Case study
Extending a 138 kV substation without shutting down the region
Two new bays and a full protection system replacement on a live substation, with twelve hours of total outage split across two night windows.
12 h
Total outage
2
New bays
+65 MVA
Capacity
0
Protection events
The problem
The substation was running at the limit of its firm capacity and the protection system was electromechanical, with no event recording. Any extension meant working on a live installation feeding three municipalities and two industrial customers on continuity contracts.
The solution
The complete switching sequence was rehearsed on a protection simulator before anything was touched, with the client's own operators running it. The works were organised so that as much as possible happened with the substation live, leaving only what required an outage for the night windows.
Process
- 01Engineering and studyProtection coordination, short-circuit study and switching plan.
- 02RehearsalSimulation of the complete sequence with the people who would carry it out.
- 03Live worksSteelwork, containment and cabling with the substation in service.
- 04WindowsTwo six-hour night outages for the connection and the final tests.
Technologies applied
- Numerical protection with event recording
- Coordination verified on a network simulator
- Telecontrol integrated with the dispatch centre
- Earthing grid extended and verified by measurement
GALGallery
The project on the ground
“They rehearsed the switching with our own people before carrying it out. When the night of the outage came, nobody was improvising.”
Carla Mejía Fonseca · Head of Substations, Norvik Energía
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