CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION

Electric power can be transmitted or distributed either by overhead system or by underground cables. The electric power is transmitted to the consumer mainly by overhead line, which employed a greater loss of power and interruption of service. The main causes of overhead power transmission and distribution networks interruption are in fact unplanned external causes, like storms, bushfire, lightning, trees, animals, vehicle accidents and vandalism. Interruptions can also be caused by equipment and line or cable failure due to overload and ageing. However, overhead networks are more vulnerable to the external causes, adding to that, in general the maintenance works required for overhead networks are about twice the number compared to the underground power networks maintenance works. Now, as energy has become the prime commodity for developed and developing countries. For decades, power engineers had overlooked the importance of transmission capabilities along with its losses. Approximately 70% of the energy is lost in the process of generation and transmission; underground transmission cabling technology brings new hope in substantially saving transmission losses. Overhead transmission lines have traditionally played a major role in delivering power from remote generation plants, where energy sources are located away from loads, with distances of over hundreds of kilometres. As technology advances, various developments have identified the core weakness of transmission technologies/capabilities. In the last decade, various efficient transmission cables have been designed, developed and tested, which proved to be reliable and are efficient solution compared to the traditional overhead transmission lines. A real data of an area shows that there is 84 outages on overhead line and 54 on underground line. The causes for outages on the overhead network were animals, vegetation, weather and third parties. On the underground system the causes were failures (joints) and third party dig-ins. Today, there is an on-going demand from consumers for more reliable and economical power. Many factors contribute to determining the reliability of a power network: design, construction, operation and maintenance which have their combined input to overall power network reliability. For many decades overhead lines had proven to be a reliable solution, both technically and economically. Back then, no other alternative and competitive system was available and there was little concern for the environmental aspect when planning and constructing new electrical network. However, modern technology with continuous development of manufacturing and installation makes it possible for underground systems to be competitive with overhead lines, technically, environmentally and economically. Whilst most overhead interruptions occur for a short period of time, mainly less than a second due to surge strikes, other permanent interruptions are usually caused by external factors, therefore the surroundings have a big impact on overhead interruptions, unlike underground cables which are insulated from the surrounding conditions. The underground cables have several advantages such as less liable to damage through storms or lightning, low maintenance cost, less chances of faults, smaller voltage drop and better general apperance. As underground

cables have greater installation cost and insulation problems at higher voltages. So, the system of using underground cables for sub-transmission is employed only when working voltage is not so high and work very efficiently. The concept of using underground cable in sub-transmission network introduced less losses in transmitting power from generation unit to the counsumers.

CHAPTER-2 SUB-TRANSMISSION NETWORK

2.1 OVERHEAD SUB-TRANSMISSION LINE

A small network was chosen to investigate sub-transmission losses in overhead lines. This was based on the available information about the demand in energy; existing and forecast load and planed lines capacity upgrades due to predicted increased demand. Overhead lines have been a dominant transmission medium for many years, mainly due to their simple structure, lower solution cost, and ease in locating and repairing faults. Depending on the nature of the fault, overhead line faults may last from a few milliseconds to days,with the longer duration caused by extreme weather, bush fires and other abnormal conditions. It is very likely that overhead line faults can strike 100 times more than underground due to external causes such as wind loading, lightning surges and tracking on dirty insulator.In most cases of the overhead faults last only momentarily, which are intercepted easily by power system protection techniques. However, due to enormous benefits of underground cable, modern utilities in most countries have shifted their attention to employing underground cables.

2.2 OVERHEAD SUB-TRANSMISSION LINE REPRESENTATION

It is a well known fact that any transmission system can be represented by an equivalent network. For medium length lines, the shunt admittance at each end equals to one half of the total shunt admittance of the line. For long lines, parameters of the equivalent network are calculated from the generalised circuit constants of the line. Shunt elements of the equivalent circuit of the line produce injections, mainly reactive power in most cases, at its end nodes. The effect of these injections on other nodes can be determined at the end of the power flow tracing process by applying the proportional sharing rule at each node having a shunt admittance of a line. The line is thus represented by the series of complex power flows at both of its ends. Moreover, loads with more reactive power demand cause more power loss than loads with less reactive power demand. Therefore, sharing losses based on active power only will cause error. To keep this error as low as possible, active and reactive power have to be determined at the same time. The sub-transmission line is represented by two extraction factors, one at the sending end and the other at the receiving end of the line. Each set contains two extraction factors, one for active or real power whereas the other is for the reactive power.

Fig 2.1 A lumped network of a sub-transmission network Where, IR : Load current per phase R : Resistance per phase X : Inductive reactance per phase Y : Shunt admittance per phase IS : Source current per phase VS: Source voltage per phase

2.3 UNDERGROUND SUB-TRANSMISSION CABLES

Modern underground technology has made great progress in delivering cables and their accessories, with the most significant benefits of reduced cost ratio and high reliable performance compared to conventional overhead lines. Losses per MVA usually are less in underground cables, due to a larger cross-sectional area of conductor, and the rating of overhead lines can decline during high load periods in summer where demand is high on electricity due to the use of air- conditioners and this can drop the capacity of overhead lines to less than 50% of their full capacity. In terms of overload capacity for periods of time shorter than 90 minutes, underground cables have much better performance at high temperatures, due to the high thermal mass of the surrounding soil. Another aspect of underground cable reliability is the potential for reduced network maintenance and losses caused by electricity outages and reduced transmission losses. Yet more benefits include: improvement in public safety by the removal of electricity poles so that number of fatal or severe road accidents can be reduced, lower tree pruning costs and bushfire risks, improving amenity hence increase of property values. Figure below illustrates a typical power network,

in which the section represents the sub-transmission and distribution systems are underground. The underground system utilise the highly acclaimed Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cables. The undergrounding has been primarily done to evaluate overall power reliability.

Figure 2.2 Power network with underground sub-transmission & distribution system.

There are considerable environmental and other benefits from the removal of all the above ground equipment, wires and poles associated with the overhead high voltage distribution lines. The underground cable will suffer less weather and uncontrollable faults. The underground network requires less planned maintenance and therefore an additional reduction in power interruption will be realised. Moreover, the underground network costs less to maintain. This maintenance advantage has also not been allowed for in the reliability analysis. Reliability improvement is possible for controllable unplanned outages such as trees, no cause identified and equipment failure. All other fault causes have not been included. In order to give a representative picture of the improvements that will be achieved in overall performance all other outages need to be factored in. A wide analysis of the causes of outages was calculated. This analysis shows that there is a correlation between reliability and rainfall. This report suggests a 60% reduction in the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIFI) and 45% in Customer Minutes Off- Supply (CMOS) are achieved by installing underground cable in selected sections of the low reliability feeder. Aging assets also play a big role in more frequent power interruptions (most of the outages and disruption usually occur on the sub-transmission part of the power network).

CHAPTER-3 CABLES

3.1 UNDERGROUND CABLES

An underground cable essentially consists of one or more conductors covered with suitable insulation and surrounded by a protecting cover.Although several types of cables are available, the type of cable to be used will depend upon the working voltage and service requirements. In general, a cable must fulfil the following necessary requirements : (a) The conductor used in cables should be tinned stranded copper or aluminium of high conductivity. Stranding is done so that conductor may become flexible and carry more current. (b) The conductor size should be such that the cable carries the desired load current without overheating and causes voltage drop within permissible limits. (c) The cable must have proper thickness of insulation in order to give high degree of safety and reliability at the voltage for which it is designed. (d) The cable must be provided with suitable mechanical protection so that it may withstand the rough use in laying it. (e) The materials used in the manufacture of cables should be such that there is complete chemical and physical stability throughout.

Fig 3.1 Underground cables

3.2 CONSTRUCTION OF UNDERGROUND CABLES

Differnt type of elements used in the construction & design of underground cables is described below: (a) Cores or Conductors: A cable may have one or more than one core (conductor) depending upon the type of service for which it is intended.. The conductors are made of tinned copper or aluminium and are usually stranded in order to provide flexibility to the cable. (b) Insulatian: Each core or conductor is provided with a suitable thickness of insulation, the thickness of layer depending upon the voltage to be withstood by the cable. The commonly used materials for insulation are impregnated paper, varnished cambric or rubber mineral compound. (c) Metallic sheath: In order to protect the cable from moisture, gases or other damaging liquids (acids or alkalies) in the soil and atmosphere, a metallic sheath of lead or aluminium is provided over the insulation. (d) Bedding: Over the metallic sheath is applied a layer of bedding which consists of a fibrous material like jute or hessian tape. The purpose of bedding is to protect the metallic sheath against corrosion and from mechanical injury due to armouring. (e) Armouring: Over the bedding, armouring is provided which consists of one or two layers of galvanised steel wire or steel tape. Its purpose is to protect the cable from mechanical injury while laying it and during the course of handling. Armouring may not be done in the case of some cables. (f) Serving: In order to protect armouring from atmospheric conditions, a layer of fibrous Principles of Power System material (like jute) similar to bedding is provided over the armouring. This is known as serving. The bedding, armouring and serving are only applied to the cables for the protection of conductor insulation and to protect the metallic sheath from mechanical injury

3.3 INSULATING MATERIALS FOR CABLES

The satisfactory operation of a cable depends to a great extent upon the characeteristics of insulation used. Therefore, the proper choice of insulating material for cables is of considerable importance. In general, the insulating materials used in cables should have the following properties : (a) (b) (c) (d) High insulation resistance to avoid leakage current. High dielectric strength to avoid electrical breakdown of the cable. High mechanical strength to withstand the mechanical handling of cables. Non-hygroscopic i.e., it should not absorb moisture from air or soil. The moisture tends to decrease the insulation resistance and hastens the breakdown of the cable. In case the insulating material is hygroscopic, it must be enclosed in a waterproof covering like lead sheath.

(e) (f) (g)

Non-inflammable. Low cost so as to make the underground system a viable proposition. Unaffected by acids and alkalies to avoid any chemical action.

No one insulating material possesses all the above mentioned properties. Therefore, the type of insulating material to be used depends upon the purpose for which the cable is required and the quality of insulation to be aimed at. The principal insulating materials used in cables are rubber, vulcanised India rubber, impregnated paper, varnished cambric and polyvinyl chloride. They are described below: a) Rubber : Rubber may be obtained from milky sap of tropical trees or it may be produced from oil products. It has relative permittivity varying between 2 and 3, Although pure rubber has reasonably high insulating properties, it suffers form some major drawbacks viz., readily absorbs moisture, maximum safe temperature is low (about 38C), soft and liable to damage due to rough handling and ages when exposed to light. Therefore, pure rubber cannot be used as an insulating material. b) Vulcanised India Rubber (V.I.R.) : It is prepared by mixing pure rubber with mineral matter such as zine oxide, red lead etc., and 3 to 5% of sulphur. The compound so formed is rolled into thin sheets and cut into strips. The rubber compound is then applied to the conductor and is heated to a temperature of about 150C. The whole process is called vulcanisation and the product obtained is known as vulcanised India rubber. Vulcanised India rubber has greater mechanical strength, durability and wear resistant property than pure rubber. Its main drawback is that sulphur reacts very quickly with copper and for this reason, cables using VIR insulation have tinned copper conductor. The VIR insulation is generally used for low and moderate voltage cables. c) Impregnated paper : It consists of chemically pulped paper made from wood chippings and impregnated with some compound such as paraffinic or napthenic material. This type of insulation has almost superseded the rubber insulation. It is because it has the advantages of low cost, low capacitance, high dielectric strength and high insulation resistance. The only disadvantage is that paper is hygroscopic and even if it is impregnated with suitable compound, it absorbs moisture and thus lowers the insulation resistance of the cable. For this reason, paper insulated cables are always provided with some protective covering and are never left unsealed. If it is required to be left unused on the site during laying, its ends are temporarily covered with wax or tar. Since the paper insulated cables have the tendency to absorb moisture, they are used where the cable route has a *few joints. For instance, they can be profitably used for distribution at low voltages in congested areas where the joints are generally provided only at the terminal apparatus. However, for smaller installations, where the lenghts are small and joints are required at a number of places, VIR cables will be cheaper and durable than paper insulated cables.

d) Varnished cambric : It is a cotton cloth impregnated and coated with varnish. This type of insulation is also known as empire tape. The cambric is lapped on to the conductor in the form of a tape and its surfaces are coated with petroleum jelly compound to allow for the sliding of one turn over another as the cable is bent. As the varnished cambric is hygroscopic, therefore, such cables are always provided with metallic sheath. Its dielectric strength is about 4 kV/mm and permittivity is 2.5 to 3.8. e) Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) : This insulating material is a synthetic compound. It is obtained from the polymerisation of acetylene and is in the form of white powder. For obtaining this material as a cable insulation, it is compounded with certain materials known as plasticizers which are liquids with high boiling point. The plasticizer forms a gell and renders the material plastic over the desired range of temperature.

Fig 3.2 : PVC cable for sub-transmision

Polyvinyl chloride has high insulation resistance, good dielectric strength and mechanical toughness over a wide range of temperatures. It is inert to oxygen and almost inert to many alkalies and acids. Therefore, this type of insulation is preferred over VIR in extreme enviormental conditions such as in cement factory or chemical factory. As the mechanical properties (i.e., elasticity etc.) of PVC are not so good as those of rubber, therefore, PVC insulated cables are generally used for low and medium domestic lights and power installations.

3.4 CLASSIFICATION OF CABLES

Cables for underground service may be classified in two ways according to (i) the type of insulating material used in their manufacture (ii) the voltage for which they are manufactured. However, the latter method of classification is generally preferred, according to which cables can be divided into the following groups : (i)Low-tension (L.T.) cables upto 1 kV (ii)High-tension (H.T.) cables upto 11 kV (iii)Super-tension (S.T.) cables from 22 kV to 33 kV (iv)Extra high-tension (E.H.T.) cables from 33 kV to 66 kV (v)Extra super voltage cables beyond 132 kV

3.5 FUTURE TRENDS OF A.C. CABLES

a) Single phase construction b) Extruded insulation, predominantly cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) based insulation systems. c) Both wet and dry designs (i.e. without a radial moisture barrier but with a tree retardant insulation and/or XLPE with a radial moisture barrier). d) Larger conductor sizes to reduce losses in the network.. e) Simple and safe accessory technology. Significant effort will be exercised in installation technologies. Cost of installation is clearly a key factor when compared with coventional overhead sub-transmission line in comparision with underground sub-transmission cable to reduce transmission losses.

3.6 BENEFITS OF UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC CABLES

Advantages of underground lines include aesthetics, higher public acceptance, perceived benefits of protection against electromagnetic field radiation (which is still present in overhead lines), fewer interruptions, and lower maintenance costs. Failure rates of overhead lines and underground cables vary widely, but typically underground cable outage rates are about half of their equivalent overhead line types. Potentially fewer momentary interruptions occur from lightning, animals and tree branches falling on wires which deenergize a circuit and then re-energize it a moment later. Primary benefits most often cited can be divided into four areas: 1. Potentially-Reduced Maintenance And Operating Costs:a. Lower storm restoration cost.

b. Lower tree-trimming cost. 2. Improved Reliability:a. Increased reliability during severe weather (wind-related storm damage will be greatly reduced for an underground system, and areas not subjected to flooding and storm surges experience minimal damage and interruption of electric service. b. Less damage during severe weather. c. Far fewer momentary interruptions d. Improved utility relations regarding tree trimming

3. a. b. c.

Improved Public Safety:Fewer motor vehicle accidents. Reduced live-wire contact injuries Fewer Fires

4. Improved Property Values:a. Improved aesthetics (removal of unsightly poles and wires, enhanced tree canopies). b. Fewer structures impacting sidewalks.

CHAPTER-4 LOSSES IN SUB-TRANSMISSION LINE

4.1 POWER FLOW AND SUB-TRANSMISSION LOSSES

As a result of conductor resistances, losses in overhead lines are obvious. When the demand is high, rating of overhead lines can decline to almost 50% as shown below.

Figure 4.1 Rating of overhead line versus underground cable.

Since the resistance that a conductor offers to the flow of electricity is inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area, losses in underground will be less compared to the overhead lines. Consequently, utilities are favouring underground cables rather than traditional overhead lines in terms of load variation. Power losses in overhead lines are the representation of the amount of lost power from the generated power that didnt delivered to load. These losses are attributed to the resistance of various components of the power network mainly transmission lines. Losses depends on the network conditions such as loading, network topology, type of network, location of generation and load as well as power demand. The average power loss in transmission lines would be 3% of the transmitted power, with maximum loss occurring at peak power demand. Given the nonlinear nature of losses, it will be a tricky task trying to put a figure of how much the loss can cost. Consequently, measuring losses directly cannot be performed. On the other hand power flow analysis utilised by computer softwares can calculate and give very close indication about exact

transmission losses. The results obtained from such softwares will also give comprehensive information about the losses associated with particular loads or customer.

4.2 ENERGY LOSSES CASE STUDY A small sub-transmission network is taken as illustrated in Figure below, consisting of three overhead sub-transmission lines, with voltage level of 66kV lines has been considered as a case study. These lines are connecting the terminal station to commercial and residential loads. Details of the line parameters considered are depicted in Table 4.1

TABLE 4.1 OVERHEAD SUB-TRANSMISSION LINES PARAMETERS

Line Name A-B A-C A-D B-C C-D Line Length (KM) 11.50 5.067 7.26 5.70 4.72 Rated Current (A) 730 800 730 515 790 Total Impedence (ohm) R1 X1 1.2240 3.7897 0.4101 1.6334 0.5763 2.3353 0.5227 1.4810 0.38507 0.0353

Fig 4.2 A small sub-transmission network

Power flow measurements have been taken for the three lines (A-B, A-C and A-D) over one year period in travel of 15 minutes. The network was built using EDSA power tool. The sum of the two power flow values for each line represents the real and reactive power losses in the particular sub-transmission line. Calculating power flow numerically using the results the authors have verified the losses obtained by simulated in the power tool. Overhead losses for A-B: Ploss = 3*IR = 3*139.4*0.0501*11.50 = 33.5879 kW Qloss = 3*IX = 3*139.4*0.2031*11.50 = 136.1384 kVAR Underground losses for A-B: Ploss = 3*IR = 3*100*0.0202*11.50 = 6.9690 kW Qloss = 3*IX = 3*100*0.1661*11.50 = 57.3045 kVAR

Calculation for the other two overhead lines and underground cables were also performed and results are shown in Table 4.2.

TABLE 2 RESULT OF POWER FLOW CALCULATIONS FOR REAL AND REACTIVE POWER LOSSES

Name

Overhead Lines P loss (KW) Qloss (KVAR) 136.1384 275.9540 146.2024 558.2948

Underground Cables P loss (KW) 6.9690 16.7273 10.9137 34.6100 Qloss (KVAR) 57.3045 137.5446 89.7405 284.5896

A-B A-C A-D Total

33.5879 69.1723 47.2217 149.9819

The results are compared graphically in Figure 4 which indicates the total P losses for the overhead sub- transmission lines are over four times more than the underground; meanwhile the total Q losses are about twice the underground.

Figure 4.3 Average sub-transmission losses over a year

4.3 EDSA SIMULATED RESULTS

After a module for the small network in Figure 4.2 was created using EDSA software, all parameters of the network were entered and cross checked for constancy, a detailed output obtained and a tailored output is shown below in Sections A, B and C, as it can be noted that the output arranged in a way showing the flow from bus to bus, amount of power transferred, real and reactive power losses.

4.3.A. Load Flow Simulator EDSA for the Overhead Lines

This section presents the Load Flow Simulator EDSA results for the Overhead Lines module; current peak load demand for the network has been used for the analysis. The EDSA results have been listed in Table 4.3.

TABLE 4.3 EDSA OVERHEAD POWER FLOW RESULTS

Name From - > To Flow MW A-B A-C A-D Total 15.450 25.656 12.044 53.150 MVAR -3.924 -8.794 -4.790 -9.660 To - > From Flow MW -15.414 -25.583 -11.994 -52.991 MVAR 4.060 -8.518 -4.643 -9.1010 Losses KW 35.6093 73.2435 50.0084 158.8612 KVAR 136.2238 275.8468 146.1675 558.2381

4.3.B. Load Flow Simulator EDSA for the Underground Lines

This section presents the Load Flow Simulator EDSA results for the underground cables module; overhead lines current peak load demand for the network has been also used for this analysis to give a common comparison ground. The EDSA results have been listed in Table4.

TABLE 4.4 UNDERGROUND POWER FLOW RESULTS

Branch From - > Flow Name A-B A-C A-D Total MW 11.351 25.220 16.435 53.006 MVAR -1.398 8.721 7.339 14.662 To - > From Flow MW -11.343 -25.203 -16.423 -52.969 MVAR 1.455 -8.584 -7.250 -14.379 Losses KW 7.3883 17.7247 11.5534 36.6664 KVAR 57.3537 137.5921 89.6861 284.6319

The demand powers in each of the three lines had been recoded over a year period for the sample of 15 minutes interval. Table 5 summarises the representation of calculated active power losses based on calculated demand current in Section C for A-B line. The average P losses per year found to be 771.6245 kW for overhead compared to 311.0337 kW for underground which is about 40%.

TABLE 4.5 A-B LINE LOSSES IN OVERHEAD VERSUS UNDERGROUND

Period End 1/04/2006 0:15 1/04/2006 0:30 1/04/2006 0:45 1/04/2006 1:00 ---31/03/2007 23:00 31/03/2007 23:15 31/03/2007 23:30 31/03/2007 23:45 Average per 15 min over a year Average per hour over a year OH A-B KW 117.1763820 111.9560923 102.6717479 102.9846238 ---111.4178192 126.6643938 120.6406933 114.5058745 192.9061257 771.6245029 UG A-B KW 47.2325694 45.12832544 41.38590367 41.51202068 ---44.91135319 51.05708736 48.62899693 46.15611588 77.75843404 311.0337361

4.3.C. Graphical representation

Figures 4.4 and 4.5 show graphical illustrations of calculated active and reactive power losses respectively for A to B buses, based on calculated demand current in Section B; the figures show two curves, one for overhead lines losses in the dark shade, compared to underground losses in light shade over a one year period with data sampled at 15 minute intervals.

Fig 4.4 A-B KW losses

Fig 4.5 A-B KVAR losses

Figures 4.6 and 4.7 show graphical illustrations of calculated active and reactive power losses respectively for A to C buses, based on calculated demand current in Section B; the figures show two curves one for overhead lines losses in the dark shade, compared to underground losses in light shade, over a one year period with data sampled at 15 minute intervals.

Fig 4.6 A-C KW losses

Fig 4.7 A-C KVAR losses Figures 4.8 and 4.9 show graphical illustrations of calculated active and reactive power losses respectively for A to D buses, based on calculated demand current in Section B; the figures show two curves one for overhead lines losses in the dark shade, compared to underground losses in light shade over a one year period, with data sampled at 15 minute intervals.

Fig 4.8 A-D KW losses

Fig 4.9 A-D KVAR losses

CHAPTER-5 INNOVATIVE IDEAS TO ENHANCE POWER NETWORK RELIABILITY & REDUCING LOSSES BY THE USE OF CABLES

New ideas which enhance reliability, efficiency, reducing losses and lower the cost of installation, transmission, distribution and maintenance are contributing significantly in the development of underground systems. These ideas cover various phases of underground systems. A few ideas are identified as follows:

5.1. CABLE TUNNEL

Although underground cables are almost isolated from external causes of disruption, they are vulnerable to third party dig-in damages. Most urban underground cables run in congested streets, which require being closer to part of the traffic for a long time, causing disruption to traffic flow, parking and pedestrians in the area. Using a tunnel has several advantages over conventional cable burial technique. Impact on traffic flow and other utilities would be minimal; short outages are required to connect; there is ease of access for maintenance and testing; the cable environment would be secure for 100 years; and a direct tunnel route will result in reduction in cable length. Naturally ventilated tunnels with cables are laid in vertical snaking on saddles with spacing of 7.2 m in horizontal and 0.6 m in vertical direction; tunnel temperatures are permanently monitored using fibre optic distributed temperature sensor (DTS).

5.2. FIBRE OPTIC SENSING SYSTEM

Although some methods are already in use to locate a fault, the cable needs to be removed from service and connected to detection equipment, but locating a fault in an underground system can take extensive time and effort. The new method is integrating Fibre Optic Distributed Temperature (FODT) sensor into cable. This sensor can find the fault immediately by applying fault detection of XLPE installed underground cable in a resistance grounded system. The maximum detection distance, distance resolution and processing time for fault location are 10km, 1m and 30s respectively.

5.3. UNDERGROUND OBJECT RADAR

Underground assets maps, if they exist, are often inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, and the use of metal detectors to find these assets often proves disappointing. Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) system technology, GPS devices can produce an underground image which has

a great detail of the subsurface features. Schlumberger Corporation, in conjunction with the electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Gas Research Institute, has developed a new Ground- Penetrating Image Radar (GPIR) system, which creates sharp, three-dimensional (3D) images of underground lines and objects. This system can be utilised to reduce operating and maintenance costs, by reducing unnecessary excavations and lower the risk of damaging other assets.

CHAPTER-6 CONCLUSION
A reliable electrical transmission network is always a major concern of power utilities. Also, transmission losses should be minimum. Various techniques and technology have been developed by various vendors to improve transmission losses. One of the major advancements in recent years to overcome the transmission losses is the implementation and continuous improvement of underground cables. Various significant advantages of underground cable have been found out. Through systematic investigation of subtransmission losses on overhead and underground cables, it is discovered that there is enormous transmission saving potential in underground technology. Underground cables have the potential to reduce outages, maintenance cost and transmission losses in the best and most effective environment-friendly way possible. Reliability of such cables systems, however, will continue to be extremely important and will moderate the rate at which new technologies are introduced. Underground cables can deliver big savings in tree pruning for local councils, yet reduce the risk of bush fires and increase public awareness of negative impact on the environment of overhead lines. Another important benefit is to reduce the number of fatal accidents and minimise the severity of an injury. It is known that the capacitive reactive power of underground cables is much greater (about 20-40 times) than the overhead lines. Hence, there may be need for reactive power compensation in future. By using the real and simulated data it can be illustrated the savings in sub-transmission losses using underground cables as compared to the overhead lines.

CHAPTER-7 REFERENCES

1. I.J. Nagrath, and D.P. Kothari, Power System Engineering, TATA McGraw Hill Publishing Company Limited. 1994. 2. Power cable. Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_cable 3. R.D. Roservear, Power cables in 21st century energy development, Power Engineering Review, IEEE, 20(9), p. 8-10, 2000. 4. M. Rabinowitz, Power systems of the future, I. Power Engineering Review, IEEE, 20(1), p. 5-16, 2000. 5. R. Kyoung-Soo, An approach to allocate real power losses of transmission lines to individual loads, TENCON 99. Proceedings of the IEEE Region 10 Conference, 1999.