Today’s electrical grid companies understand that better knowledge of and information about their grid can help realize a smart grid network. One way to gain better knowledge and information about the low voltage network is to install measuring equipment on the substation transformer´s secondary low voltage side that measures the low voltage network losses for that specific substation. By doing so, grid companies can, due to the calculation of the low voltage network losses, identify and address issues such as illegal power dissipation, unmeasured power outtakes, and unsatisfied technical documentation for the substations low voltage network. During 2012, Mälarenergi Elnät AB had a total electrical network loss (both medium and low voltage network losses included) of three to four percent of their total distributed electrical volume. Converting this energy volume into a monetary figure this accounts for a loss of around 30 million Swedish crowns. To address Mälarenergi Elnät AB’s issue about their low voltage network losses, Mälarenergi Elnät AB asked me to perform my civil engineering master thesis around this subject. Mälarenergi Elnät AB wanted me to perform measurements in five pre-existingsubstations. I had seven EDMI MK10A CT electrical meters for substation measurements installed in five pre-existing substations in the surrounding area of Västerås in order to investigate the potential costs and benefits of increased measurement in the low voltage network system. The total cost of my substation measurement installation reached 35 000 SEK or around 5 000 SEK per installed electrical meter. The calculated low voltage network losses from my measurements in the selected pre-existing substations showed that 75 % of the studied low voltage networks had losses in the range of zero to five percent. From the calculated results I also identified several benefits of measurements in pre-existing substations, including improved calculation of low voltage network losses, increased awareness of load levels so that maintenance could be more efficiently scheduled, and more accurate technical documentation, all of which can lead to increased customer satisfaction. The disadvantages of measurement in pre-existing substations that I identified during my master thesis study were the high installation cost of the meters and the increased demand on human resources during the implementation phase. Overall, my economic evaluation of the project showed that the investment was not cost effective, despite the acknowledged benefits of these substation measurements. The overall results suggest that Mälarenergi Elnät AB could benefit from installing meters in new substations, and in some existing substations where specific information about the low voltage network loss is needed for issues such as identifying suspicious illegal power dissipation or unmeasured power outtakes. The high installation cost for substation measurements are, in those cases, motivated by the fact that the substation measuring equipment costs are low compared to a whole new substation or compared to the fact of finding unmeasured outtakes, illegal powerdissipations etc.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-224394 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Johnsson, Malin |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Elektricitetslära |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | UPTEC ES, 1650-8300 ; 13043 |
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