VI
ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEMS
Anjan Bose
College of Engineering and
Architecture, Washington State
University, Pullman,
Washington, USA
The Importance of the Electric System
In the list of the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th
century, the National Academy of Engineering ranked electri-
fication at the very top. The availability of electricity for indus-
trial, commercial, and domestic uses has affected human
society more profoundly than any other technology in the
history of mankind. From the modest start in 1882 of Edison's
Pearl Street electric generating station in New York City that
could provide electric lights in a few buildings in lower Man-
hattan, to the highly interconnected power grids of today that
span continents to bring reliable and affordable electric power
to most of human habitation, the development of the technol-
ogy of electric power systems is a remarkable story of not only
engineering innovation but also of business practices, govern-
mental regulations, and societal changes.
This section covers, albeit briefly and in a sweeping over-
view, the electrical engineering aspects of the electric power
system. The electric power system, often referred to as the
electric power grid, is made up of electric generation, trans-
mission, and distribution, all aspects of which are touched on
in the following chapters. The generation of electricity requires
the conversion of fossil (e.g., coal, oil, and gas), nuclear (e.g.,
fission), or renewable fuels (e.g., hydro, solar, wind, and
fusion) into electricity, and the considerable engineering
needed on mechanical, chemical, and nuclear aspects is an
explanation that is outside the scope of this textbook. Simi-
larly, the various use of electricity to produce light, heat,
and mechanical work is also not covered here. The electrical
portion of the power system, however, is covered in some
detail.
Chapters 1 and 2 cover the general principles of three-phase
alternating current systems and the various electrical compo-
nents that make up the electric power system. Of these com-
ponents, electric machines are covered in the next two
chapters, with Chapter 3 covering power transformers and
Chapter 4 covering rotating machines that generate electricity
(generators) or use electricity to do mechanical work
(motors). Chapters 5 and 6 cover high-voltage transmission
and lower voltage distribution, respectively. The rest of the
section is then devoted to system aspects, with Chapter 7
covering the analytical tools needed to study and design the
power system and Chapter 8 explaining operation and control.
Techniques and equipment to protect the power system against
short circuits are covered in Chapter 9. The concluding Chap-
ter 10 briefly covers power quality issues that have become
more important today as electricity is used for more precise
applications like the production of integrated circuit chips.
 1
Three-Phase Alternating
Current Systems
Anjan Bose 1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 709
College of Engineering and 1.2 Two-Wire and Three-Wire Systems: Current ............................................. 709
Architecture, Washington State 1.3 Voltages ............................................................................................. 710
University, Pullman, Washington,
USA 1.3.1 IndustryBusinessStructure

1.1 Introduction P = VI cos qb. (1.1)

In a three-wire, three-phase system, let the rms voltage be-

Although the first electric power system, Edison's Pearl Street
system, was based on direct current (dc), the advantages of
alternating current (ac) systems were obvious by the turn of
the 20th century. The voltage drop in an electrical circuit limited
the distance from the source of electricity to where it was
consumed. The Westinghouse transformer made it possible to
boost and lower voltage levels in ac systems, making it possible
early on to bring electricity into Buffalo, NY, and Portland, OR,
from generators at waterfalls many miles away. Further, the
Tesla induction motor replaced all steam-driven manufacturing
machinery because it was more clean and flexible, thus ensuring
the usage of ac as the preferred technology. Despite this, some
pockets of dc power systems survived until after World War II.
The choice of a three-phase transmission and distribution
system over a single-phase system also came very early because
of the increased efficiency of transmitting power. Although the
use of electricity at the consuming end is in one phase low
voltage (except for very large industrial use), transmission and
distribution are always done in a three-phase system. To
understand the efficiency of transmitting power, consider the
discussion following section.
1.2 Two-Wire and Three-Wire Systems:
Current
For a two-wire, single-phase system, let the root-mean-square
(rms) voltage between the wires be V, the rms current be I, and
the phase angle between the voltage and current be ~b. The
power transmitted over this line is then given by:
tween each wire and the ground (the ground is often a
grounded wire, making it a four-wire system) be V', the
current in each wire be I, and the phase angle between the
two be dO. Because there are three phases, the total power
transmitted is as follows:
P = 3V~Icos&. (1.2)
However, V' in equation 1.2 is the voltage of each wire to
ground, whereas V in equation 1.1 is the voltage between the
two wires. In the three-phase system, the voltage in each wire is
120 ° out of phase with each other. Thus, the voltage Vbetween
any two wires of the three-phase system is v ~ V ~. Hence,
V' = V / v#5, and:
P = x / 3 V I cos qb. (1.3)
A three-wire, three-phase system can then transmit 73% more
power than a two-wire, single-phase system by just the addition
of one wire. A three-phase system also has some major advan-
tages in the generation and use of electricity by rotating ma-
chines as will be explained later.
The three-phase ac systems have been adopted worldwide.
The frequency of the ac and the voltage levels chosen around
the world vary. The frequency of 60 Hz was adopted in North
America (and a few other places), and 50 Hz is used in all other
parts of the world. Because the frequency must be the same to
interconnect power systems, only these two frequencies have
become standards (exceptions to this are a few isolated systems
like those used in rail transportation).

Copyright © 2005 by Academic Press. 709

All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
710 Anjan Bose

1.3 Voltages
Voltages, unlike current, can vary a lot, and transformers can
always be used to match voltages. Moreover, several levels of
voltages are used in one geographic area from the 110- or 220-V
single phase inside a residence to maybe a 765-KV three phase
for transmission, with five or six intermediate levels in between.
In general, generators will produce electricity at low volt-
ages, up to about 20 KV for large generators, but this voltage
will be boosted immediately outside the generating stations to
high transmission level voltages by transformers. The advan-
tages of transmitting power at higher voltages are very easy to
see from equation 1.3. The same power transmitted at a higher
voltage requires less current. Less current implies that the
voltage drop IR and the power losses I2R are both lower. Less
current also means that the wire size needed will be smaller, FIGURE 1.1 The Old VerticallyIntegrated Power Industry Structure
which is a savings not just in the wire but in the whole
transmission structure.
interconnected to the transmission of the neighboring corpo-
The siting of generators at hydro dams and mine mouths
rations, thus creating the large electric power grid enabling the
required the transmission of power over long distances to
exchange of power between corporations.
population centers, and the economies of scale encouraged
In some countries during the last couple of decades, to
larger power plants. The concentration of generation in a
encourage more entrepreneurial building of generation plants,
limited number of locations required that alternate transmis-
governments started to allow independent power producers
sion paths be available between the generator locations and the
(IPPs) to build generating plants that could be connected to
consumption areas. Thus, transmission developed as a meshed
the grid. Rules were set up to require the monopoly power
network of lines so that the loss of a line did not disrupt the
companies to buy this generation from the IPPs at certain
flow of power to consumers.
rates. These IPPs are shown in separate boxes in Figure 1.1.
The main difference between transmission and distribution
In most countries, there is a move to "deregulate" the power
used to be that transmission lines transferred larger amounts of
industry by introducing competition in a region. The main
power at higher voltages over longer distances, while distribu-
restructuring has been the separation and privatization of the
tion lines transferred smaller amounts of power at lower volt-
generation into separate companies that compete with each
ages locally. However, distribution lines are radial, and the
other to sell electricity to the distribution companies or directly
major distinction between transmission lines and distribution
to the customers. This breaking up of the vertically integrated
lines today is that the transmission system is a meshed network,
corporation is shown by the many boxes in Figure 1.2. The
while the distribution system is radial. In terms of voltages, all
transmission system, being the main pathway for the generation
lines over 100 KV are always meshed and part of the transmis-
sion system, and all voltages below 30 KV are always radial and
are classified as distribution. The in-between voltage levels (e.g.,
69 KV or 34.5 KV) are sometimes radial in sparsely populated
rural areas while meshed in densely populated downtown urban
areas; when they are in a mesh network, the term subtransmis-
sion is sometimes used for these voltage levels.

1.3.1 Industry Business Structure

The business structure for this industry for decades has been
either a state-owned monopoly, a model used in most coun-
tries, or a state-regulated monopoly; the latter is a model used
in the United States. Thus, the generation, transmission, and
distribution in one contiguous geographic region would be
owned by one corporation as a vertically integrated monopoly.
Such a configuration is shown in Figure 1.1 with the generators
(circles), transmission, and distribution shown in one corpo-
rate box. The transmission system of one corporation is often FIGURE 1.2 The New Deregulated Power Industry Structure
1 Three-Phase Alternating Current Systems
to reach the customers, remains under strict regulation with the
main rule being the nondiscriminatory availability of electricity
to all sellers and buyers of electric power. In most cases, the
distribution companies are also regulated to ensure that the
retail customer is not affected by big swings in electricity prices.
FIGURE 1.3 The Reliability Regions of the North American Power
Grid
FIGURE 1.4 The West European Power Grid
711
The breakup of the old vertically integrated monopolies has
resulted in more corporate entities that are involved. In addi-
tion, new companies providing new services, like brokering
power sales, have also entered the picture. Active markets in
wholesale power are operating.
The technical operation of the power grid, however, has not
changed much. The interconnected transmission network is
still the same. Some of these interconnected transmission
networks are very large, spanning vast geographical areas.
The North American power grid is shown in Figure 1.3 and
divided up into reliability regions that plan and operate the
regional portion of the grid in a coordinated fashion. The
Western region (WSCC) and Texas (ERCOT) are only con-
nected to the rest of the grid with dc ties instead of ac. The
Eastern Interconnection is synchronously connected through
the ac transmission and is the largest synchronously connected
power grid in the world with 687 GW of installed generation
and 128,000 miles of transmission.
The West European Power Grid is shown in Figure 1.4. The
separate regions are again connected with dc ties. The largest
synchronously operating grid is that of continental Europe
recently enlarged by the interconnecting of some of the Eastern
European countries that disconnected from the old Soviet grid
to interconnect with the West. The installed generation capac-
ity is 512 GW with 125,000 miles of transmission.