power system planning

 What is wheeling? Briefly explain the concept of wheeling and wheeling changes in power system.

In the context of power systems, "wheeling" refers to the transportation of electrical power from one location to another through the transmission grid. It involves the movement of electricity from a generator located at one point to a consumer or another grid operator located at a different point.

Wheeling arrangements often involve payment of transmission charges or fees to the entities that own and operate the transmission infrastructure. These charges compensate for the use of the grid and help maintain and upgrade the transmission system.

Wheeling changes refer to modifications or adjustments made to the arrangements, tariffs, or regulations governing wheeling transactions. These changes can include alterations in pricing structures, access rights, or technical specifications, aimed at ensuring fair and efficient utilization of the transmission grid while promoting competition in the electricity market.

Explain national and regional power planning in India. Discuss salient features of electricity regulation in detail.

National and regional power planning in India involves the coordination and management of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution to meet the country's energy needs efficiently and sustainably. Here's an overview:

1. **National Power Planning**: The national power planning in India is overseen by various government bodies such as the Ministry of Power and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The key objectives of national power planning include ensuring adequate and reliable power supply, promoting the use of renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency, and enhancing grid stability. The planning process involves forecasting future electricity demand, identifying potential generation sources, assessing transmission and distribution requirements, and formulating policies and strategies to meet these needs.

 

2. **Regional Power Planning**: India is divided into several regions for power planning purposes, each with its own set of challenges and priorities. Regional power planning involves tailoring strategies and projects to address the specific needs and constraints of each region. This may include optimizing the mix of generation sources, expanding transmission infrastructure, and improving distribution networks to reduce losses and improve reliability. Regional planning also involves coordination between different states and utility companies to ensure seamless electricity supply across borders.

1. **Regulatory Framework**: Electricity regulation in India is governed by various laws and regulatory bodies at the central and state levels. The key legislation includes the Electricity Act, 2003, which provides the legal framework for generation, transmission, distribution, and trading of electricity. The act also established regulatory commissions at the central and state levels to oversee the sector.

2. **Tariff Regulation**: Electricity tariffs in India are regulated by state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs) and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). These commissions determine tariff structures and rates for different consumer categories, considering factors such as generation costs, transmission and distribution losses, and the financial viability of utilities.

3. **Market Regulation**: The electricity market in India operates under a mix of regulated and competitive mechanisms. While tariffs for retail consumers are regulated, there are provisions for open access and trading in the wholesale market. The CERC regulates interstate transmission and trading activities, while SERCs oversee intra-state transactions and distribution.

4. **Renewable Energy Integration**: India has set ambitious targets for renewable energy deployment to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate climate change. Electricity regulation in India encourages the integration of renewable energy sources through various mechanisms such as feed-in tariffs, renewable purchase obligations, and renewable energy certificates.

5. **Consumer Protection**: Electricity regulation in India includes provisions for consumer protection and grievance redressal. Regulatory commissions have powers to adjudicate disputes between consumers and utilities, ensure quality of service standards, and enforce penalties for non-compliance.

6. **Monitoring and Compliance**: Regulatory commissions monitor the performance of utilities and enforce compliance with regulatory provisions through audits, inspections, and enforcement actions. They also conduct periodic reviews and assessments of the electricity sector to identify challenges and opportunities for improvement.

Overall, electricity regulation in India aims to balance the interests of consumers, utilities, and the environment while ensuring the efficient and sustainable provision of electricity services nationwide.

 Explain in brief the following: -

Technical impact of greenhouse effect. 

The greenhouse effect, driven primarily by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, has significant technical implications. Rising global temperatures disrupt weather patterns, leading to more frequent and severe extreme weather events such as hurricanes, heatwaves, and floods. This impacts infrastructure resilience, requiring upgrades and adaptations to withstand these conditions. Additionally, changes in precipitation patterns affect water resource management, agricultural practices, and energy production. Coastal infrastructure faces increased risk due to rising sea levels, necessitating innovative engineering solutions for protection. Furthermore, the greenhouse effect exacerbates environmental degradation, impacting biodiversity and ecosystem services. Addressing these technical challenges requires interdisciplinary approaches, including renewable energy development, sustainable urban planning, and advanced monitoring and prediction systems to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Factors affecting inter connection under emergency assistance in generation planning:- Interconnection under emergency assistance in generation planning can be influenced by various factors. Here are five major factors:

1. **Technical Compatibility**: Interconnecting power systems during emergencies requires ensuring technical compatibility between different generation sources and the existing grid infrastructure. Factors such as voltage levels, frequency control, and grid stability need to be considered to prevent disruptions and ensure seamless integration of additional generation capacity.

2. **Operational Constraints**: During emergencies, there may be operational constraints such as limited transmission capacity or generation availability due to equipment failures or fuel shortages. These constraints can impact the ability to interconnect additional generation sources and may require careful coordination and prioritization of resources.

3. **Regulatory and Legal Considerations**: Regulatory frameworks and legal requirements can influence the process of interconnecting generation sources during emergencies. This includes obtaining permits, complying with safety standards, and addressing liability issues. Ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements is essential to avoid delays and legal complications.

4. **Resource Availability**: The availability of resources such as fuel, equipment, and skilled personnel can significantly affect the ability to interconnect generation sources during emergencies. Limited availability of resources due to factors such as supply chain disruptions or competing demands from other critical sectors can pose challenges and necessitate careful resource management and allocation.

Addressing these factors requires careful planning, collaboration, and flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing conditions during emergencies. By considering these factors, stakeholders can enhance the resilience and reliability of power systems and minimize disruptions during critical situations.

Planning tool in power planning:-

Planning engineer ‘s primary requirement is to give power supply to consumers in a reliable manner at a minimum cost with due flexibility for future expansion.

The criteria and constraints in planning an energy system are reliability, environmental economics, electricity pricing, financial constraints, society impacts.

reliability, environmental, economic, and financial constraints can be quantified. Social effects are evaluated qualitatively.

The system must be optimal over a period from day of operation to the lifetime.

Various computer programs are available and are used for fast screening of alternative plans with respect to technical, environmental and economic constraints. The available tools for power system planning can be split into:

Simulation tools

: these simulate the behaviour of the system under certain conditions and calculate relevant indices. Examples are load flow models, short circuit models, stability models, etc.

Optimization tools

: these minimize or maximize an objective function by choosing adequate values for decision variables. Examples are optimum power, least cost expansion planning, generation expansion planning, etc.

Scenario tools:

this is a method of viewing the future in a quantitative fashion. All possible outcomes are investigated. The sort of decision or assumptions which might be made by a utility developing such a scenario might be: should we computerize automate the management of power system after certain date.

Lateral distribution protection: -

Lateral distribution protection safeguards electrical distribution systems by detecting and isolating faults occurring along lateral lines, which branch out from main feeder lines. This protection mechanism relies on overcurrent relays, sensors that monitor current flow, and trip circuit breakers to disconnect faulty segments. When a fault, like a short circuit or overload, occurs, the relay senses the abnormal current and sends a signal to trip the circuit breaker, isolating the affected section. This prevents the fault from spreading and causing further damage, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to unaffected areas. Lateral distribution protection enhances system reliability and minimizes downtime, crucial for maintaining service continuity in electrical networks.

Shunt compensation and series compensation: -

Shunt compensation and series compensation are techniques used in electrical engineering to improve the efficiency and stability of power transmission systems.

Shunt compensation involves the addition of reactive components such as capacitors or reactors across the transmission line. These components help to regulate voltage levels, reduce line losses, and improve power factor. By injecting or absorbing reactive power, shunt compensation ensures that the system operates more efficiently.

On the other hand, series compensation involves adding reactive components, typically capacitors, in series with the transmission line. This reduces the overall impedance of the line, improving voltage regulation and power transfer capacity. Series compensation is particularly useful for long transmission lines where voltage drop and power losses are significant.

Both shunt and series compensation techniques play crucial roles in optimizing power transmission networks, enhancing their reliability, and ensuring efficient energy delivery to consumers.