

BT
B1
B2

L1 L3

Figure 5.7: Double busbar with bus coupler bay and transfer busbar

The next figure shows how it is possible to keep feeder L4 in service without its circuit breaker section by using a
bus coupler circuit breaker and the transfer busbar (BT). Only elements in service have been represented.

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AT1 L2 AT3 L4

BT
B1
B2

L1 L3

Figure 5.8: Double busbar with coupler bay and transfer busbar: feeder L4 transferred to BT
(example)

Service security:
• The normal operation of this configuration has to be considered with both main busbars connected together
through the coupler and each circuit connected to one of the busbars. In this mode the configuration has
the same level of service security as the double busbar configuration.

Availability during maintenance:

• Availability of circuits during maintenance is increased, compared to the double busbar configuration, as a
circuit outage is only required for maintenance of the line and transfer disconnector but also for instrument
transformer maintenance.

• The rest of the characteristics are the same as double busbar.

Operational flexibility:
• The evaluation from the point of view of flexibility is the same as double busbar.

• The evaluation criteria with the associated scores for this configuration are given below:

Criteria Score

Service security 2

Availability during maintenance 6

Operational flexibility 5

Table 5.7: Evaluation criteria for double busbar with transfer configuration

5.5 Triple busbar (TB)

IEC definition:

A substation in which the lines and transformers are connected via three busbars by means of selectors [IEV 605-
01-18]

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The above IEC definition can be paraphrased as follows:

“A substation in which the lines and transformers are connected to any of three busbars by means of selector
disconnectors”.

This configuration has the same general characteristics and functionality of the double busbar configuration but
provides additional flexibility for connections to separate networks or additional sectionalising possibilities
depending on the design of the coupler(s) or sectionaliser(s).

Circuit availability during maintenance is the same as that provided by a double busbar.

Similar to the double busbar configuration this configuration also allows additional circuits to be added to the
substation without any need for outages on the existing circuits.

The following diagram shows one of the possible coupler designs.

AT1 L2 AT3 L4

B1
B2
B3

L1 L3

Figure 5.9: Triple busbar configuration

Service security:
• This configuration is based on three busbars which are connected together by one or more coupler bays
i.e. a primary fault, even a fault on a coupler circuit breaker will not cause the loss of the whole substation,
Two busbars will be lost for this case but one busbar will stay in service.

• A primary fault in one busbar when a coupler circuit breaker fails to open will cause the loss of all feeders
connected to the two busbars joined by that coupler but again will not cause the loss of the whole
substation.

• A full double busbar configuration is still available during circuit maintenance so a primary fault at this time
(with the exception of a fault on the remaining coupler circuit breaker) will still not cause the loss of the
whole substation.

Availability during maintenance:

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• Maintenance of any busbar disconnector will require the outage of the feeder and of the relevant busbar.
However the triple busbar configuration allows all other feeders to remain in service connected to the other
two busbars.

• Maintenance of one coupler circuit breaker can be done with all feeders remaining connected to the other
two busbars configured as a double busbar with coupler bay.

Operational flexibility:
• There is excellent flexibility due to the ability to split the substation into three single busbars or different
options of double busbar with coupler bay.

• The three busbar disconnectors on each circuit makes it is possible to decide at any time which busbar the
circuit is to be connected.

• Even with this level of flexibility the substation designer may still need to consider from the beginning where
circuits are connected to the busbar, particularly when sectionaliser disconnectors are used.

• Splitting the substation into single busbars or moving circuits from one busbar to another can all be carried
out with the substation fully energised.

The evaluation criteria with the associated scores for this configuration are given below:

Criteria Score

Service security 3

Availability during maintenance 5

Operational flexibility 6

Table 5.8: Evaluation criteria for triple busbar configuration

5.6 Ring configuration (R)

IEC definition:

A single busbar substation in which the busbar is formed as a closed loop with only disconnectors in series within
the loop [IEV 605-01-19]

A ring feeder is an arrangement of electric lines forming a complete ring and supplied only from a single source
[IEV 601-02-13)

This configuration requires, beside the disconnectors, the same number of CBs as feeders but allows all circuits to
remain in service while a circuit breaker is maintained.

A ring busbar is often used as the first development of an intended ultimate development as a one and a half
breaker configuration.

It should be noted that to cover all contingencies of switching, the circuit breakers and associated equipment
should be capable of handling the combined load current of the different circuits depending on the connections and
an allowance for current flow along the busbar.

Circuit control and protection design is more complex as each circuit protection must operate on two circuit
breakers and each circuit breaker is controlled by two circuit protection systems.

However design of the bus zone and circuit breaker failure protection systems is simpler than the multiple busbar
configurations with disconnectors (selectors) as the systems do not need to select which circuit breakers to trip in

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response to a busbar fault or a circuit breaker fail situation. In many cases the busbar parts connecting the circuits
are protected by the circuit protection and then separate busbar protections are not necessary.

The ring must be operated in open mode during the installation of an additional circuit. This work will also require
some outages of the two circuits adjoining the position of the new circuit. However, more than 6 circuit breakers in
a ring are not recommended due to operational difficulty. Therefore conversion of the ring to a one and a half
breaker configuration should be considered when extension is required. For a ring busbar it is especially important
to make the initial layout of the substation suitable for future extensions.

AT1 L1

L2 AT2

Figure 5.10: Ring configuration

Service security:
• All feeders are connected to the substation through two circuit breakers and any circuit breaker is shared
between two feeders. In the event of a fault on a circuit both of the adjacent circuit breakers associated
with that circuit open, thus converting the remainder of the ring into a form of a single busbar. Once the
circuit is isolated the ring can be restored by closing the two circuit breakers. However before restoring the
ring it must be checked that the fault is not on the busbar side of the disconnector if the circuit protection is
covering that part, which is the most common solution.

• A primary fault will not cause the loss of the whole substation but only the loss of the faulted feeder.

• A primary fault when one circuit breaker fails to open will cause always the loss of a second circuit, but not
the whole substation. However the ring cannot be restored until the circuit breaker is repaired.

Availability during maintenance:

• Because there are two circuit breakers per feeder, it is possible to maintain any circuit breaker without the
outage of the feeder.

• Maintenance of a ring disconnector will require an outage of the corresponding circuit.

• The maintenance of any element in the substation will require the opening of the ring, with a consequent
reduction of security.

Operational flexibility:
• It is possible to split the substation into two single busbars in a limited number of ways depending on which
two circuit breakers are opened. This is however not recommended since the remaining substation would
have less than one breaker per object and will be very vulnerable in case of primary faults not only in the
substation itself but also on the outgoing objects. If split operation is foreseen for longer time periods it
would be better to choose another configuration.

• All switchgear on the ring must match the busbar rating to allow for load flow through the ring.

• However to provide maximum security with the ring open it is usual to arrange the circuits so that incoming
and outgoing circuits alternate on the ring.

• Any splitting the substation can be carried out with the substation fully energised.

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The evaluation criteria with the associated scores for this configuration are given below:

Criteria Score

Service security 4

Availability during maintenance 6

Operational flexibility 4

Table 5.9: Evaluation criteria for ring configuration

5.7 One-and-a-half Circuit Breaker (OHCB)

IEC definition:

A double busbar substation where, for two circuits, three circuit-breakers are connected in series between the two
busbars, the circuits being connected on each side of the central circuit-breaker [IEV 605-01-25].

Note: each connection between the two busbars is called a diameter.

The one-and-a-half circuit breaker arrangement (or “breaker and a half”) is particularly suitable for substations
handling large amounts of power, such as those associated with generating stations, and for networks which
comprise mainly radial circuits with few mesh connections.

It should be noted that in order to cover all switching contingencies the circuit breakers and associated equipment
should be capable of handling the combined load current of two circuits and an allowance for current transfer
between the busbars. This is due to the fact that the one-and-a-half circuit configuration does not have any
separate bus-coupler circuits, since each diameter is acting as a bus-coupler.

Circuit control and protection design is quite complex as each circuit protection must operate on two circuit
breakers and the central circuit breaker is controlled by two circuit protection systems. Busbar-side breakers are
only controlled by one circuit protection system plus the busbar protection.

However design of the bus zone and circuit breaker failure protection systems is simpler than the multiple busbar
configurations with selector disconnectors as the systems do not need to select which circuit breakers to trip in
response to a busbar fault or a circuit breaker fail situation.

The substation is normally operated with all circuit breakers closed.

No circuit outages are required during the installation of a new feeder.

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AT1 L2 L4

B1

B2

L1 AT2 L3

Figure 5.11: One- and-a-half circuit breaker configuration

Service security:
• This configuration uses two busbars. Each feeder is connected to the substation through two circuit
breakers; the central circuit breaker is shared between two feeders while a busbar-side breaker is
dedicated to one feeder.

• A primary fault won’t cause the loss of the whole substation but only the loss of the faulted feeder or the
loss of one busbar without the loss of any feeders.

• A fault on one of the central circuit breakers will result in the loss of two feeders.

• A primary fault when one circuit breaker fails to open will cause, as worst consequence, the loss of one
other feeder but never the whole substation.

Availability during maintenance:

• Because of there are two circuit breakers per feeder, it is possible to maintain any circuit breaker without
any feeder outage.

• Maintenance of a busbar disconnector requires a busbar outage but does not require an outage of any
feeder. Maintenance of any of the other disconnector will require an outage of a single feeder.

Operational flexibility:
• Various methods of splitting the substation are possible but each arrangement has some limitations. These
methods include:

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o Opening all of the central circuit breakers: two single busbars will be obtained. However it is not
possible to select which feeder is connected to each busbar.

o Circuits can only be associated with the remote busbar by opening the adjoining busbar-side circuit
breaker. However in this situation a fault on one of the circuits could result in both of the circuits on the
diameter losing supply

o Opening the two busbar-side circuit breakers of a diameter; in this situation the two circuits on a
diameter remain connected together but separated from both busbars. This means that substation can
transfer power with both busbars out of service, which is unique for this scheme.

o Any splitting the substation can be carried out with the substation fully energised.

The evaluation criteria with the associated scores for this configuration are given below:

Criteria Score

Service security 5

Availability during maintenance 6

Operational flexibility 4

Table 5.10: Evaluation criteria for OHCB configuration

5.8 Two Circuit-Breaker configuration (2CB)

IEC definition:

A double bus bar substation where the selectors are circuit-breakers (IEV 605-01-24)
The above mentioned IEC definition can be paraphrased as follows:

A substation in which the lines and transformers are connected to either of two busbars by means of selector circuit
breakers.

The two circuit breaker arrangement is recommended for substations where the security of supply is particularly
important. The configuration is also more flexible than the one and a half circuit breaker configuration. It can also
be used for splitting networks, which are only connected in emergency cases.

The configuration provides flexibility by allowing each circuit to be connected to either of the two busbars. It is also
possible to move circuits from one busbar to the other while they are energised.

It should be noted that to cover all contingencies of switching, the circuit breakers and associated equipment
should be capable of handling the combined load current of its own circuit and an allowance for current transfer
between the busbars. This is due to the fact that the double breaker circuit configuration does not have any
separate bus-coupler circuits, since each bay is acting as a bus-coupler.

• Additional flexibility can be provided by adding sectionaliser circuit breakers into each busbar.

• The substation is normally operated with all circuit breakers closed in order to get maximum Service
Security, which is one of the main benefits of the 2CB configuration.

• No circuit outages are required during the installation of a new feeder.

• No feeder outage is required for maintenance of a circuit breaker.

Maintenance of all equipment in a circuit requires only a circuit outage and an outage of one busbar; it is possible
to keep all other circuits in service by connecting them to the other busbar and by changing them from one busbar

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to the other as required to allow busbar disconnector maintenance. The service security provided by the two circuit
breaker configuration is however lost while the substation is in this condition.

AT1 L1 L2 AT2 L3 L4
L3

B1

B2

Figure 5.12: Two circuit breaker configuration

Service security:
• This configuration is based on two busbars where each feeder is connected with two circuit breakers, one
towards each busbar, but circuit breakers are not shared between feeders as for the one and a half circuit
breaker configuration.

• A primary fault will not cause the loss of the whole substation but only the loss of the faulted feeder or the
loss of one busbar without the loss of any feeders.

• A primary fault when one circuit breaker fails to open will cause always the loss of one busbar but will not
affect any other feeder.

Availability during maintenance:

• Because there are two circuit breakers per feeder, it is possible to maintain any circuit breaker without
requiring an outage of the feeder.

• Maintenance of any busbar disconnector will require the outage of the relevant busbar but does not require
an outage of the feeder since all other feeders can remain in service connected to the other busbar.

Operational flexibility:
• The ability to split the substation into two single busbars with the opening of circuit breaker provides good
flexibility. However if split operation is planned from the beginning another configuration should be
considered since the superior service security obtained by the 2CB configuration when keeping all CBs
closed is lost when running with the substation split.

• The addition of sectionaliser circuit breakers in the busbars would provide even more possibilities of circuit
rearrangement and is the normal solution, when split operation is required. Split operation could then be
done by keeping the bus sectionaliser breakers in the open position while each half of the substation have
all object CBs closed towards both busbars preserving the highest service security achieved with the 2CB
scheme.

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• The two circuit breakers on each circuit make it possible to decide at any time to which busbar the circuit is
to be connected. However in normal operation all circuit breakers are closed.

• Even with this level of flexibility the substation designer may still need to consider from the beginning where
circuits are connected to the busbar, particularly when sectionaliser circuit breakers are used.

• Splitting the substation into two single busbars or moving circuits from one busbar to another can all be
carried out with the substation fully energised. These operations are easier and safer than those in a
double busbar station as selection is carried out by circuit breakers rather than by disconnectors.

The evaluation criteria with the associated scores for this configuration are given below:

Criteria Score

Service security 6

Availability during maintenance 7

Operational flexibility 6

Table 5.11: Evaluation criteria for 2CB configuration

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6. APPLICATION OF CIRCUIT CONFIGURATIONS

The purpose of this guide is to enable planners to choose the appropriate configuration for a particular purpose. In
order to base the selection on this guide the reader has to decide on the characteristics that are most important to
the specific application. Some examples are given in this chapter to assist the reader in this selection of
characteristics or weights,.

6.1 Substation configuration

The attributes for a particular substation will depend on its positionwithin a network and also its relative importance.
The attributes or characteristics of the substation are chosen by the selection of the relative weighting, in
percentage terms, for the characteristic requested with the weighting adding up to 100%.

Choosing the appropriate characteristics of a substation is the key to enabling this guide and assisting the user in
finding the most suitable substation configuration. Some examples are given below for typical substation
applications and functions:

• Substation connecting to a power station

• nterconnection substation

• Step-down substation (Grid supply substation).

For each type of substation the relative weights are chosen for each of the following criteria or characteristics as
described in section 4.1.

• Service security

• Availability during maintenance

• Operational flexibility.

The weighting factors are given in percent and sum to 100 % for the three criteria.

6.2 Substation connecting to a Power Station

The main purpose of this substation is to give the power access to the power system and separate the Power Plant
from the network if a fault occurs. Depending on the nature of the generator and criticality additional circuits maybe
required to improve network security and ensure power is available during network disturbances. A single line
diagram of a substation connected to a Power Station is shown in Figure 6.1.

Figure 6.1: Single-line diagram of a substation attached to a Power Station

Service security
• This parameter is important for this type of substation since the delivery of energy from the power plant to
the grid has a high value.

The weight factor for this parameter is selected to be 90 %.

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Availability during maintenance

• This value will vary significantly depending on the type of generator (e.g. wind farms and nuclear will be
very different). The substation maintenance can be coordinated to when Power Plants normally have yearly
maintenance periods where substation material may be maintained.

The weight factor for this example is selected to 5 %.

Operational flexibility
• This is once again dependent on the generator configuration, however normally there is no need for
rearrange feeders in this type of substation.

The weight factor is selected to 5 %.

Interconnection Availability during

Service Security Operational Flexibility Sum
substation Maintenance

Weight factor 0,9 0,05 0,05 1,0

Table 6.1: Weighting factors for a substation directly connected to a Power Station

6.2 Interconnection substation

The main purpose of the interconnection substation is to collect and distribute the power within the grid.

Figure 6-2: Interconnection substation with 5 lines

Service security
• If the power system has redundant interconnection through another path in the network service security is
not as important since power can be transferred through the redundant path even if the whole substation is
lost.

Hence the weight factor is selected to 10 %.

Availability during maintenance

• In a similar manner to service security this may not be so important if there are other parts in the network to
which power can be transferred during maintenance.

Hence the weight factor is selected to 10 %.

Operational Flexibility
• Flexibility is likely to be very important for this type of substation in order to achieve service security and
availability during maintenance.

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Hence the weight factor is selected to 80 %.

Interconnection Availability during

Service Security Operational Flexibility Sum
substation Maintenance

Weight factor 0,1 0,1 0,8 1,0

Table 6.2: Weighting factors for an interconnection substation

Example:

The following is a practical example of the design of a power system with a substantial amount of hydro electrical
power located quite far away from main loads and power transferred with long overhead lines at 400 kV . The
power lines are of a double circuit design on separate towers but in the same right of way. On the route between
generation and main loads there are some grid supply substations which feed the 145 kV system.

In the past, single busbar configurations were used. In order avoid the risk of losing both lines for a fault in the
substation only one of the lines from each double circuit entered the substation while the other line bypassed the
substation. In the next substation the connection was mirrored such that the line which entered the previous
substation bypassed the next substation and vice versa (see figure 6.3.)

Figure 6.3: Retrofit example: from SB to 2CB

During the retrofitting of the substations, the circuit configuration was changed to the double circuit breaker (2CB)
configuration. This new configuration offers superior service security and both lines now enter both substations
since there is a much lower risk of losing more than the faulty object itself upon the occurrence for a primary fault,
even if a CB fails to open.

6.3 Step-up/down substations

The function of this type of substation is to transfer power from one voltage level to another through transformers,
generally to feed distribution grids.

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Figure 6.4: Step down substation with 2 lines and 2 transformers

Service security
• The service security requirement will depend on whether the system on the secondary side of power
transformer can be fed from a different substation. In this particular case it is assumed that it is possible to
backfeed the load fed by these transformers.

The weight factor is selected to be 30 %.

Availability during maintenance

• This depends on the grid layout on the secondary side of the transformer. If the grid on the secondary side
is of a radial nature then availability is more important compared to when the secondary side is of a
meshed nature with more infeed alternatives. It is assumed that availability must be weighted highly.

• The weight factor is selected to be 30 %.

Operational Flexibility
• Step-down substations should have some flexibility to allow the grid operator to rearrange the substation in
order to keep the transformers energized after disturbances.

Hence the weight factor is selected to be 40 %.

Step-down Availability during

Service Security Operational Flexibility Sum
substation Maintenance

Weight factor 0,3 0,3 0,4 1,0

Table 6.3: Weighting factors for a step-down substation

It is very important to note that these are just examples. The reader/designer should use thier own judgment to
determine the weights that are applicable to each project or particular situation. The aforementioned cases should
be treated as theoretical examples only. However the methodology may be used to find the most suitable
substation configuration based on the utility’s specific requirements.

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7. NEW ALTERNATIVE CONFIGURATIONS

7.1 Switchgear solutions
The on-going development of high voltage CBs as described in section 1 of this document, has reduced the
necessary maintenance and extended the time interval between maintenance activities. There is a long term aim
for CB manufactuers to develop “sealed for life” design solutions for switchgear..

Substation circuit configuration solutions are based on the characteristics of the switchgear in order to build up a
cost effective substation scheme with respect to service security (fault tolerant system), maintenance with minimum
disruption of nearby circuits, operational flexibility, etc. Today’s classical types of substation circuit configurations
were developed when all substations were of the AIS type and high voltage equipment characteristics were quite
different from today’s equipment. CBs were once the component with the highest maintenance requirements and
disconnectors were required to make it possible to maintain the CBs with the least disruption of nearby circuits.

GIS solutions started to emerge during the late 60s and early 70s, which gave solutions with DS primary contacts
encapsulated in SF6 gas protected from external pollution thus reducing DS maintenance frequency especially in
polluted areas. Another aspect of the introduction of GIS is the issue of gas compartment separation that creates a
dependency between components that did not exist in the AIS solutions. Substation configurations however were
not altered by the introduction of GIS and the traditional classic type of substation circuit configurations used for
AIS were more or less copied by the GIS solutions.

Due to the reduction in the maintenance requirements of CBs, new switching solutions started to emerge towards
the end of the 90s, the so-called Mixed Technology Solutions (MTS). The main idea of these solutions was to
integrate and combine current breaking and isolation/disconnecting functions into the same module (switching
machine). The first solutions were AIS CBs with an integral open air disconnecting function achieved by having the
whole CB moving in some way, e.g. rotating or making a linear movement, see fig. 7-1.

Figure 7.1: Withdrawable CBs;

from left: rotating; linear movement (indoor design); pivoting; electrical symbol
Other mixed technology solutions followed that brought the disconnecting function into SF6 gas and protected
contacts and moving parts from external pollution.

The hybrid type of module, which comes from GIS/Dead tank CB technology and combines the breaking and
disconnecting function with separate contacts, one contact for breaking and one contact for disconnecting, located
in the same or an adjacent gas compartment, see figure 7.2. and having SF6-air bushings on either side of the
module. In these types of modules earthing and current measuring functions are included as standard. Options to
integrate other equipment, e.g. voltage measuring functions, fast acting earthing switches are also possible.

Another type of mixed technology solution is the Disconnecting CB (DCB) type, which employs Live Tank CB
technology and combines the breaking and disconnecting function into a single contact, see figure 7.2. When this

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module is to be used as a disconnector the DCB is first opened in the same way as a traditional CB. Thereafter a
separate operating device is operated, which mechanically locks the DCB in the open position to ensure that the
DCB is kept open when used as a disconnector. From an operating point of view it is the same principle used for
the traditional type of switchgear, except that instead of opening the traditional disconnectors they operate the
mechanical locking of the DCB.

Figure 7.2: Hybrid module (left), Disconnecting CB module (right)

The aim of both hybrid and DCB solutions is to provide a complete switching module with a disconnecting function
for maintenance of nearby circuits, e.g. overhead lines, power transformers etc. For maintenance of the breaking
function or disconnecting function included in the module itself the adjoining modules need to be switched in order
to isolate the module which is to be maintained. The functionality of hybrid and DCB solutions is thus reduced
compared to the traditional concepts where separate apparatus is used for the disconnecting and breaking
functions. This alternative functionality will affect the access to adjacent equipment for repair or maintenance work
on the primary equipment, and the procedure needs to be considered when choosing the substation circuit
configuration. However the planned frequency for these activites is much lower typically 15-20 years.

Maintenance activities are predictable and can be planned in advance to be done at a time which creates the least
problems for the network/system. Primary faults however are a stochastic type of incident that can happen very
seldomly but whose timing cannot be predicted. In order to minimize the effects of primary faults, due to the
reduced functionality, the tendency is to choose circuit configurations with a higher degree of service security
compared to traditional solutions.

The key point to note about MTS and hybrid equipment is that the approach to maintenance and replacement need
to be considered differently. These units can help to establish a very flexible and available substation, however this
needs to be complemented with a fast replace on fail and maintenance strategy. Repairs and maintenacne should
use spare modules to swap out and perform work offline.

Alternatively, for the small element of maintenance work needed on hybrid equipment or DCBs, there is a
possibility of reducing the negative effect on nearby circuits by disconnecting the primary connections of the
module. Adjacent circuits can then be kept energised during the maintenance work. The necessary safety
distances to allow this work to be done in a safe manner must be catered for in the design of the substation layout.
The disconnection of the module can be quickly achieved under de-energized conditions, see figure 7.3. (right). It is
however also possible to make the disconnection when the primary equipment is energized by using special tools
and specially trained personnel, see figure 7.3. (left). Live disconnection for voltages up to 170 kV is quite easily
implemented and is used as standard by some utilities. Live disconnection will enable maintenance without the
need to disturb nearby circuits and thus increases the availability.

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Figure 7.3: Disconnection work, live 145 kV (left), dead 400 kV (right)

There also exist some hybrid solutions for higher voltage levels consisting of mixed technology switchgear
employing GIS and AIS bushings and busbar, however to achieve hybrid functionality the following should be
considered:

• two separate disconnectors (each having its own separate gas compartment)

• two separate current transformers (each having its separate gas compartment)

• CB with its own gas compartment.

With this module having a total of five gas compartments it will be possible to maintain the CB part of the module
while still keeping the bushings on both sides of the module energised. However for maintenance of any other
component in the module at least one side of the module must be de-energized. The principle for this module is
shown in figure 7.4.

Figure 7.4: Hybrid module with five gas compartments

Changes (development) in substation circuit configuration solutions are more of a “stepchange”, compared to the
“gradual” development of apparatus. Apparatus development is a continuous ongoing process by the
manufacturers, which means that apparatus properties are gradually changing over time. When apparatus
properties have changed to a certain degree, this should also be considered when choosing a circuit configuration.
Changing of circuit configuration is very particular to a utilites method of operation and tends to involve a step
change, when the properties on the apparatus used has changed to a certain degree. This will enable the circuit
configuration to take advantage of the improved properties on the apparatus.

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The following sections provide some examples of the implementation of alternative solutions for substation circuit
configurations, due to the improved properties of the apparatus used and/or the development of new types of
switchgear modules.

The improved properties of high voltage apparatus also implies that when carrying out a retrofit of a 40 year old
substation the substation circuit configuration may need to be optimised to maximise the benefit of the “new”
properties of the high voltage equipment. Replacing apparatus on a like-for-like basis might not always be a good
idea, due to the changed properties of the apparatus since the old substation was built some 40 years ago based
on the characteristics of the equipment at the time.

7.2 Two circuit breaker configuration (2CB) using Disconnecting CB (DCB)

This example outlines the design philosophy behind the development of a double circuit breaker (2CB) substation.
Important transmission (400 kV) substations in Sweden are been built using the 2CB circuit configuration. Originally
the typical double busbar configuration using AIS equipment was used, however since 2001 MTS of the DCB type
is used for all installations. Open air disconnectors are not permitted when building new or rebuilding old
substations. Following a number of failures of open-air disconnectors which contributed to system black-outs in
Sweden in both 1983 and 2003.

By the end of the 1970s open-air disconnectors (DS) were already identified as apparatus needing more
maintenance compared to the CB and Svenska Kraftnät (SvK), the Transmission System Operator, started to
reduce the number of DS in their substations, see figure 7.5. Removing the busbar disconnectors, resulted in better
availability since the overall maintenance requirement was reduced because circuit breakers required less
maintenance than open air disconnectors. This is achieved by replacing the disconnector with the DCB
disconnection function and removable busbar or flexible conductor, which only needs to be used if the DCB has to
be accessed. The DCB was first introduced in 2000, SvK installated the units in a 245 kV substation to get
operational experience of this concept. In 2001 the first 420 kV substation renewals using the DCB commenced
and since then the DCB solution is used for all installations using the 2CB scheme (see figure 7.5.).

Figure 7.5: 2CB system for Swedish transmission network

a) Exchanging busbar disconnectors with a disconnecting facility years 1979-2000
b) Disconnecting CB solution from year 2001 with a disconnecting facility on both sides of DCB
Where the renewal of the substation requires a complete exchange of all primary and secondary equipment, the
following technical and commercial advantages are achieived:

• Future works will be minimized since all equipment have same “vintage”.

• the substation circuit configuration can be adapted to benefit from the better performance of high voltage
apparatus and possible changes in the substation’s importance in the network since it was originally built.

• Outage times can be kept to a minimum by using the existing primary and secondary equipment to keep
the substation in service during the renewal.

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• SvK personnel can concentrate on a few larger projects and the renewed substations will not require the
same degree of maintenance after the renewal.

• Old equipment with remaining life time from the renewed substation can be used for spares and
exchanged with some of the poorer performing apparatus in existing old substations to prolong their life for
a few years before a complete renewal is done.

The footprint of the substation is reduced by almost 50 % when going from the traditional model usinf AIS
disconnectors to the DCB solution. This reduction of the footprint can be very advantageous, not only for new
substation build, but also when renewing or uprating substations. One example is shown in figure 7.6.

Figure 7.6: Example of the renewal of a Swedish 420 kV Transmission substation.

During the renewal project, the old apparatus (pink) together with an old busbar (red) is kept in service, while the
new equipment including a second busbar is erected in the green-marked area on oppo¬site side of old busbar.
The smaller footprint of the new primary equipment, results in the three existing line towers, marked blue, being
kept in their original position, saving cost, outage time and reducing risks.

After installation and testing, circuits are changed over to the new equipment. The complete renewal of this
substation was done with less than one week of outage.

A typical electrical diagram for renewed 420 kV transmission substations is shown in figure 7.7.

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Figure 7.7: Typical circuit configuration of a renewed Swedish 420 kV Transmission substation

7.3 Renewal of sectionalised busbar using Disconnecting CB (DCB)

Grytten 132 kV AIS substation is part of the Norwegian TSO Statnett’s regional grid. The substation was originally
built around 1970, using the traditional double busbar plus transfer busbar circuit configuration. This design
focussed on CB maintenance being possible without taking any outgoing bay out of service. This was made
possible by installing four disconnectors per outgoing bay.

The large number of disconnectors in the substation made operational switching complicated. In addition, periods
of reduced service capability occurred since portions of the substation had to be taken out of service to enable
maintenance of these disconnectors. In Statnett’s maintenance plans, the service life time for disconnectors has
been estimated to be about 35 years, and the disconnectors at the substation were accordingly reaching their end
of life and were scheduled for replacement. The substation’s protection and control equipment was also due for
replacement.

Figure 7.8: Substation Grytten single line and photo after refurbishment

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It was decided to change the layout to a less complicated circuit configuration together with the introduction of
DCBs in order to remove the open air disconnectors that had caused problems in the old switchgear. It was found
that the existing transfer bus had the correct length and position to be re-used as a busbar for the renewed
substation and could be equipped with a sectionaliser circuit breaker resulting in a single disconnectable busbar
circuit configuration.

The transfer bus is only needed during circuit-breaker maintenance, therefore it could be disconnected from the
rest of the substation without affecting the operation. The new primary equipment could then be completely
assembled and connected to the transfer busbar and (dry) tested together with the new protection and control
equipment, while the substation was kept in service using the two existing main busbars supervised by the existing
protection and control equipment.

After the new primary and secondary equipment was tested together, the lines and power transformers were
changed over to the renewed old transfer busbar switchgear. This could be done with minimum interruption of the
service as the old equipment could be kept in service during the whole time when new equipment was being
installed and tested.

7.4 Four section configuration (4SC) using Disconnecting CB (DCB)

A further type of circuit configuration that can be achieved by using DCBs is a four section configuration (4SC) as
shown in figure 7.9.

The 4SC type of solution has been introduced for a 145 kV substation in the southern part of Sweden. This can be
an economic alternative to 2CB or OHCB solutions, which could be felt to be excessive for a 145 kV network. 4SC
will give a high availability during maintenance, by introducing the live disconnection principle as shown in fig. 7-3
left side. Live disconnection would allow all maintenance on the outgoing circuits to be carried out one by one
without taking any other outgoing circuit out of service.

Figure 7.9: Disconnecting CB used in a four section configuration (4SC)

In order to optimise system security, parallel bays should be connected to different busbar sections, which are
facilitated by the physical location of busbars parallel to each other according to fig. 7-9. A double overhead line
could then be easily connected to different busbar sections independent from what direction, up or down in fig. 7-9,
it is entering the substation. Parallel objects with cable connections, e.g. power transformer or cable feeders, would
be best connected to two sections not directly connected together, i.e. upper left and lower right or upper right and
lower left.

The 4SC configuration is well suited for renewal of existing large double busbar substations with double bus
sectionaliser and bus coupler bays. If the busbars are in good shape they could be reused and the old bus
sectionaliser and bus coupler bays are replaced by DCBs “inside the ring”. The disconnectors and circuit breakers

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of the existing outgoing bays can be replaced with the DCB. With this type of solution it might even be possible to
reuse old foundations if they are in good shape, although this would make it difficult to achieve a reduced footprint
(about 50%).

The 4SC solution will thus be a good compromise between technical and economical properties for high end
substations at 145 kV levels, where 2CB or OHCB solutions are considered too advanced. For greenfield
substations and renewal of existing double busbar substations reusing only the busbars the approximate 50%
footprint reduction can be achieved.

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7.5 Extension of DB GIS substation by using OHCB GIS

Granadilla Substation is an existing double busbar 220kV GIS in the Canary Islands that has been extended with a
new one & a half circuit breaker (OHCB) GIS from a different supplier to that of the one who delivered the existing
substation.

The main purpose of this substation is to connect generation to the transmission network. The extension made this
substation more critical to the system from the security point of view.

This was the reason for planning the extension in an OHCB configuration so as not lose the whole new section to
a single contingency.

Figure 7.10: Extension of double busbar substation using OHCB for the new part

Two circuit breakers in the new OHCB GIS separate the busbars between the existing and new bays. The function
of these CBs is to allow disconnection of the two parts in an independent way, for the ease of maintenance,
operational reasons, trips for faults or breaker failure conditions, etc.

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7.6 Extension of 2 BB GIS substation by using 2CB GIS

Substation Morvedre is an existing double busbar GIS extended with two bays in a double busbar and double
circuit breakers (2CB) configuration. This example considers the use of this substation to connect Santa Ponsa
substation in the Balearic Islands with the Iberian Peninsula.

The initial design for this substation did not consider a connection to the Balearic Islands. Morvedre substation was
originally built as a double busbar in GIS. However, special constraints resulted in Morvedre being identified as the
location for this connection. A key design constraint was imposed that the whole substation should not be lost due
to only one contingency, a possibility that can occur with a fault in the bus-coupler CB of a double bus
configuration. As a result, the extension was made based on double circuit breaker (2CB) configuration. The
configuration of Santa Ponsa substation in the Baleariac Islands is OHCB.

GEN GEN GEN

SE MORVEDRE 400 KV
GIS

B1
B2

CONVER.

CONVER.

LINE LINE DISTRIB

Figure 7.11: Extension of GIS double busbar substation using 2CB GIS
The normal mode of operation is to have the bus coupler circuit breaker open and the four circuit breakers for the
cables to the Balearic Islands closed. (Conver. in single line diagram because the connection is HVDC).

Keeping the bus coupler breaker open will avoid the risk of losing the whole substation because of a fault in the
bus-coupler breaker or breaker failure of the coupler circuit breaker in case of a busbar fault.

The disconnectors in the feeders towards the convertors allow the function of coupler (with both CBs in the bay
closed) with the feeders to the convertor out of service.

Figure 7.12 shows different details of the extension described above.

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Figure 7.12: Photos from extension of Morvedre Substation

7.7 Rebuild of U-shape DB system (3 physical busbars) to OHCB

The 400 kV network in South Africa feeds into a major load centre of Cape Town via Acacia Substation and forms
an integral part of the supply to the local municipality. Acacia substation has a three busbar configuration with the
two outer bars connectable to form a single busbar, hence it may operate as a double busbar configuration see
Figure 7.13.

Figure 7.13: AIS double busbar substation, outer busbar in U-shape

The lack of flexibility during busbar faults and maintenance provides great risk to the continuity of supply and for
these reasons new strategies were developed to improve the condition.

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The OHCB configuration is known to improve reliability and flexibility in a substation. Any circuit breaker can be
removed for maintenance without affecting the service on the corresponding existing feeder, and a fault on either
bus can be isolated without interrupting service to the outgoing lines. Furthermore, a N-1 contingency with no
interruptions to supply is possible without any requirements for busbar coupling or the need to split busbars by
means of bus sections. The OHCB configuration is shown in figure 7.14.

Figure 7.14: AIS OHCB configuration after redesign

The feeder and transformer pair is laid out back-to-back. The transformer circuit breaker and feeder circuit breaker
both exist in the old configuration. Thus the only components required to convert the substation to an OHCB layout
is the tie circuit breaker and the disconnectors at the feeder and transformer ends.

In the OHCB configuration the 400kV Feeder/Transformer diameter is clearly identifiable. In this instance, the
diameter is defined as the complete layout of the three circuit breakers and associated equipment in relation to the
feeder / transformer that share the central circuit breaker (see Fig. 7.13). Thus busbar 2 would have to be removed
and the centre disconnectors would have to be moved outward in order to incorporate the tie circuit breaker.
Furthermore, the bypass pantograph disconnector is removed due to redundancy and additional disconnectors
would be required at the feeder and transformer ends.

Conversion of a typical AIS DB (2 busbars side by side) to OHCB is not usually feasible. However, for a three
busbar layout (1 busbar in U-shape), as in Acacia substation, the conversion was possible due to the available
space between the outer busbars when the centre busbar is removed.

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8. SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENTS
This chapter brings together the material in chapters 6 and 7 and critically reviews the results of each of the 11
configurations against the 3 design criteria of security, availability and flexibility. This provides a comparative
summary of the assessment criteria and relevent aspects of each type of design and scores the configuration
performance accordingly.

8.1 Service security assessment

Service security considers the effect of the high voltage switchgear on the power network assuming correctly
functioning control and protection systems. By considering the tripping of the CB in case of a primary fault and also
the consequences when the CB fails to open, means that the assessment takes account of N-1 and N-2 conditions.

It is clearly seen the higher the security requirement (impact on the network) the higher the number of switchgear
components like circuit breakers and busbars are necessary to deliver this level of service.

Looking at the pure functionality of the configuration and the possible consequences, it can be seen that double
busbar systems cannot prevent the loss of the whole substation in the case of an additional CB failure. (the
possibility of malfunction of disconnectors is not considered).

It can also be seen that the H3-configuration has a higher mark for service security than the H5-configuration and
can be considered as a good alternative to optimise the usage of HV equipment.

Table 8.1: Summary of assessment of circuit configurations – Service security

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8.2 Availability during maintenance assessment

The assessment of availability during maintenance considers consequences to the network due to the outage and
unavailability of disconnectors and circuit breakers in the substation. The consequences are evaluated in the form
of outagelikelihood.

The most critical item for maintenance is the busbar disconnector. This is a concern because, for traditional
maintenance practice, the relevant busbar has to be de-energised for the duration of the work. Multi-busbar
configurations improve the availability of the substation when maintaining the busbar disconnector, however result
in larger footprints and cost.

Table 8.1: Summary of assessment of circuit configurations – Availability during maintenance

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8.3 Operational flexibility assessment

The assessment of operation flexibility considers the ability of a substation to rearrange feeders and to split up the
substation. It will take into account the ability to have an energized split-up, without an outage of any part of the
substation or a non-energised split-up, when parts of the substation have to be shut-down for a short time.

Table 8.3: Summary of assessment of circuit configurations – Operational flexibility

8.4 Assessment of applications

This section demonstrates how the tool can be used to provide an assessment of a substation configuration
application for specific circumstances. This is achieved through the consideration of appropriate weighting factors,
determined by the assessor depending on subjective factors such as the the location of the substation, customer
importance and future requirements. For instance a substation attached to a power station may drive the
requirement for higher service security than a step-down substation feeding an industrial area. Table 8.4 is a
summary of all the substation configuration assessed against specific weighting criteria. The weighting is subjective
in this case, and for a specific application will need ot be determined by the designers.

Table 8.4: Examples of weightings applied to circuit configurations

8.5 Explanation of tables

The assessment table demonstrated in this chapter pulls together information from different sections within the
brochure and enables the user to evaluate the performance of a design. The process requires the designer to:

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• Identify the individual scores allocated to each configuration as defined in chapter 5 against each of the
three criteria of service security, availability during maintenance and operational flexibility.

• Evalute the weighted average. The ‘assessment of circuit configuration’ column (yellow fields) show
calculated score for each combination of substation application and substation configuration. The result is
obtained by multiplying together the appropriate score for each heading (normalised for the range of scores
used for that heading) by the weighting factor assigned to that heading in the particular substation
application and then adding the three results together to give a final value. All final results are then
multiplied by a uniform factor of 10 to produce more usable values.

Example: H5 configuration used for an interconnection substation:

Service security 2 (out of 6)

Availability during maintenance 3 (out of 7)

Operational flexibility 3 (out of 6)

Overall assessment {(2/6*0.1) + (3/7*0.1) + (3/6*0.8)}*10 = 4.8

The better results are produced by the double busbar, double circuit breaker configurations (2CB), since this
methodology does not take into account cost or substation footprint. This configuration is however only used in a
relatively small number of substations so it is not simply a matter of the designer automatically selecting the
configuration which provides the highest result for a particular application.

The table does provide information on the relative technical performance of different configurations when used in
particular applications. This can then be used as a part of the project decision making process to establish the
preferred option, however it is the utility’s decision to determine the relative ratio of techical to economic weightin,
not this working group.

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8.6 Assessment of selected alternative solutions

In chapter 7, some new and different alternative solutions for substations were introduced. This section illustrates
the application of the assessment technique to some examples of substation development. The extension of a
substation with a higher-scored configuration can lead to an improvement in the behaviour of the whole substation.

Extension of DB with OHCB

The extension of Granadilla substation described in chapter 7.5 shows a solution of extending a double busbar
substation with a one-and-half circuit breaker configuration by coupling the busbars via a bus coupler bay.

Table 8.5 shows the scores of initial DB part and OHCB part.

DB OHCB Overall configuration

Criteria Score Score Score

Service Security 2 5 n.a.

Availability During Maintenance 4 6 n.a.

Operational flexibility 5 4 n.a.

Table 8.5: Comparison of evaluation criteria for extension DB and OHCB

The weighting considered in table 6.2 for a generation connection substation is used, however the designer could
select their own values. Table 8.6 shows the calculated value (product of the two).

Substation
attached to Service Availability during Operational DB OHCB Overall
Power Station Security Maintenance Flexibility

Weights 90% 5% 5% 3,7 8.3 n.a.

Table 8.6: Assessment for Power Station for DB and OHCB

This assessment compares the performance of the two designs and shows a benefit of using the OHCB
configuration over that of the Double busbar. Where two designs of substation are combined it is not possible to
provide a hybrid or overall score. The designer may choose to evaluate this themselves for analytical purposes,
particularly since the behaviour of the whole substation is improved because not all the elements are connected to
the OHCB configuration. The scores associated with the individual elements depend on what part of the substation
the element is connected to.

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Extension of DB with 2CB

The extension of Morvedre substation, described in chapter 7.6, shows another possibility of improving the
behaviour of the overall configuration through the strategic extension using a different configuration to that of the
original substation.

Table 8.6 compares the scores for the initial DB part and for the 2CB part as well as the overall configuration. The
behavior of the whole configuration improves because the extension has used the more secure 2CB design and
consequently the operational flexibility of the whole substation benefits when the initial bus coupler circuit breaker
is operated in the open position.

DB 2CB Overall configuration

Criteria Score Score Score

Service Security 2 6 3

Availability During Maintenance 4 7 4

Operational flexibility 5 6 5*

Table 8.7: Comparison of evaluation criteria

* Note

The score 5 for operational flexibility for the overall configuration is conservative because:

• 5 means high flexibility switching with DS

• 6 means high flexibility switching with CB

The overall configuration has only 2 elements out of 8 connected with 2CB with 6 as the score in operational
flexibility.

Substation
attached to Service Availability during Operational DB 2CB Overall
Power Station Security Maintenance Flexibility

Weights 90% 5% 5% 3,7 10 5,2

Table 8.8: Assessment for power station for DB and DBCB

The improved security service scores of the whole configuration (2 to 3) result in an overall improvement from 3.7
initially (DB) to 5.2 .

This demonstrates that it is possible to combine different configuration concepts to suit specific requirements.
There are utilities which use these different configurations normally within a substation. (DB feeder for “normal”
feeders and 2 CB for “important” feeders).

8.7 Conclusions
These results highlight a number of the issues which must be resolved by a substation designer when selecting an
appropriate configuration to address a specific network requirement.

• This brochure has developed and demonstrated a methodology to evaluate and compare
different substation configurations. The technique enables the reader to use their own data,

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perspective and constraints to select the optimal technical configuration commesurate with the
utilities requirements.

• In general, the higher the asset content of a substation (and therefore cost), the higher degree of
flexibility. This applies across all three of the different types of substation applications shown
above.

• A cost-benefit analysis is always required to consider whether the benefits can be achieved by a
particular configuration, some of which may only apply in exceptional circumstances, are actually
worth the cost in view of the particular utility’s circumstances and concerns. This should also
consider the life-cycle costs, which will take into account issues around longer term ownership,
such as maintenance, replacement and operational complexity.

• Consideration should be given to the impact of extreme circumstances or particular situations,

e.g. loss of all circuits into a substation. The answer to this question will determine whether
particular configurations can be considered for use in a particular application.

• The selection of weighting factors is always totally relevent and dependent on the particular
utility’s circumstances and concerns. However, altering the weighting factors may change
relative difference between configurations, the overall general trend of the results for the various
configurations is not likely to change.

• This methodology enables the designer to establish the optimal substation design for the
application, however standardisation to a few configurations should also be considered rather
than always selecting the optimum solution for each individual substation. Everytime a new
configuration is developed there is a whole suite of procedures and documention which will need
to be produced. Sticking to a few standard designs will result in less work in deciding which
scheme to be used as it would only be necessary to decide which of the standard schemes to
apply. Furthermore operational issues and maintenance might be easier having only a few
different types of configurations in the system.

• This methodology provides the planner with a number of options to consider during the design
stage and providing consistent values are applied, it can help the utility demonstrate that the
chosen substation is cost effective and fit for purpose.. The benefit this offers from the use of
alternative solutions or a combination of classical configurations helps the utility to consider all
the options have to be analysed when extending or refurbishing substations. This brochure has
not demonstrated an economic example as this is too subjective and commerially sensitive.

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ANNEX 1 APPLICATION GUIDELINES

A1.1. Selecting a circuit configuration
Selecting a specific substation configuration is not an absolute science; however this appendix will attempt to
provide the reader with some guidelines to assist in the configuration selection process.

The typical steps to be followed are listed below.

STEP 1

Identify the compliant substation configuration based on type and location (e.g. is this a power station substation,
main transmission substation or distribution substation) and the user preference/standard (e.g. power station
substations are double busbar, main transmission stations are ring type etc.). If this is predetermined by utility
policy or customer choice then the configuration decision is set and no more design optimisation is possible. the
designer is faced with is limited to the choice of technology and layout designs within the pre-specified
configuration. If the configuration is not pre-determined, the next steps are to be followed.

STEP 2

Using the theory described in chapter 6 of the brochure; determine the relevant weighting factor for each of the
assessment criteria; service security, availability during maintenance and operational flexibility for the substation
type.

STEP 3

Establish the substation configuration effectiveness. The weighting factors selected in step 2 are multiplied with the
substation configuration index described in chapter 5 of this brochure.

STEP 4

Once the calculations are complete, establish whether more than one configuration meets the criteria. If only one
remains establish the costs.

STEP 5

If more than one configuration remains compliant, then the designer should establish the impact of other technical
influences such as existing technology population, extension to substations etc. as described in the latter part of
this brochure, to further refine the choice of configuration.

STEP 6

Finally, once the technical configuration(s) have been established, these need to be reviewed with the system
planning and system operation engineers to verify if there are any additional inputs or requirements relating to the
specific location of the substation in the power network. At this stage it will be necessary to consider cost benefit of
the design by considereing other life cycle and asset management criteria such as costs, strategic spares holding
etc. At this stage, should the chosen configuration result in a solution which is too costly, it is suggested the
process be reviewed objectively to determine if any of the factors were perhaps rated too high, or if the type of
application was perhaps not appropriately chosen.

These steps are illustrated in the following diagram.

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START
Design Substation Configuration

STEP 1 Configuration pre-determined, e.g.

Determine compliant Utility standard or other reasons
substation design
type and location

Configuration not pre-determined

STEP 2
Determine weighting of
utility/specified assessment criteria

STEP 3
Determine substation effectiveness
and rank results
using configuration criteria

STEP 4
Determine if the
selection process One Configuration
resulted in one or
more configurations

More than one Configuration

STEP 5
Evaluate other technical factors,
such as
technology, lifetime, etc.

STEP 6 Select optimal

Rank and review configurations Configuration FINISH
with planning and system design Optimal Substation Configuration
applying economic factors

Diagram A 1.1: Decision making process for substation configuration selection

A1.2. Case Study Example

This example considers a 75 MW solar power station with storage to be connected to an electricity grid, using the
aforementioned process.

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The power station will consist of two steam generators of 35 MW each. These are to be connected to the power
grid at a voltage level of 132 kV by means of looping an existing power line into the power station high voltage
substation through a double circuit overhead line configuration of approximately 10 km.

This case study will establish the configuration to be used for the power station high voltage substation. The
substation will comprise of two line bays to enable the existing power line to be looped in and out of the substation.

STEP 1 - Identify the compliant substation types

The substation is principally dedicated to the generation station, but must satisfy the requirement that the line,
which is an interconnector between two transmission substations, should not be compromised in the event of any
failure at the generation station, e.g. transformer failure or generator failure. As the substation serves two
purposes, namely connecting a power station to the grid, but also forming part of a transmission system, thereby
serving as an interconnection station, it is therefore a combination of two functions.

The following options can therefore be considered:

• • Single HV busbar substation with two transformer bays (SB).

• • Single sectionalisable HV busbar substation with two transformer bays (SSB).

• • Double HV busbar substation with two transformer bays (DB).

STEP 2 - Using the theory described in paragraph 6 of the brochure, the weights for the power station and network
substations described in tables 6-2 and 6-4 are as follows:

Availability during
Service Security Operational flexibility
maintenance

Generator station 90% 5% 5%

Interconnection station 10% 10% 80%

Table A 1.1: – Summary of weighting of substation types

As stated above in step 1 the substation is a combination of the above two types, thus the designer has to choose
a combination of weights. The proposed combination is as follows:

Availability during
Service Security Operational flexibility
maintenance

Combined substation 65% 15% 20%

Table A.1.2: – Weighting of combined substation

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STEP 3 - The scores established in the previous step, are used to select the possible configurations. This is done
by multiplying the weighting of the application, described in Paragraph 6 of this brochure, with the scores attributed
to the types of configurations obtained in STEP 2 above.

Availability
Service Security during Operational Flexibility Total
Maintenance

Substation weighting
0,65 0,15 0,2
factor

SB 1 1 1 1,00

SSB 1 2 2 1,35

H3 2 3 3 2,35

H4 1 2 2 1,35

H5 2 3 3 2,35

DB 2 4 5 2,9

DBT 2 6 5 3,2

TB 3 5 6 3,9

R 4 6 4 4,3

1.5CB 5 6 4 4,95

2CB 6 7 6 6.15

Table A.1.3:– Scores for substation configurations

STEP 4 – The score of the 2 CB configuration is the highest. As this power station is developed by a private power
producer (IPP) costs need to be considered. The designer should therefore decide what is the most cost effective
configuration that will satisfy the needs for the substation application.

When costs are considered it is clear that the single busbar with sectionaliser or the H4 configuration is the most
cost effective configuration. Costs will be specific to the project such as outage, maintenance strategy etc

In this particular example, as the substation will eventually be taken over and owned by the utility, further
discussions with utility are required to determine if there are specific reasons for not selecting a single busbar with
sectionaliser configuration.

STEP 5 – When reviewing the selected configurations with the utility system planning and system operation
engineers to verify if there are any additional inputs or requirements relating to the specific location of the
substation in the power network, it was discovered that the power line is an important interconnector between two
transmission stations. It is therefore an important part of the utility network, and in the event of failure at the power
station, it should be possible to bypass the power station connection completely and not compromise the integrity
of the power line. Thus a Double Busbar (DB) configuration is the prefer and will be the selected option.

Note:

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This case study example resulting in the choice of a DB configuration was very much related to the preference of
the utility. The proposed solution would require the solar power station busbar to be in service in order to transfer
between incoming and outgoing lines. Another option would be to use a OHCB scheme having incoming and
outgoing lines on the same diameter. With this configuration power can be transferred between incoming and
outgoing lines via the central (tie) breaker even with both busbars out of service in the power station.

It is clear from the above case study that the selection of a substation configuration requires some subjective input
from an experienced design team, and not merely a mechanical cross reference application exercise of table 8.1.

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ANNEX 2 MAINTENANCE OF HIGH VOLTAGE EQUIPMENT

A2.1. Background
In the past Circuit Breakers (CBs) were the apparatus that drove and needed the most frequent maintenance. This
was the reason for introducing disconnectors (DSs) to facilitate the maintenance of CBs with the least disturbance
to nearby objects in the substation. Development of CBs has progressed leading to increasing time intervals
between maintenance. Today the time interval, recommended by manufacturers, for modern SF6 CBs is 15 years
or longer and the same interval applies for SF6 insulated DSs that started to enter the market with the introduction
of GIS in the late 60s. Intervals recommended for open-air DSs vary a lot between manufacturers ranging from
quarterly trial operations to “virtually” maintenance free.

The maintenance frequency for open-air DSs is also dependent on the pollution levels and ground conditions at the
site location, which means that same type of open-air DS might have a quite different maintenance interval
depending on the substation location. SF6 CBs and DSs will not have this dependency on location since the
primary contacts are enclosed in a controlled environment protected from external pollution.

It should be noted that the same single line diagram will require different mainteannce and repair strategies based
on the technology chosen. This can be forgotten when typically an AIS substation is extended with either GIS, MTS
or hybrid bay solutions.

A2.2. Investigations
In order to see if, and how, the changed maintenance recommendations for high voltage apparatus from
manufacturers have led to new and revised maintenance routines on the ground, a reviewof maintenance
principles used at 5 different utilities. The information and findings from this review is shown in the following
sections.

A2.3. Maintenance on the whole bay

There is a trend forutilities to take a whole bay out of service and maintain both DSs and CBs during the same
outage. However busbar DSs on single busbar configurations are mostly not maintained due to the difficulty of
getting busbar outages. This will lead to a higher risk of failure of this equipment. The consequence of such a
failure is that the whole busbar will be lost in an unplanned manner and this can cause major reliability and
availability problems for the utility.

The original purpose of the DSs, to enable CB maintenance, has changed and the role of DSs is now more for use
when maintaining other equipment in the substation/power system e.g. lines or transformers, see A2.5.

A2.4. Live disconnection of equipment connected to a busbar

One way to allow open-air DSs connected to single busbars to be maintained, without taking the busbar out of
service, is to remove the physical connection between the DS and the busbar while the busbar is energised. Some
utilities have started to check open-air DSs with thermography during normal service to find out the condition of the
primary contact resistance. If temperatures are higher than normal, indicating that contact need to be maintained,
the bay is taken out of service by opening the CB and live disconnection is used to physically remove the busbar
DS from the busbar by a specially trained crew. After disconnection from the busbar the DS can be maintained by
the normal maintenance crew and when maintenance is finished the special crew comes and re-connects the
disconnector to the busbar again. With this procedure maintenance of open-air busbar disconnectors thus can be
done without any outage of the busbar.

The live disconnection can also be performed on other primary equipment directly connected to single busbars,
e.g. hybrid solutions or DCB solutions. This is described in chapter 7.1 and an example of primary disconnection
work is shown in figure 7.3.

A2.5. Maintenance intervals

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There is a trend towards increasing maintenance intervals for CBs with longer interval for SF6 CBs compared to
previous generations of switchgear. Depending on the duty and number of operations of the CBs the interval can
also be adjusted with the shortest interval for reactor or capacitor CBs, which usually are operated daily to control
voltage and manage reactive power during the changing load conditions.

A2.6. Future possibilities with Hybrid switchgear

Hybrid with one or two gas compartments and a Disconnecting CB

The trend towards maintenance of the whole bay means that the task of the DS today is primarily as a the isolation
point for maintenance external to the bay. In the past the DS was the isolation point for maintenance of CBs.

Switching devices that integrate the breaking and disconnection functions into the same unit, e.g. hybrids with one
or two gas compartments and disconnecting CB techniques fits very well into this philosophy as only one single
disconnecting function would be necessary to isolate the bay from the bars, not one on either side of CB as before.
The single disconnecting function will make it possible to isolate and de-energise for maintenance of equipment
(not the switching device itself) on one side of the switching device, leaving the other side energised.

For maintenance on the switching device itself, the adjacent switching devices would be needed to isolate the one
on which maintenance are to be done. Alternatively a live disconnection procedure could be used to isolate the
device from the busbar, as for the open-air busbar DSs, making it possible to do this without a busbar outage
where necessary. For these cases the substation switchyard designer must ensure that the clearances required
for safe working after disconnection are provided. For more information see chapter 7.1

Hybrid with five gas compartments and a Disconnecting CB

The hybrid solution with 5 gas compartments is more like the traditional one having a separate DS on both sides of
the CB. With this solution the CB part of the hybrid can be maintained while both sides of switching device remain
energised.

The corresponding side must be de-energised to maintain the DSs in the hybrid. To enable maintenance of the
busbar DSs without taking the busbar side out of service, it could be advantageous to have the disconnection
possibility also for this hybrid solution. For more information see chapter 7.1

A2.7. Maintenance issues related to AIS

In typical double bus AIS substations, the outage impact of primary assets is as follows:

• Replacement of bay CB: outage of the affected bay

• Replacement of busbar DS: outage of the affected bay and relevant busbar section

• Substation extension: outage of each of the relevant busbars in turn, no outage of existing bays

The accessibility and provision for isolation and disconnection needs to be carefully considered with the utility or
asset manager responsible for the delivery of any maintenance or corrective repair and replacement.

The key question is whether the bay or section needs to be returned to service quickly or if it can be isolated and
maintained in situ. This will determine the type and nature of solution chosen. The benefit of AIS is that it is
separate functionality, however as hybrid and MTS equipment is incorporated into AIS design it is important for the
procedure to be considered at the design stage and not visited afterwards as an afterthought.

Modular technology is designed to have long intervals between maintenance, however any major fault will require
the whole unit to be replaced and then repaired offline if fast return to service is required.

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For instance, the outage of only one bay is required for any replacement of a CB or a busbar DS. It should be
noted that HV testing may not be required (depending on utility practice and nature of the change) following any of
this work.

A2.8. Maintenance issues related to GIS

However when the same single line diagram is implemented in GIS, there are different procedures and issues to
manage around compact spaces and gas zones. Typically the same work items have a much heavier outage
impact. This difference results from the safety measures required when working on pressurised assemblies and
from the requirement to carry out HV testing following major repair or extensions.

The compact layouts possible with GIS substations make solutions with a very small footprint possible.
Nevertheless, it is important to get solutions that allow the appropriate combination of compact size and
maintainability.

Maintenance Reference about GIS in Red Eléctrica de España (REE)

In its GIS technical specifications, REE has defined conditions to achieve the maximum level of maintainability.For
instance, in double busbar solutions, the GIS substation has to be able to fulfill the following conditions:

• All maintenance has to be performed with at least one busbar in service.

• Complete removal of bays must be possible with at least one busbar in service and without
affecting the service of any other bay.

• Complete removal of circuit breakers including coupler circuit breakers has to be achieved
keeping both busbars in service all the time.
The solutions to fulfill these requirements have to be based in an appropriate design of gas chambers and physical
conditions. Manufacturers achieve these conditions and requirements in different ways; REE proposes the
following design of chambers as a guideline in the technical specifications:

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Figure A2.1: - Retaining bay in service with faulted busbar DS

In the figure the marked fifth chamber GC03 allows the level of gas pressure to be reduced so that the circuit
breaker chamber can be removed without affecting the service of the two busbars in any moment.

Notice that it is only a proposal; manufacturers may achieve this requirement in different ways that can be
accepted.

These requirements make the GIS level of maintainability closer to that of AIS.

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Reduction of outage impacts of maintenance, repair, extension works in double bus GIS
The following sketches show the outage impacts of a busbar DS replacement on a “typical“ GIS double bus
installation.

The legend used is as follows:

Figure A2.2: Legend for the following figures

Removal of a busbar DS

Figure A2.3: Removal of busbar

Removal of the affected compartment (shown by dashed envelope) requires an outage of the affected bay, the
relevant busbar section and of three additional bays. Any other bays on the relevant busbar section can remain in

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service connected to the second busbar (provided precautions are taken in the common point enclosure – the one
between the 2 busbar disconnectors – to limit the stress to the pressurised cone).

GIS modified with additional support insulators and gas barriers

The typical GIS can be modified with additional support insulators and/or with additional gas barriers to reduce the
number of bay outages required from a DS removal to an outage of the affected bay only. An example of this
approach is shown below.

Figure A2.4: Disconnecting switch removal

This approach enables the number of bay outages required for a removal of a busbar DS to be reduced from four
to one.

HV Testing
The HV test requires an outage of both busbars (and of all circuits connected to them) after the described DS
removal procedures.

This requirement results from the fact that open disconnectors cannot withstand a HV test level applied to one
terminal while the network voltage is applied to the other terminal. Therefore a HV test requires that either the
entire substation is de-energised or that there are two gaps in series between the tested section and the network
voltage section with an earth applied between the two gaps.

GIS with Maintenance Isolating Devices (MIDs)

One solution to this issue is the introduction of Maintenance Isolating Devices (MIDs) in the common point between
the two busbar DS. These MIDs are manually-operated isolating links, with one associated with each busbar DS.
They would be normally kept closed, only being operated as part of major maintenance or CB/busbar DS removal.

The impact of the MIDs during a busbar DS removal/replacement is shown in the following sketches.

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Figure A2.5: Maintenance isolating device

For busbar DS removal an outage is still required only on the affected bay (some of the additional insulators and
gas barriers mentioned in the previous section are still in place). However an additional safety margin is obtained
from being able to reduce the gas pressure in the adjoining two busbar compartments without needing an outage of
those two bays.

HV test with MID

Figure A2.6: HV test

The sketch shows the main benefit of the MIDs in that a HV test can be carried out on one busbar and one feeder
while maintaining the other busbar and other bays in service. MID 2 of the affected bay must be opened.

This benefit is obtained by opening the MID 1 on each of the other bays which allows an earth to be connected
between the open busbar 1 DS and the MID 1 while the bay is kept in service through the closed MID 2 and busbar
2 DS.

This example describes the benefits of MIDs during a busbar DS replacement. Similar benefits can be obtained
during the other two activities mentioned initially i.e. a bay CB replacement and a substation extension.

A2.9. Utility 1 Maintenance procedures

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Operational tests: annual

An 8 hour outage is sought per bay to operate all equipment in the bay from local & remote locations, confirm that
all status indication is still working and carry out a visual inspection of the equipment condition & of its operation.

Ordinary service: every 5 years for 110 kV & every 4 years for 220 kV
A 5-day outage is sought per bay to carry out all routine service requirements, clean insulators, check gas
pressures, carry out detailed inspections etc. Again there are no defined times per item of equipment. However the
time required is about 1-2 days per disconnector/earth switch and about 2 days per modern CB (3 days minimum
for oil and air-blast types).

Note: it would be quite common not to get busbar outages so that the required work cannot be carried out on
busbar disconnectors. Modern CBs need about 2 days, minimum oil or air-blast CBs need about 3 days.

Ordinary service & condition assessment: every 10 years for 110 kV & every 8 years for 220 kV
As per ordinary service with diagnostic tests added e.g. contact timing for CBs, contact resistance checks for all
switchgear, operating times & motor currents etc.

AIS and GIS have the same time intervals.

A2.10. Utility 2 Maintenance procedures

CB maintenance
Maintenance interval of CBs depends on:

• CB type, minimum-oil or SF6 insulated.

• Operating device principle, spring, pneumatic or hydraulic type.

• Type of bay, overhead line (L), auto-transformer (AT), bus-coupler (BC) or reactor (REA).
In addition the maintenance is split up into normal and detailed maintenance.

A summary of CB (52) maintenance is given in table A2.10-1.

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Table A2.1: Utility 2 CB maintenance

Explanations for table A2.10-1: Normal maintenance means important maintenance. Detailed maintenance means
important major and heavy maintenance including opening of CB etc. Duration for the maintenance activities is 3
days for all SF6 CBs except those with pneumatic operating devices which take 4 days. Minimum-oil CBs
maintenance time is estimated to 4 to 5 days.

Summary of DS (89) and ES (57) maintenance is given in table A2.10-2.

Table A2.2: Utility 2 DS and ES maintenance

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A2.11. Utility 3 Maintenance procedures

Normal maintenance of 100-400 kV CBs including:

• • Recording CB closing and opening times

• • Measurement of contact resistance.

• • Necessary maintenance of the operating device.

is done at the following intervals:

SF6 8-12 years interval

Minimum-oil 5-8 years interval

Air Blast 4 years interval

Oil CBs 4 years interval

Note:

Try to get an opportunity to “exercise” the CBs between the ordinary maintenance periods. “Exercise” means a
normal controlled operation of the CB and checking that this is done without any problem. With this check the
longer time interval as per above can be used even for “older” CBs. For “newer” CBs the longer interval shall be
used even without the “exercise”.

Time for maintenance work:

About 1 day for 130 kV, this includes the DS on bay side.

The result of the maintenance will decide when an overhaul of the CB should be scheduled.

Normal maintenance of 12-400 kV DSs is done at the same time as the CB, for the DS on the bay side. Busbar
DSs are only maintained if thermovision checks carried out in service have shown higher temperatures than
normal.

For maintenance of busbar DSs the maintenance will be prepared by using live disconnection of the DS from the
busbar if an outage of the busbar cannot be obtained. After live disconnection the DS can be maintained in a
“dead” condition by the “normal” maintenance crew. After maintenance is done the special crew for live
disconnection will reconnect the DS to the live busbar.

Overhaul of CBs for 100-400 kV systems

The time required for overhauls is based on an assessment of the CB condition during normal maintenance, please
see above.

Time for overhaul:

Minimum-oil 3-4 days

Air Blast 4-5 days

A2.12. Utility 4 Maintenance procedures

Normal Maintenance of 150 kV CBs

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• SF6, every 6 years checking closing and tripping times, contact resistance, moving “print”,
operation device (time required: one day, if DSs included then 2 days).

• Minimum-oil, every 3 years inspection and check of the oil, contact resistance (time required one
day, DSs included) and every 6 years change oil, checking closing and tripping times, contact
resistance, moving “print”, operation device (time required: 2 days).

Normal maintenance of 150 kV DSs

• For “normal” DSs, every 3 years check contact resistance and lubrication (normally in conjunction
with the CB, time required in total 1 or 2 days, depending on the CB).

• For “special quality” DSs, every 6 years check contact resistance and lubrication (normally in
conjunction with CB, time required is then 2 days).

Detailed maintenance of 150 kV CBs

• SF6, depending on type, normally every 15 – 20 years, resealing and normal maintenance (4 - 5
days).

• • Minimum-oil, every 12 years, normal maintenance, contact wear, resealing (3 – 4 days).

In conjunction with the above-mentioned maintenance, there are inspections of CTs, VTs and surge arresters with
a special focus on terminal boxes (sealing and lubrication of screws etc.).

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A2.13. Utility 5 Maintenance procedures

This utility is in the process of introducing a “combined maintenance” programme. In the past their routine
maintenance frequencies were based on recommendations from plant manufacturers or industry experts. There
was however no co-ordination with repair and reactive (corrective) maintenance, which was scheduled based on
the priority of the work and the availability of resources. In addition there was no co-ordination with equipment
which was due for replacement, or had been recently replaced.

The utility decided to take a co-ordinated approach to the maintenance issue and to carry out combined time-based
maintenance per individual site (substation) based on a maintenance frequency of five years. The objective was to
establish a maintenance plan which would carry out as many activities as possible with the minimum number of
outages, through improving up-front planning, visibility of plant requirements per site, and mitigating the risk of
cancelled outages.

For each substation, the maintenance tasks were cross-checked and packaged with repair and asset replacement
activities where possible. The concept was implemented in three pilot substations with quite different characteristics
in order to get experience from substations with different needs.

Some rules were set up regarding the maximum allowed deferred time for the combined maintenance, compared to
each equipment’s specific time interval:

1. No transformer maintenance to be delayed more than two years

2. No SF6 circuit breaker maintenance to be delayed more than two years

3. No oil or air circuit breaker maintenance to be delayed more than one year

To mitigate the risks associated with plant failure resulting in moderate, major or catastrophic consequences, such
as with transformers, new condition monitoring requirements were initiated. The new requirements, such as regular
monitoring of the number of transformer tap-changer operations, monitoring the number of circuit
breakersoperations, and thermo-graphic surveys would identify plant requiring immediate action to be dealt with,
prior to the combined maintenance cycle.

To mitigate the risks associated with operational reliability of plant that could not follow the 5-year maintenance
frequency, such as oil and air circuit breakers; these plants were subjected to half-cycle maintenance (every 2.5
years).

The analysis revealed that while in some substations the cost savings amounted to more than 20%, in others this
saving was considerably lower and in one case was only 1%. This demonstrated the accuracy of the early
assumption that the new practice could not be applied as a blanket rule to all substations. Although the cost
associated with outage reductions was not captured, the reduction of outages in these substations was substantial
and pleasing.

Combined maintenance also improved resource and equipment utilisation through advanced planning of work,
which yielded a more balanced work flow compared with conventional practice. Knowing what the work plan was
for the coming days, maintenance crews started work on site every morning and finished on site, without the need
to come to the depot for work management tasks. This had significant impact on resource utilisation, bringing it up
above the target levels for the employees.

Combined maintenance was a significant re-engineering process of operational and capital works with an
immediate goal of “Reducing the overall number of requests for network outages by 40. It was performed on the
basis of Lean 6-sigma methodology and focused on optimising resources and network access based on smart
planning. Through the journey of implementing this change, numerous challenges were addressed and lessons
learnt and shared. Risks and challenges that could potentially be obstacles along the way were quantified,
controlled and mitigated against. Opportunity gains emerging from this journey were not limited to the immediate
objective of reducing outages; but extended beyond this goal to cover efficiencies in resource and equipment
utilisation and reduced unit costs for maintenance.

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Conclusion
The combined maintenance has made the maintenance work more efficient and reduced the number of outages
while at the same time given some similar cost reductions at different types of substations.

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ANNEX 3 CONFIGURATION OVERVIEWS AND ABBREVIATIONS

A3.1. Circuit configurations - overview
Single Busbar (SB) Disconnectable (Sectionalisable) Single Busbar (SSB)
AT1 L2 AT3 L4

AT1 L2 AT3 L4

B1
B1A B1B

L1 L3 L1 L3

H3-Configurations A and B H4-Configuration H5-Configuration

OPTION A OPTION B L3 L4 L3 L4
L3 L4 L3 L4

AT1 AT2 AT1 AT2 AT1 AT2 AT1 AT2

Double Busbar with coupler bay (DB) Two Circuit Breaker configuration(2CB)
AT1 L2 AT3 L4
AT1 L1 L2 AT2 L3 L4
L3

B1

B1
B2

L1 L3 B2

Double Busbar with coupler bay and transfer busbar (DBT) Triple Busbar (TB)

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AT1 L2 AT3 L4

AT1 L2 AT3 L4

BT
B1
B2
B1
B2
B3

L1 L3 L1 L3

Ring configuration (R) One-and-half Circuit Breaker configuration (OHCB)

AT1 L1 AT1 L2 L4

B1

L2 AT2

B2

L1 AT2 L3

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A3.2. Assessment criteria – overview

Score Possible consequences to the network because Possible consequences to the network because
of a primary fault of a primary fault when breaker fails to open
1 Possible loss of the whole substation Loss of the whole substation

2 Loss of one or more feeders but not the whole Loss of more than one feeder or the whole
substation substation

3 Loss of one or more feeders but not the whole Loss of more than one feeder but not the whole
substation substation

4 Loss of one feeder Loss of one feeder and always one feeder more
but not the whole substation

5 Loss of none or one feeder Loss of one feeder and possibly one feeder
more but not the whole substation

6 Loss of none or one feeder Loss of one feeder

Table A3.1: Evaluation criteria with matching score for service security

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Score Maintenance of Consequence

1 Any busbar disconnector Outage of whole substation

2 Sectionaliser Disconnector Outage of whole substation

3 Any busbar or sectionaliser disconnector Outage of half the substation

4 Any busbar disconnector Outage of one busbar, remaining objects in

service on the same busbar

5 Any busbar disconnector Outage of one busbar, remaining objects in

double busbar configuration

6 Any busbar disconnector Remaining circuits in service

Open ring
Split up of the substation
Circuit breaker Split-up of the substation and all circuits in service

7 Any busbar disconnector Outage of one busbar, all objects in service on the
same busbar

Circuit breaker all circuits remain in service

Table A3.2: Evaluation criteria with matching score for availability during maintenance of CBs
and DSs
Scores Definition

1 Not possible to split

2 Non-energized split (DS only), no flexibility

3 Energized split (with CB), No flexibility

4 Energized split (with CB), Low flexibility

5 Energized split (with CB), High flexibility, switching with DS

Energized split (with CB)

6 High flexibility, switching with CB’s
Highest flexibility, switching with DS

Table A3.3: Evaluation criteria with matching score for flexibility

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A3.3. Assessment results – overview

Table A3.4: Evaluation results

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Abbreviations

AIS Air-insulated switchgear

CB Circuit breaker

DB Double Busbar configuration

2CB Two circuit breaker configuration

DBT Double busbar and transfer busbar

DCB Disconnecting Circuit Breaker

DS Disconnector

GIS Gas-insulated switchgear

H3 H3 configuration

H4 H4 configuration

H5 H5 configuration

LCC Life cycle costs

MTS Mixed technology switchgear

n.a. Not applicable

OHCB One-and-half breaker configuration

R Ring configuration

SB Single Busbar

SSB Disconnectable (Sectionalisable) single busbar

TB Triple busbar

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BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES

1
CIGRE B3-20 - “Evaluation of different technologies (AIS, GIS, MTS) for rated voltages of 52 kV and
above” , November 2008
2
CIGRE Technical Brochure 483 – “Guidelines for the design and construction of AC Offshore
Substations for Wind Power Plants”, December 2011
3
IEC 61936-1, 2012-08-01 - Power installations exceeding 1 kV a.c. – Common rules, Section 7.1.1. Circuit
arrangements
4
IEV - International Electrotechnical Vocabulary as a set of publications in the IEC 60050 series
5
IEC 62271-102, 2003-08-01, High-voltage switchgear and controlgear - Part 102: Alternating current
disconnectors and earthing switches
6
IEC 60300-3-3, 2005-08-01 - Dependability management - Part 3-3: Application guide - Life cycle costing
7
CIGRE SC B3, PS1 Substation 2020 Report 104a “Optimization of High-Voltage Substations with Life Cycle Cost
Analyses”, Berlin 2007

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