What is an electricity grid?
It is a network of power lines that evacuates electricity from a generating station. Its constituents are generating stations, transmission lines and substations (transformers that step down voltage). India's electricity grid is divided into five regional zones — north, east, west, south and north-east —to optimally utilise the unevenly distributed power resources in the country.
How does it function?
States in each region communicate their electricity drawl schedule to their respective load dispatch centers, which monitor grid frequency and voltage. The grid operates in a narrow frequency band of 49.5Hz to 50.2Hz. The grid frequency falls when there is excess drawl of electricity or the generation is less and increases when there is excess supply or the drawal is less.
When does a grid collapse?
A grid collapses when the frequency falls below the lower limit of the (49.5-50.2Hz) band or increases beyond the upper limit. As a result, transmission lines stop accepting power supply and other grid constituents, including the generating stations, go offline.
How is power restored?
Restoration of power is an extensive process involving all the grid constituents: the grid management authorities start restoring the transmission lines and simultaneously make alternative arrangements for power supply. Generating stations are restarted. Among all power projects, coal-based plants take the longest to resume operations.
How is the fault determined?This is a tough task as the authorities have to go through the details of per-second consumption and supply by each constituent of the grid at the time of the collapse. As a routine exercise, the regional load dispatch center authorities keep warning states and regulatory authorities at regular intervals about possible failure due to excess or lower drawl of power.
It is a network of power lines that evacuates electricity from a generating station. Its constituents are generating stations, transmission lines and substations (transformers that step down voltage). India's electricity grid is divided into five regional zones — north, east, west, south and north-east —to optimally utilise the unevenly distributed power resources in the country.
How does it function?
States in each region communicate their electricity drawl schedule to their respective load dispatch centers, which monitor grid frequency and voltage. The grid operates in a narrow frequency band of 49.5Hz to 50.2Hz. The grid frequency falls when there is excess drawl of electricity or the generation is less and increases when there is excess supply or the drawal is less.
When does a grid collapse?
A grid collapses when the frequency falls below the lower limit of the (49.5-50.2Hz) band or increases beyond the upper limit. As a result, transmission lines stop accepting power supply and other grid constituents, including the generating stations, go offline.
How is power restored?
Restoration of power is an extensive process involving all the grid constituents: the grid management authorities start restoring the transmission lines and simultaneously make alternative arrangements for power supply. Generating stations are restarted. Among all power projects, coal-based plants take the longest to resume operations.
How is the fault determined?This is a tough task as the authorities have to go through the details of per-second consumption and supply by each constituent of the grid at the time of the collapse. As a routine exercise, the regional load dispatch center authorities keep warning states and regulatory authorities at regular intervals about possible failure due to excess or lower drawl of power.
No comments:
Post a Comment