EEK470 Electrical Power

Distribution System
Lecture Note 3: Loss Factor,
Load Forecasting & Overhead
Line Characteristics
By
Assoc. Prof. Ir. Dr. Dahaman Ishak
Room: 1.49 @School EE
Email: dahaman@usm.my

Lecture Time: Monday 10am – 12noon, EEK1

& Venue Tuesday 10am – 12noon, EEK2 1
Lecture Outline
 Relationship between Load Factor and Loss
Factor Calculation
 Load Growth and Load Forecasting
 Overhead Line Characteristics
 Line Resistance
 Line Inductance
 Line Capacitance
Load Curve and Load Duration Curve

 Consumption of electrical energy varies from

time to time in a day
 Consumption also changes from day to day,
or season to season of a year
 Load Curve and Load Duration Curve can be
used to analyze the energy demand for
distribution planning
 These curves can also tell the load
characteristics
Load Curve
 An example of load curve on a feeder that supplies an industrial and
a residential loads
Definitions :-
Maximum Demand, MD

Total Connected Load

Class demand at time of system peak

Contribution Factor =
Class maximum demand

Coincident Maximum Demand, Dg

Coincident Factor, FC =
The sum of individual Maximum Demand

The sum of individual Maximum Demand 1

Diversity Factor, FD = =
Coincident Maximum Demand, D g FC

Average load
Load Factor =
Peak load
Relationship between Load Factor
and Loss Factor

Average load Average power loss

Load Factor = Loss Factor =
Peak load Power loss at peak load

 Estimate the loss factor from the load factor

 The loss factor cannot be determined from the load
factor, however the limiting values for the
relationship can be found
 Consider a simple load curve
 Consider a primary feeder Load
connected to a variable
load Demand

 Assume an ideal load

curve as shown in the
diagram where
P 1= off-peak load
P2 = peak load

Pavg = Average load

PLS1 = Power loss at off-peak

Power
PLS2 = Power loss at peak Loss
PLSavg = Average power loss
 Relationship between Load
Factor and Loss Factor
Demand

Load Factor

t  P1   T -t 
Load Factor = + 
T  P2   T 


Loss Factor
Power
Loss

2
t  P1   T -t 
Loss Factor = +   
T  P2   T 
Relationship between Load Factor and
Loss Factor Case 1
2
t  P   T -t 
Load Factor = + 1   
T  P2   T 

Loss Factor =
t  P1   T -t 
+   
T  P2   T 
t T

Consider 3 extreme cases: Case 2

Case 1:
 Off peak load, P1 → 0

Case 2: t
T

Case 3
 Short lasting peak, t → 0

Case 3:
 Load is steady

t T
Relationship between Load Factor and
Loss Factor

For 3 extreme cases: 2

t  P   T -t 
Load Factor = + 1   
 Case 1: Off peak load, P1 → 0 T  P2   T 
t
 Loss Factor = Load Factor = 2
t  P1   T -t 
T Loss Factor = +   
T  P2   T 
 Case 2: Short lasting peak, t → 0
 Loss Factor → (Load Factor)2

 Case 3: Load is steady

 Loss Factor Load Factor
 However, Buller and Woodrow developed an approximate formula to
relate the loss factor to the load factor as:

Loss factor curves as a function of load factor. (From Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Electric
Utility Engineering Reference Book-Distribution Systems, Vol. 3, Westinghouse Electric
Corporation, East Pittsburgh, PA, 1965.)
Example

Loss Factor = 0.3(Load Factor) + 0.7(Load Factor)2

Recall:
Average load Average power loss
Load Factor = Loss Factor =
Peak load Power loss at peak load
Solution:

=0.1677
=0.1677 x 100 kW
=16.77 kW

=16.77 kW x 8760 hr
= 146,905 kWh

=146905 x 0.03
= $ 4407.15
Load Growth
 Population growth and energy requirement do not grow
linearly, but it usually grows exponentially
 It is important to consider load growth during the planning
process for future substation expansion
 In general, the increase of power demand can be estimated
using the following mathematical equations:

Compound interest equation:

Pn = Po (1 + x) n

 Where
 Po = initial power demand
 Pn = power demand after n period
 x = growth rate
 n = period (year)
Load Growth
2. Exponential equation:
Pn = Po x n
 Where
 Po = initial power demand
 x = growth rate
 n = period

3. Quadratic equation

Pn = A + Bx + Cx n
 Where
 A, B and C are system’s parameters
 x = growth rate
 n = period
Load Forecasting
 Forecast the future demand in loads based on
the existing trend
 Use regression analysis for the prediction
 Take the historical trend over a period of time
and estimate the future demand by extrapolating
the trend
 Taking into account
the following factors:
 Cyclic/Seasonal variations
 Weather conditions
Exercise
A rural area recorded an annual energy use of
500 MWh. If the growth rate of the area is 6%,
what will be the annual demand after 5 years?
(use compound interest equation).
Pn = Po (1 + x) n

Answer :
Overhead Transmission Lines
Overhead transmission lines
 Overhead power lines are suspended
on transmission towers
 Example of transmission towers
structure:
Power transmission towers
Overhead lines
 The conductors for overhead
transmission lines are suspended
from a pole or a tower via insulators
 In addition to phase conductors, a
transmission line usually includes
one or two steel wires called ground
(earth/shield) wires. These wires are
electrically connected to the tower
and to the ground
 In large transmission lines, these
wires are located above the phase
conductors, shielding them from
lightning
Overhead lines
 Types of conductors
 AAC – All Aluminium Conductor
 AAAC – All Aluminium Alloy Conductor
 ACSR – Aluminium Conductor, Steel Reinforced
 Copper

 The size of conductor to be used depends on:

 Current carrying capacity
 Mechanical strength, the span of the line
 The corrosion resistance
 Voltage drop
Types of aluminium conductors
AAC – All Aluminium Conductor
• AAC conductors are made up of one or more strands of aluminium wire
• AAC is used mainly in urban areas where the spacing is short and the
supports are close
• AAC has a high degree of corrosion resistance – it is used extensively in
coastal regions

ACSR – Aluminium Conductor, Steel Reinforced

• ACSR consists of a solid or stranded steel core surrounded by strands of
aluminium
• It has higher strength
• used for river crossings, overhead earth wires, and installations involving
extra long spans with less supports

AAAC – All Aluminium Alloy Conductor

• AAAC is used on aerial circuits that require a larger mechanical strength
than AAC, and a better corrosion resistance than ACSR
• The strength-to-weight ratio of AAAC is better than AAC / ACSR.
AAC and AAAC Conductor
ACSR Conductor
Transmission Line’s parameters:
1. Series resistance
 depends on type of conductor
 changes with temperature
2. Series inductance and Shunt capacitance
 due to the presence of magnetic and electric fields
around the conductors
 depends on the conductor geometrical arrangement
3. Shunt conductance
 due to leakage currents flowing across insulators or air
 normally very small and can be neglected
Line series resistance
 Copper conductor has lower resistance than
aluminium conductor
 However, aluminium is much cheaper and
lighter. It is used to make most of the
transmission line conductors
 Conductors made out of aluminum should
have bigger diameter than copper conductors
to offset the higher resistivity of the material
Line resistance

 Resistance of the line is also dependent on the line temperature

 Wire manufacturers usually supply tables of resistance per unit
length at specific temperature. Therefore, the resistance can be
determined from such tables.
 Resistance at different temperature can be calculated from:

RT = R20 [1 + 0.00403(T − 20)]

 Where:
 RT = Resistance per km at temperature T
 R20 = Resistance per km at 20ºC
 This equation is for ACSR and AAC
 For AAAC, replace 0.00403 with 0.0036
ACSR / AAC electrical
characteristics
Another example of ACSR
electrical characteristics
Line inductance
 Inductance per km for a single phase, 2-wire
conductor is
 D 
L = 0.4 ln  mH / km
 GMR 

 Inductance per phase per km for a 3-phase, 3-wire

symmetrical spaced conductor is

 GMD 
L = 0.2 ln   mH / km
 GMR 
 Where
 D is the line spacing
(−0.25 )
 GMR is the Geometric Mean Radius = e r = 0.7788r
 r = radius of conductor
 GMD is Geometric Mean Distance = 3 D1 × D2 × D3
Line capacitance
 Capacitance per km for a single phase, 2-wire
conductor is 0.0278
C= µF / km
D
ln 
r
 Capacitance per phase per km for a 3-phase,
3-wire symmetrical spaced conductor is
0.0556
C= µF / km
 GMD 
ln 
 r 
 Where
 r = radius of conductor
 D is the line spacing
 GMD is Geometric Mean Distance = 3 D1 × D2 × D3
Inductive Reactance of a line
 The series Inductive Reactance of a line depends on
the line inductance and the frequency of the power
system
 The inductive reactance per unit length is given by
xL = ω L = 2π fL
 where f is the power system frequency and L is the inductance
per unit length

 The total series inductive reactance of a transmission

line can be calculated from
X L = xL d
 Where d is the length of the line
Capacitive Admittance of a line
 The shunt Capacitive Admittance of a line depends
on the line capacitance and the frequency of the
power system
 The capacitive admittance per unit length is given by
yC = ωC = 2π fC
 where f is the power system frequency and C is the
capacitance per unit length

 The total series capacitive admittance of a

transmission line can be calculated from
YC = yC d
 Where d is the length of the line
Transmission line models
• Overhead transmission lines shorter than 80 km (50 miles) can be
modeled as a series resistance and inductance, since the shunt
capacitance can be neglected over short distances.

• The inductive reactance at 60 Hz for

overhead lines is typically much larger
than the resistance of the line.

• For medium-length lines (80-240 km),

shunt capacitance should be taken into
account. However, it can be modeled by
two capacitors of a half of the line
capacitance each.

• Lines longer than 240 km (150 miles) are long transmission lines
Example
A single-phase 230V 50Hz line for street lighting
is constructed using ACSR 7/2.11 conductor
over a length of 3.2 km. The conductor spacing
is 0.6m and the resistance/km of the conductor
is 1.4Ω at 20°C.
Determine the resistance, inductance and
impedance of the line when the line temperature
is 70°C (ignore the line capacitance).
For ACSR, RT = R20 [1 + 0.00403(T − 20)]
RT=70 = 1.4[1+0.00403(70-20)]=1.6821 Ohm/km
Actual Resistance R =1.6821 x 2 x 3.2 = 10.76 Ω
 D 
L = 0.4 ln  mH / km
 GMR 
= 2.198 mH/km  Actual inductance L=2.198x3.2 = 7.03 mH
∴line impedance Z = R +jωL = 10.76 + j2.21 Ω
 End of Lecture Note 3

EEK470 Electrical Power Distribution System

THANK YOU

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