PG&E 500 kV Protection Standard

Design and Development

Davis Erwin, Rafael Pineda, and Monica Anderson

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Eric Udren
Quanta Technology, LLC

Jordan Bell and Neal Jones

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

Revised edition released October 2014

Originally presented at the

41st Annual Western Protective Relay Conference, October 2014
 1

PG&E 500 kV Protection Standard

Design and Development
Davis Erwin, Rafael Pineda, and Monica Anderson, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Eric Udren, Quanta Technology, LLC
Jordan Bell and Neal Jones, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

Abstract—Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) owns was out of service for nearly 8 hours. Fortunately, no
an extensive 500 kV series-compensated transmission line customers lost service during this event, but the highlighted
network. The availability of this network is critical to serving risk was troubling. A major capital investment was needed to
Northern California loads and regional power transfers from the
Pacific Northwest to Southern California. PG&E identified the replace the obsolete protection systems with newer designs
need to replace aging solid-state relay systems with modern, aligned with present industry standards. Nonetheless, PG&E
more reliable microprocessor-based relay systems to improve the system protection engineers and managers faced a challenge in
500 kV transmission network reliability and availability. making the business case to PG&E executive management due
This paper describes the development of the new PG&E to competition from other capital investment projects.
500 kV transmission line and breaker protection standard, with a To begin the process, the PG&E System Protection
focus on the practical aspects of the design. The paper includes
Engineering Department commissioned a formal study
the motivation and triggers for embarking on the project,
challenges encountered, and lessons learned during the design project, conducted from 2008 through 2009, to document the
effort. The final design standard addresses single points of drivers and technical requirements for a redesign of the
failure, ease of testing, functional integration, and end-of-life 500 kV transmission line protection for the entire PG&E
replacement. The design was validated with a prototype prior to network in accordance with a single new design standard.
field deployment. The deployment stage, relay setting Early in the project, the PG&E project team conducted a
development, model power system testing using the Real Time
major benchmark study of the extra-high voltage (EHV)
Digital Simulator (RTDS®), and field installation are discussed.
The intent of the paper is to present how PG&E redesigned the protection practices of 20 major North American utilities.
protection system from the ground up. Questionnaires, telephone calls, and personal interviews were
conducted by protection experts who were independent of
I. INTRODUCTION PG&E and device manufacturers. The goal was to collect
This paper details the scope of a Pacific Gas and Electric detailed information on unique protection features and
Company (PG&E) 500 kV transmission line protection design requirements related to each utility EHV system. Interview
created to address the replacement of relays used for line discussions captured device and design preferences, fleet
protection, breaker failure, and reclosing. It discusses why the demographics, specific protection functions and logic,
project was initiated, design considerations to minimize single redundancy approaches, the use of single or multiple
points of failure (SPF), deficiencies in previous line relaying manufacturers, creation processes and cycles for protection
designs, building and use of a prototype, modeled power design standards, reliability experiences, data collection and
system testing, and lessons learned during the implementation. analysis processes, performance management, and
This project addressed 17 of the 23 500 kV lines within the performance results. An extracted list of the best practices of
PG&E system. The relay replacements were prioritized by an these 20 utilities influenced the direction of the entire PG&E
evaluation of the health and age of the existing protection design standard development process, as described in this
schemes, clearance availabilities, annual budget constraints, paper.
and coordination with neighboring utilities. Other 500 kV redesign study project steps are described in
the following subsections.
II. HISTORY, PERFORMANCE OF LEGACY PROTECTION A. Investigation of the Control Buildings and Wiring
SYSTEMS, BENCHMARK STUDY, AND RELAY SELECTION Situations for All PG&E 500 kV Substations
Prior to 2009, the PG&E 500 kV transmission lines were The project team visited a sample of substations to assess
protected by a fleet of aged, mostly analog, solid-state the condition of the wiring, the layout, and the opportunity for
protection systems that were a challenge to maintain, the installation of new relays in available building space.
understand, and monitor. There were 23 lines protected by PG&E was already using drop-in replacement protection and
20 different scheme designs of mixed generations. Electronic control (P&C) buildings of a standard design with new field
relays with no failure alarming or data reporting capability left wiring for switchyards of 230 kV and below. However, in the
the system exposed—they misoperated for system faults on a 500 kV substations, large concrete control buildings with
number of occasions. These performance shortfalls led to a generous unused panel space on the main floor and cavernous
2007 double-line outage on a single 500 kV path. The corridor basement space with access for switchyard cable entry and
 2

connections invited the installation of new relays in the channels with IEEE C37.94 interfacing [1], thus eliminating
existing buildings. Some substations had relatively new separate transfer tripping panels.
switchyard wiring; all had newly installed automation
E. RTDS Modeling of the PG&E Network
equipment that still had most of its asset life remaining. The
new automation equipment had been installed to support The section of the PG&E 500 kV transmission system with
control center consolidation efforts. The consolidation was the most challenging protection requirements was modeled in
completed one year prior to the beginning of the relay PSCAD® and validated for correspondence to real-world
replacement effort. The project team elected to install observations. The PSCAD model was tested and then
replacement relay panels in the existing buildings with the transferred to the Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS®)
new automation systems. implementation for use in testing the performance of
prospective relay types and schemes as well as for analysis of
B. Internal PG&E Surveys setting requirements and issues.
Internal PG&E surveys were conducted regarding the
F. Initial Manufacturer Selection
existing line protection. The team used meetings and field
visits to gather experiences to factor into the new design With design requirements in hand, the team selected six
standard. The team interviewed engineers, field operations manufacturers whose devices were to be evaluated.
personnel, and maintenance personnel about their encounters Manufacturers individually presented their offerings and
with the old protection systems. The survey gathered critical addressed team questions, leading to the selection of a specific
observations on problems with existing P&C architecture, list of devices to test in detail.
failure events, and the challenges of identifying assets being G. Extensive Testing of Candidate Devices Using the RTDS
maintained and operated in light of inconsistent design, Laboratory and the PG&E System Model
layout, and labeling of devices. The variety of confusing Manufacturers of prospective devices engaged with the
configurations had caused human errors and misoperations on project team during RTDS lab testing to ensure fair and
multiple occasions, which were understandable in light of the uniform comparisons as well as to address observed
specific issues the team identified. performance and setting issues.
C. Study of Recent Relay Operating Experiences H. Comparative Evaluation and Selection of Devices
An additional internal study was made of specific operating The project team created a weighted evaluation matrix that
principles, relay performance experiences, technical included RTDS test results, device features, compliance of
challenges, and the successes of corrective actions for 500 kV devices with protection philosophy principles (described in
relays then in service from various manufacturers. The results Subsection D), and company evaluation criteria. This process
guided the development of the requirements for replacement led to the selection of two devices and two manufacturers
protection systems. from the multiple offerings of the six manufacturers evaluated.
D. Development of a Standard Protection Philosophy I. Development of a High-Level Standard Line Protection
Underlying a New 500 kV Line Protection Standard Terminal Design
The team first developed an industry roadmap for EHV In this phase, the project team created a prospective panel
P&C, documenting new device trends, PG&E line protection design and layout that incorporated the selected relays into the
application experiences, experiences with existing relays, and design requirements developed in the prior work. Salient
where the industry was going in light of the benchmark study features, described in more detail in later sections of this
results. The study included analysis and recommendations on paper, include the following:
specific protection schemes and methods, leading to the • Two standardized redundant cabinets for each line
concept of having current comparison and directional terminal with two physically separated protection
comparison schemes combined at each location. The study systems on each (one current differential system and
developed performance requirements and specifications for one directional comparison system). This provides a
the new relays to be selected. The design philosophy included total of four redundant protection systems.
specific details such as breaker control, breaker failure
• Two manufacturers. One standard device from each
protection, and reclosing design, the implementation of which
manufacturer is used in each cabinet.
is discussed later in this paper.
• Relaying communications systems and interfacing for
Specific pilot schemes and logic selections were evaluated
directional or current comparison and transfer
with consideration for the tradeoff between dependability and
tripping. IEEE C37.94-to-SONET multiplexers or
security. The study defined high requirements for the
power line carrier (PLC) sets are included in a
redundancy and availability of alternate protection systems in
separate cabinet for the lines using PLC
light of past communications failures and maintenance
communications for the directional comparison
challenges. Two pairs of redundant relays were specified for
schemes.
each terminal. Pilot and transfer tripping communications
channel interfacing concepts were created to take full • Clear, consistent labeling and marking principles for
advantage of modern synchronous optical network (SONET) minimizing human errors.
 3

• Physical separation of individual protection systems III. 500 KV TRANSMISSION LINE PROTECTION DESIGN
for easy servicing or replacement of a single system in The PG&E 500 kV transmission system is series-
isolation from the others. compensated and the lines are designed for single-pole
• A wiring and terminal block design that supports full tripping and reclosing. Series compensation presents
replacement of any one of the four protection systems challenges to traditional protection coordination, so a
with minimal line outage and minimal disruption of minimum of one level of communications-assisted protection
the remainder of the systems at that line terminal. is necessary for a line to remain in service. This ensures
• Standardized breaker and bay control relays that are instantaneous protection for 100 percent of the protected line
separate from the line protection relays to support and prevents miscoordination with adjacent lines.
uniform single-pole tripping and reclosing, breaker When considering the new design maintenance
monitoring, and straightforward relay and breaker requirements and ensuring immunity to SPF, an assessment is
maintenance procedures. made of the limitations of the existing infrastructure. A
• Design for practical North American Electric decision is made whether to address limitations within the
Reliability Corporation (NERC) compliant design scope or to create the new design to withstand the
maintenance, including opportunities to use failures of the existing infrastructure. The extent of the scope
microprocessor-based relays and data communications is a decision based on cost, budget, outage requirements for
systems for self-monitoring and the resulting construction, and resources. These are common considerations
condition-based maintenance time extensions and for establishing any design scope.
testing simplifications. First, the telecommunications infrastructure was evaluated.
• Survey results from PG&E stakeholders incorporated The PG&E 500 kV system uses two diverse digital routes to
into the standard design requirements. When the study achieve the necessary communications dependability. Prior to
results were later presented within PG&E, those the construction of the second digital route (completed before
stakeholders expressed heartfelt appreciation that their this redesign effort), a PLC was used to provide a diverse
experiences and needs were being acted upon. route to the single digital circuit. Two diverse digital paths
were considered sufficient, and the redesign scope did not
J. Development of the Implementation Strategy
include modifications or additions to the telecommunications
The project team documented the business case to obtain infrastructure. Furthermore, the new design retained the PLC
PG&E executive management support for the capital feature and replaced tuners, transceivers, and wave traps
investment to replace the protection systems on 17 of the 23 where necessary. Three distinct communications routes
500 kV lines. A major factor in the business case adoption provide a reliable infrastructure to ensure 500 kV line
was the mitigation of the risk of a major outage due to the availability during multicontingency events in the
operational problems experienced with the existing fleet of old telecommunications infrastructure.
relays. The team developed a practical time scale of Second, the current and voltage instrumentation were
approximately seven years for the completion of the project, evaluated. Many PG&E 500 kV breakers only include two
with a prioritized replacement ranking of the existing bushing-mounted current transformers (CTs). Two CT sources
installations. were considered sufficient for the design. The addition of a
K. Planning the Creation of a Permanent Standard third CT would have yielded marginal reliability benefits and
Development Laboratory detrimentally impacted the symmetric design strategy.
Before field deployment, new standard panel designs must Furthermore, the new design maintained the physical
be configured in a laboratory for an assessment of summation of one CT circuit in the yard rather than installing
performance and functional issues, including hands-on vetting a new conduit to wire each breaker contribution separately to
of physical and user-interface features in trials by field and the new line relays. If independent breaker CTs had been
maintenance personnel. The laboratory facility ensures short- brought to the control room, the relays could have performed
and long-term project success by helping project teams and the summation mathematically and taken advantage of
device manufacturers to fine-tune designs while avoiding algorithms such as CT saturation detection and integrated
costly development and design corrections in the field. Once a breaker failure in the line relays. This approach would have
standard design is deployed in substations, it is then critically provided marginal benefits at a large expense and, thus, was
important to keep a permanent lab setup that replicates field not used in the new design. PG&E 500 kV breakers are
installations for use in the testing of new firmware, revised equipped with 3000:5 taps on C1200 class CTs and evaluation
settings and logic, or updated replacement devices. The of fault duties, present and future, showed minimal exposure
permanent lab is also used to replicate field operations or to CT saturation. Unlike previous designs, separate half taps
misoperations for analysis, and for hands-on training of new from the coupling capacitor voltage transformer (CCVT) were
personnel. The following section describes PG&E experiences brought into all new line relays. In order to mitigate secondary
with vetting of the first standard panel designs in the transient phenomena witnessed in past operation
permanent laboratory. investigations, it was also decided to replace most unshielded
control and instrumentation wiring with shielded wiring.
 4

The new design can withstand SPF of telecommunications Each relay has four standard setting groups, as shown in
infrastructure, a CT, or a CCVT. The design meets Table I and described in the following subsections.
NERC Order No. 754 inquiry descriptions [2]. The basic TABLE I
instrument transformer connections and telecommunications STANDARD SETTING GROUP DETAILS
route and equipment are shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.
Group
Group Features
Number
1 Pilot and direct transfer trip (DTT) (normal operating group)
2 Nonpilot (no DTT)
3 Stub bus
4 Nonpilot (extended Zone 1 distance)

A. Group 1: Sets A and B

Current differential elements and DTT functions are
enabled. Instantaneous neutral directional overcurrent, neutral
time overcurrent, and switch on to fault elements are also
enabled. Distance elements are disabled when the
Fig. 1. Single Line Terminal
communications channel is healthy. If the communications
At each end of the line there are four relays—two relays in channel fails, distance elements are automatically enabled,
each of two relaying cabinets. Cabinet 1 contains the Set A with the Zone 1 and neutral instantaneous elements not time-
and Set C relays while Cabinet 2 contains the Set B and Set D delayed. While in Group 1, the relays are immune to any
relays. The two cabinets are each wired to a different CT voltage source (line CCVT) failures or anomalies and power
circuit and different CCVT secondary circuit. All line relaying swings.
cabinets are designed to be electrically identical. The cabinet
B. Group 1: Sets C and D
contains two relays, each from different manufacturers with
different operating principles. The Set A and Set B relays are POTT and DTT functions are enabled. Ground time
current differential, and the Set C and Set D relays are overcurrent, distance elements, and switch on to fault elements
directional comparison in a permissive overreaching transfer are also enabled. The instantaneous ground directional
trip (POTT) scheme. overcurrent element is disabled. (The instantaneous neutral
overcurrent element is not used because an internal relay
algorithm drives a three-pole trip).

Station 1 Station 2
Cabinet 2 Cabinet 2
Communications
Route 2
Set D Set D

Set B Set B

2 1 1 2
Transmission
Many PG&E 500 kV Line Many PG&E 500 kV
Breakers Do Not Breakers Do Not
Have Three CT Sets Have Three CT Sets

Set A Set A

Set C Set C
Communications
Cabinet 1 Route 1 Cabinet 1

Fig. 2. Simplified Telecommunications and Relay Cabinet Design

 5

C. Group 2: Sets A, B, C, and D The design provides the following benefits:

Communications-assisted elements and DTT are disabled • Complete redundancy (i.e., immunity to SPF).
(differential elements for Set A and Set B and POTT elements • One design (all cabinets are identical).
for Set C and Set D). Distance, instantaneous neutral/ground • Symmetry and simplicity.
overcurrent (only on Set A and B), neutral/ground time • Maintenance and outage flexibility.
overcurrent, switch on to fault, and instantaneous • Simple operation and maintenance.
neutral/ground directional overcurrent elements are enabled. • End-of-life replacement with a minimal line outage
This nonpilot setting group is used for special setups, as requirement.
dictated by the PG&E system protection team. The Zone 1 and DTT is a standard feature on PG&E 500 kV lines. If a
neutral/ground instantaneous elements are delayed if and only protection relay operates three-pole at one terminal, it serves
if the line pole select switch is set to the single-pole mode. no benefit for the line to remain energized from the other
D. Group 3: Sets A, B, C, and D terminal (no tapped loads or generation). DTT is also required
to trip the remote source in the event of a breaker failure
Only the nondirectional phase instantaneous overcurrent
condition at the local substation. In past designs, the DTT
element is enabled. This setting group is available for
scheme was composed of separate telecommunications
conditions where the line disconnect is open (potential source
equipment external to the line relays. Because the legacy DTT
is on the line side of an open disconnect) and either or both of
design used the same telecommunications equipment and
the line circuit breakers are closed.
route as the legacy line relays, no benefit in dependability was
E. Group 4: Sets A, B, C, and D gained by this configuration. Removal of the equipment
This setting group is used in conjunction with provided benefits by limiting the exposure to failures caused
Setting Group 3. Setting Group 4 is used for the other end of by additional equipment, testing, and asset management
the line that is not in stub bus. This setting group is also used (including settings).
as a special setup for the remote ends of the generation export The new 500 kV design removed the external DTT
lines in the event that the line is used to block load or energize equipment and integrated the DTT feature into all four line
a generator step-up transformer using a remote substation protection relays. The conceptual logic implementation can be
source. The relay elements are identical to Setting Group 2, seen in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 also depicts the use of a single-phase
with the exception that the Zone 1 phase and ground distance permissive algorithm. This is an important consideration when
elements are extended to overreach the remote bus (Zone 1 applying a POTT scheme on double-circuit tower lines to
reach is set identically to Zone 2). Also, series capacitor allow for correct single-pole tripping for a cross-country fault
restraint compensation on Zone 1 distance elements is [4]. Cross-country faults are a legitimate concern for double-
disabled. Sensitive phase and ground overcurrent elements are circuit towers.
enabled to trip for loss-of-potential conditions. Each of the four relays is physically wired to trip both coils
of the breaker. For the total package of four relays, there are
F. Relay Configuration 72 wires total required for single-pole tripping and single-pole
The CCVT connections to the differential relays are used breaker failure initiation.
for fault location and as backups to the distance elements in
Setting Group 1 that are only enabled upon channel failure. In IV. BREAKER CONTROL DESIGN
this manner, it is possible to take advantage of a PG&E made the decision to not integrate the breaker
NERC PRC-023-1 loadability exclusion [3]. Voltage inputs failure protection within the EHV line protection relay in
allow the use of charging current compensation algorithms, order to keep a clear demarcation of these different functions.
but these were not used. The feature was not necessary to Therefore, the breaker failure relay became a subset of the
achieve differential pickup values more sensitive than PG&E breaker. On the EHV system, it is a documented operational
setting guidelines. Because the differential relays do not practice that the breaker failure relay must be in service when
require a voltage instrumentation source for proper operation, the breaker is closed. For operational simplicity, a single
the line relay package as a whole can withstand the loss of a breaker failure and reclosing relay per circuit breaker was
CCVT and still provide the minimum necessary line implemented. The breaker failure and reclosing relay is not
protection. redundant. This relay also provides other breaker features
The line protection cabinets have no cross wiring and any described later in this section.
necessary common points are wired in a different location in In order to minimize the possibility of misoperations, the
the control room. In this manner, there is flexibility for end-of- overreaching elements are based on the protected line
life replacement considerations with minimal invasive characteristics and, therefore, are not intended to overreach the
electrical isolation requirements. Future replacement efforts remote lines or transformers. As a result, the EHV line
will require minimal line outages. One cabinet adequately settings do not provide remote breaker failure backup for
provides the necessary line protection functionality. faults along the entire element at the remote substation. Due to
 6

Microwave Select MW Select (TX)

PLC Select To Compare Sets C and D
10 s
Alarm MW Select (RX)
Sets C and D
0s 10 ms
To Recloser
16 ms Block Reclose (RX)
CB 1 BF
CB 2 BF 0s
Series Capacitor Platform Block Reclose (TX)
0s
DTT TX Enable
(Relay Cut-In) Relay Trip 3 Phase*
A-Phase DTT (TX)

Relay Z1 or POTT
TRIP SLG (A-G) B-Phase DTT (TX)
Relay Z1 or POTT
TRIP SLG (B-G)
Relay Z1 or POTT C-Phase DTT (TX)
TRIP SLG (C-G)
DTT Send
1s Relay A-Phase Permissive KEY A-Phase PERM (TX)
Line Three-Pole Select Relay B-Phase Permissive KEY B-Phase PERM (TX)
(Operator Select) 0s Relay C-Phase Permissive KEY C-Phase PERM (TX)

Relay A-Phase Permissive RX A-Phase PERM (RX)

Relay B-Phase Permissive RX B-Phase PERM (RX)
1s Relay C-Phase Permissive RX C-Phase PERM (RX)
DTT RX Enable
(Tech TCO) 0s 10 ms
A-Phase DTT (RX)
0s
10 ms
B-Phase DTT (RX)
0s
10 ms
C-Phase DTT (RX)
0s
Route 1 Telecom

DTT Receive

1s
CB 2 Parallel
(Operator Select) 0s

1s
CB 1 Parallel TRIP TRIP TRIP
(Operator Select) 0s A B C

*Relay Trip Three Phase and

Block Automatic Reclose
1. Any Multiphase Fault
TRIP TRIP TRIP TRIP TRIP TRIP
2. Any Time-Delayed Trip
A B C C B A
3. Trip During Single-Pole Open
4. No-Good NG HSR CB 1 Trip CB 2 Trip

Fig. 3. DTT Integration Into Line Relays (Custom Relay Logic)

this line setting philosophy, a DTT feature must be in service When developing the design for the breaker control, some
to clear remote breaker failure events. The relay reach of the following criteria were considered:
required to see all possible faults on a remote element, such as • Uniform design that could be applied to either
those beyond a transformer, might not be possible. Even if breaker-and-a-half or ring-bus schemes.
possible, it would jeopardize coordination and loadability • Consistent interconnection from the breaker relaying
requirements. to the terminal relaying package (terminal can be
All substation configurations for the 500 kV system are either a line, bus, or transformer).
breaker-and-a-half or ring-bus topologies, and each line • Standard design for varying configurations, such as
breaker is designed for single-pole tripping. bus-to-line, bus-to-transformer, line-to-line, line-to-
transformer, line-to-bus, transformer-to-line, and
transformer-to-bus configurations.
 7

Full Tap A Full Tap A Full Tap A Full Tap A Full Tap A Full Tap A
CCVT-1 CCVT-2 CCVT-2 CCVT-3 CCVT-3 CCVT-4
CB 3 CB 2 CB 1
50-62BF / 50-62BF / 50-62BF /
25-79 25-79 25-79

Bus 2 Bus 1
A A A

3 2 1
CCVT-1 T S T S T S CCVT-4
FT FT
HT Line 2 Line 1 HT
CCVT-2 CCVT-3
FT FT
FT HT HT FT
HT HT

FT FT
HT HT
FT = Full Tap
HT = Half Tap

Fig. 4. Breaker-and-a-Half Breaker Relay Configuration

• A single relay per breaker for breaker failure, BFISP

reclosing, and other breaker functions.
BFI_NP 0 cyc
• Reduced number of required auxiliary devices, such as
BFI_SA
steering diodes and auxiliary tripping relays. BFPU
BFI_TA
• Accounting for bay functions, such as reclosing BFA
0 cyc
interlocks and dc monitoring. BFB
The breaker design is illustrated in Fig. 4. Each relay has BFIDO
IABK1 + BFC
dedicated I/O for each side of the breaker. To aid in –
50FPI
maintaining consistency in application and standard settings,
B1OPHA
half of the I/O is designated as S (Bus 1 side) and the other
half as T (Bus 2 side). A similar convention can be followed BFPU
for a ring bus, where all of the S sides are on the same side of BFI_1R
BFP
the breaker when rotating around the ring. When following 52A_AX 0 cyc

this convention, the result is that each terminal has dedicated, 52A_BX
standard I/O. The internal logic and operator switch contact 52A_CX
assignments are standard for each terminal (as shown later in
Fig. 5. Custom Breaker Failure Logic
Fig. 6).
The breaker control was designed to have the features B. High-Speed Reclosing
described in the following subsections. Each breaker relay provides high-speed reclosing (HSR)
A. Breaker Failure Detection for its respective breaker. Because there are two breakers per
The breaker relay provides independent pole breaker line, the design needs to account for the sequencing of the
failure protection (A-, B-, and C-Phases) as required for closing of both breakers. For a line terminal, only one breaker
single-pole operation. Breaker failure detection has two performs HSR and, upon successful HSR, the other breaker
different algorithms for current detection or breaker seal parallels it. The breaker that is selected for HSR is the lead
detection (for faults where current detection may not be breaker and the other breaker is the follow breaker. A feature
available, such as a trip with breaker failure initiation from the select switch provides both relays with the desired operator
transformer mechanical protection). There are two separate setup for the lead and follow breakers. For further operator
relay inputs for breaker failure initiation to choose which setup, a separate single-pole or three-pole (1P/3P) selection
algorithm to invoke, as shown in Fig. 5. switch is provided. This switch allows the line to be set up in
either a single-pole or a three-pole mode.
 8

The breaker selected to lead recloses in 0.5 seconds if a V. OPERATION INTERFACE, INTEGRATION, AND MONITORING
single-line-to-ground (SLG) fault occurs on the line and the When considering the functional implementation of the
1P/3P switch is in the 3P position. The HSR occurs in new design, a cautious approach was used to determine which
1 second if an SLG fault occurs on the line and the features would be integrated into the relays. In order to avoid
1P/3P switch is in the 1P position. The reclose time is longer the failure of any relay affecting the remaining protection and
when a single-pole trip takes place to account for arc operational features, most external control interfaces were left
extinction. as discrete devices. Only relay setting group selection and
If the breaker is selected to be the follow breaker, then the digital circuit or PLC selection were integrated into the
relay automatically parallels the breaker. The breaker closes in applicable relays. The operator setup interface switches for
12 seconds if there is voltage present on both sides of the circuit breakers and lines are shown in Fig. 6.
breaker and all synchronism requirements (voltage
Line Features
magnitudes, phase angle, and slip frequency) are met.
For the three breakers on a breaker-and-a-half bay, there Pole Select Pole Select
are further interlocks for HSR when the middle breaker is RE543PS-1 RE543PS-2
2 Position 2 Position
selected as the lead. In this mode, HSR is only allowed if the 1 Pole/3 Pole 1 Pole/3 Pole
third breaker associated with the adjacent line or transformer
Lead/Follow Lead/Follow
is closed. This interlock is required because the relay settings RE543LF-1 RE543LF-2
do not account for the loss of the substation source. 2 Position 2 Position
CB 1 Lead/CB 2 Lead CB 2 Lead/CB 3 Lead
C. Pole Disagreement HSR Cut-Out HSR Cut-Out
RE543HSR-1 RE543HSR-2
The design provides pole disagreement monitoring and 2 Position 2 Position
tripping using the breaker control relay. Furthermore, PG&E Cut-In/Cut-Out Cut-In/Cut-Out
has a variable pole disagreement timer. The following are the Reclose Select Reclose Select
two conditions for pole disagreement: Future RE543RS-1 RE543RS-2
Implementation 2 Position 2 Position
• For any three-pole trip or any breaker closing event HS/Time Delay HS/Time Delay
(manual or automatic), the pole disagreement timer Relay Cut-Outs Relay Cut-Outs
trips the breaker for a pole discordance time of RE543A,B,C,D-1 RE543A,B,C,D-2
2 Position 2 Position
20 cycles. Cut-In/Cut-Out Cut-In/Cut-Out
• For a single-pole trip operation, the pole disagreement Line Maintenance Line Maintenance
timer is extended to trip the breaker for a pole 543LM-1 543LM-2
2 Position 2 Position
discordance time of 90 cycles. Normal/Maintenance Normal/Maintenance
Bus 1 Bus 2
The previous philosophy called for a single relay in the Line 1 Line 2
breaker cabinet. It was supposed to be set at 90 cycles, but the
setting was not always set properly or documented in the relay 1 2 3

setting database for setting management queries. This feature

Breaker Control Breaker Control Breaker Control
was included in the breaker relays to implement the variable RE552CS-CB1 RE552CS-CB2 RE552CS-CB3
timers and for greater setting asset control. This addition helps 2 Position 2 Position 2 Position
OPEN/CLOSE OPEN/CLOSE OPEN/CLOSE
prevent problems that occurred previously in which the line
Local/Remote Local/Remote Local/Remote
protection tripped on directional ground overcurrent upon a 543LR-CB1 543LR-CB2 543LR-CB3
breaker closing prior to pole-disagreement tripping. 2 Position 2 Position 2 Position
LOCAL/REMOTE LOCAL/REMOTE LOCAL/REMOTE
In addition, for line relay single-pole tripping, the resultant
ground current can be quite high during the pole-open Manual/Automatic Manual/Automatic Manual/Automatic
RE543MA-CB1 RE543MA-CB2 RE543MA-CB3
condition. In order to account for this higher ground current, 2 Position 2 Position 2 Position
the line relay element shifts to a different time dial for ground MAN/AUTO MAN/AUTO MAN/AUTO

overcurrent tripping. Trip Coil 2 Trip Coil 2 Trip Coil 2

RE543TC2-CB1 RE543TC2-CB2 RE543TC2-CB3
D. Trip Coil and DC Health Monitoring 2 Position 2 Position 2 Position
Cut-In/Cut-Out Cut-In/Cut-Out Cut-In/Cut-Out
The relay monitors each trip coil on each phase (six trip
BF Cut-Out BF Cut-Out BF Cut-Out
coils) when the breaker is closed. The relay monitors the 543BF-CB1 543BF-CB2 543BF-CB3
breaker failure dc and the bay reclosing dc. The relay provides 2 Position 2 Position 2 Position
Cut-In/Cut-Out Cut-In/Cut-Out Cut-In/Cut-Out
an alarm if either dc is outside of a specified tolerance.
Normal/Maintenance Normal/Maintenance Normal/Maintenance
E. Remote Manual Close Synchronism Supervision 543M-CB1 543M-CB2 543M-CB3
2 Position 2 Position 2 Position
The relay provides an output for supervision of the remote NORM/MAINT NORM/MAINT NORM/MAINT

close command. It closes under all conditions other than a

Breaker Features
dead line or dead bus and to parallel it must meet the
synchronizing requirements previously described. Fig. 6. Operator Interface Switches
 9

Except in very special circumstances, the dc control design diagram. The relay setting database lists the standard drawing
eliminates auxiliary relays. This approach moves the system number and revision number to identify the exact custom logic
closer to the ideal of achieving fully monitored protection. within each relay. The logic diagrams were an important tool
The sequence of events (SOE) reporting for each line relay for analyzing how the system works because they allow for a
is programmed to capture channel failure and channel normal fast review of the philosophy. The logic diagrams have also
conditions. To preserve SOE data for all relays (line and been used to evaluate both RTDS testing and relay event files
breaker), special attention was given to eliminating the triggered by actual system faults.
logging of chattering elements. In this manner, SOE can After the panels were created, field technicians performed
reveal channel availability data spanning months. testing of the wiring and provided feedback to improve future
Additional features in the relays include the following: field implementation. The experience of the technicians was
• All new relays have continuous monitoring critical in providing learned recommendations for
capabilities and provide supervisory control and data improvements. One of the recommendations was to wire a test
acquisition (SCADA), a human-machine interface switch for every relay input and output. This change was
(HMI), and energy management system (EMS) implemented in all field installations and is one difference that
visibility via DNP3 over Transmission Control exists between the prototype and field installations.
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The characteristics of one PG&E line were used as a model
• All relays have two Ethernet ports. One port is the to create settings to verify the proposed custom logic, settings,
primary and the other is a failover. If the primary and physical design. Protection engineers spent several weeks
Ethernet connection fails, the relay automatically testing the system. IEEE standard COMTRADE files obtained
switches over to the alternate port and resumes from previous RTDS tests were used for secondary injection
communications. into the prototype line relays. The results of this testing led to
• Generic Object-Oriented Substation Event (GOOSE) changes in the custom logic and settings. These final setting
messaging between relays is not implemented in any files became the templates for all field installations. The field
of the schemes. (Relays are compliant with IEC 61850 technicians then returned and completed all functional testing
standards. Implementation may occur at a later date.) and validated the test plans to be used for all field
installations.
VI. PROTOTYPE Once the standard was rolled out and applied at several
locations, the validation panels were used for training the
PG&E management funded prototype panels and testing
operators and other technicians. They were also used for
with the belief that the initial feedback and changes would
several additional tests by protection engineers. For the first
save money in the long run by avoiding costly field changes.
short-line application, the POTT relays were replaced with
Before the panels were built, the schematics were reviewed
line differential relays. The same steps used for the original
several times to consider each feature in the new design. The
validation were used again for the validation of the line
prototype panels reflected the complete line package for each
differential system. From this testing, the design was changed
terminal and the additional panels at each end for the two
for all future 500 kV lines to include all line differential relays
circuit breakers adjacent to the line. The circuit breaker panels
and replace distance POTT relays. These new Set C and Set D
consisted of the breaker failure and reclosing relay and control
differential relays have custom logic that can be used for all of
switches. An HMI, remote terminal unit (RTU), and breaker
the installations with the selection of either POTT or line
simulators were also installed.
differential protection by setting variables to on or off in the
The line relays were connected through the same
custom logic. The logic diagrams also list the differences in
communications systems (digital microwave and backup PLC
protection settings for the application of either line differential
channel for the POTT relays) as the field installations. All
or POTT protection.
equipment that was planned to be installed in the field was
installed in the prototype system to allow for complete testing.
VII. RTDS TESTING
The prototype panels were placed in a laboratory, which
contained channel impairment equipment to take advantage of The industry has moved from applying dependable
communications system testing for bit error rate, channel protection schemes to applying secure protection schemes as a
asymmetry, SONET resynchronization, and channel delay. result of decreased operating margins on transmission paths.
The channel alarms were then set based on preprogrammed Overtripping on the PG&E series-compensated 500 kV lines
channel impairment levels. can impact system stability and lead to serious regulatory and
The validation consisted of testing and reviewing the monetary consequences. The PG&E 500 kV system is a major
physical panel layouts, electrical design, relay acceptance path for bulk electric power flow between the hydroelectricity-
testing, relay light-emitting diodes (LEDs), relay pushbuttons, rich Pacific Northwest and heavy load centers in the
a Mathcad® setting guide, and relay setting templates. The Southwest.
Mathcad files provided setting philosophy guidance. The PG&E used the RTDS platform to develop an accurate
validation was used to create the Ethernet DNP3 visibility, real-time model of the entire series-compensated 500 kV
Ethernet DNP3 control, and custom relay logic. The relay system to prove line relay settings and to challenge the relays
custom logic for the prototype is shown on a standard logic with tens of thousands of external and internal faults. This
 10

paper does not discuss in depth how the relays were initially displays slow operate times for faults at 25 percent of the line
set or tested. For more information, refer to papers [5], [6], and beyond that does not follow a steadily increasing trend.
[7], and [8]. Note that for the left terminal there are two 0.1 percent
For each terminal of the line, the differential relay set of listings. These are from the fault locations on both sides of the
one manufacturer and the POTT distance relay set of the other series capacitor in the model. The Zone 2 element reaches are
manufacturer were tested. The results of the testing were critical for the operation of the POTT scheme.
automatically tabulated in a spreadsheet for each relay and
analyzed.
Out-of-section and in-section fault results were reviewed to
ensure that there were no relay trip outputs for the out-of-
section faults and correct single-pole or three-pole trip outputs
for the in-section faults. Where anomalies were observed, the
RTDS model was checked for proper fault scripting and
accurate system modeling and configuration. The next step
was to check relay settings for adjustments, or additions or
modifications of logic, to address the anomaly. In some cases,
it was necessary to contact the relay manufacturer to request
support, which resulted in a simple solution or a more
involved relay firmware upgrade. The implementation of a
Fig. 8. Zone 1 Distance Coverage Along the Line
relay firmware upgrade triggers a rerun of all testing to ensure
that the anomaly has been addressed without creating new
anomalies. In some cases the issue was with the custom relay
logic and it had to be updated and retested.
Once all anomalies were addressed in the manner
described, the test results were tabulated using charts and
graphs. An example series-compensated line is shown in
Fig. 7. The analysis charts that follow are based on this
simplified one-line diagram.

Fig. 7. System One-Line Drawing Fig. 9. Zone 2 Maximum Assertion Time for Faults Along the Line
The graph in Fig. 8 describes the relay Zone 1 reach from Fig. 9 shows the worst-case operate times, which are only a
each terminal of a 500 kV line, with series compensation small subset of the total faults. Analysis of the relay response
located at the left terminal only. Line potentials are connected revealed that the slow Zone 2 operations were from the
on the line side of the series capacitors. The left terminal with subtransients of the series capacitor and the heavy mutual
the series compensation has complete Zone 1 coverage for up coupling. The mho ground and phase impedance loops [10]
to 70 percent of the line. The right terminal looking into the were oscillating enough for the first few cycles that the proper
series capacitor is limited to Zone 1 coverage for only the first fault could not be selected. Once the transients subsided, the
15 percent of the line before the relay series compensation relay was able to make the proper decision and operate. The
logic [9] inhibits Zone 1 operation. This illustrates the takeaway from this was that there were no failures to trip, only
importance of maintaining at least one level of high-speed a handful of slow operations.
protection at all times because the Zone 1 coverages do not Due to the small exposure and coverage by the line
overlap. differential protection, these occasionally slow operations of
The graph in Fig. 9 shows the maximum (worst-case) the distance relays were determined to be acceptable responses
operate times for the Zone 2 element at each terminal of the and no further changes were required in settings or firmware.
500 kV line described previously. The right terminal looking In addition, looking at the average operate times revealed a
into the capacitor displays a steady increase in the worst-case relay response in line with the expectation of a steadily
Zone 2 pickup time that tops out at 28 milliseconds increasing relay operate time from close-in to remote faults.
(1.7 cycles) near the remote terminal. The left terminal
 11

Fig. 10 describes the average speed at which the Zone 2 critical because PG&E does not employ IRIG-B timing at
element asserted at each terminal of the 500 kV line described each terminal to correct for channel asymmetry. This decision
previously. The left terminal with series compensation has was made to avoid having the Global Positioning System
subcycle performance up to 50 percent of the line while it (GPS) antenna and clock become critical to the protection
ramps up to a 25 millisecond (1.5 cycle) assertion time near system, which would have required the IRIG-B clock and
the remote bus. The right terminal looking into the line series antenna alarms to be treated in the same critical manner as a
compensation displays a subcycle assertion time up to relay alarm. Channel asymmetry throughout the PG&E system
80 percent of the line and holds steady at 17 milliseconds is expected to be less than 3 milliseconds and channel delays
(1 cycle) near the remote bus. are expected to be less than 1 cycle.
PG&E uses locked bandwidth channels on the digital
microwave system for line differential channels. If either the
transmit (TX) or receive (RX) path is lost, no switching is
made because this would result in the transmit and receive
paths following different channels, which could introduce
greater channel asymmetry. The Set A and Set B relays use
fully redundant communications paths, and therefore the loss
of one path is not expected to have any effect on the other
path.
With the PG&E design, the Set A and Set B line
differential relays pick up the channel asymmetry alarm from
a loss of the GPS signal, but this does not lead to any
overtripping. If the channel asymmetry alarm is picked up on
Fig. 10. Zone 2 Average Assertion Time for Faults Along the Line
both the Set A and Set B line differential relays, it is a result
A review of the line differential protection testing includes of the GPS not being functional because the Set A and Set B
the proper response for each fault, backup element assertions, channels are fully redundant with no SPF.
and Zone 1 coverage. A more detailed review of the On one of the differential channel installations, the
differential protection is not required because coordination of microwave channels were not properly configured and the
the distance elements between both terminals is not necessary channel delays exceeded the relay calculation range. As a
for proper scheme operation. result of this communications issue, the field commissioning
procedure was updated to calculate the transmit route time and
VIII. FIELD DEPLOYMENT the receive route time. In order to calculate the channel
After full RTDS testing of the proposed settings at the transmit route time and receive route time, the calculation is
factory is completed, the settings are converted to field made from the quantities provided by the line differential
settings using existing written instructions to facilitate the relays. The relays provide the following:
process. For example, multiple load groups are not required • Round-trip channel time (T), which is the total time of
for RTDS testing, backup distance elements are normally only transmission from one relay to the other end and its
enabled when the line differential channel is not functional but return path for the round trip.
for RTDS testing are always enabled, and outputs are varied • Channel asymmetry (∆T), which is the time difference
for RTDS testing for proper data collection. Field technicians between the transmit and receive paths calculated by
perform full site acceptance testing per testing documents. using the GPS clock information from both ends.
To aid in the understanding of the system, a description of The transmit route time from the left terminal transmitter to
operations and logic diagrams is provided. From the RTDS the right terminal receiver is 12 ( T + ΔT ) . The receive route
testing, which includes thousands of tests for both in- and out- time from the right terminal transmitter to the left terminal
of-section faults, 14 tests are run to test the communications receiver is 12 ( T – ΔT ) .
channels and relay settings. Satellite communications are used
to synchronize the two terminals to start the fault simulation
with 2 seconds of prefault current at the same time. Eight out- IX. LESSONS LEARNED
of-section faults are run first and then six in-section faults are It is inevitable that, even in the most organized and planned
run. They include three-phase, phase-to-ground, and phase-to- project, deficiencies will arise and require appropriate
phase faults. The tests are also run on one of the POTT relays attention. The items in the following subsections were
with a PLC selected as the communications channel. Note that evaluated to determine the urgency of modifying the previous
DTT is isolated for this testing in order to view the relay installations. Ways of addressing these unanticipated
targeting based on the fault without the DTT masking the pilot challenges included wiring changes, custom logic changes,
operation and associated targets. relay firmware upgrades, and setting changes. The following
For POTT channels, channel delays are expected to be less subsections discuss some of the challenges encountered and
than 1 cycle. The delay is determined during the field testing. how they were addressed.
For line differential communications channels, asymmetry is
 12

A. Prototype Implementation requirement to test each point. Furthermore, system operators

Even though the team thought that there was ample only required a small subset of the original points list to
feedback from field personnel, certain details were still adequately manage the system. The points list was reduced to
missed, and the field design accounted for the identified their required list.
prototype deficiencies. Because the deviation between the E. Single-Pole Tripping for Switch on to Fault
prototype and field installation was slight, the prototype was
During manual RTDS testing, it was found that single-pole
not retrofitted to account for the differences. Instead, a setting
tripping was taking place for an end-of-line switch on to fault.
template conversion process was created to exchange settings
To correct this anomaly, setting changes, Mathcad template
between the field and prototype installations (for example,
changes, and custom logic changes were made. The logic
I/O mapping).
shown in Fig. 12 enables distance elements for a certain
B. Relay Firmware Upgrades period of time following breaker closing.
Occasionally, manufacturers issue device advisories that
describe relay deficiencies. In most cases, these deficiencies
can be corrected by firmware upgrades. A relay firmware
upgrade was initiated as the result of an issue found during
RTDS testing. Updates to previously installed relay packages
must be evaluated because they require field testing and
possible RTDS testing.
Fig. 12. Correct Single-Pole Trip for End-of-Line Switch on to Fault
C. Non-Assertion of Reclose Block for Evolving Faults
The same type of evolving fault was run with different F. Additional Zone When Required Line Setting Reaches
transition times between the single-phase fault stage and the Through Remote Transformers
multiple-phase fault stage (See Table II). During the testing, it While creating the settings for one of the longer lines with
was found that the relay responded differently with regard to three remote transformers, it was found that the required
reclose blocking. To address the issue, changes in the current distance reach picked up for low-side faults on the
differential relay were made, and the final custom logic is as transformers. While the present PG&E philosophy is to install
shown in Fig. 11. dual bus differential protection on all 230 kV buses, many
TABLE II
230 kV buses have only a single set of bus differential relays.
EVOLVING FAULT RECLOSE BLOCK OPERATIONS For the loss of a single bus differential relay, the line settings
Time to Evolve
required further delay to coordinate with the transformer high-
Single-Phase- side time-delayed clearing. Therefore, an additional zone was
From Single-Phase- Multiphase Reclose
to-Ground added in order to allow faster clearing for as much of the line
to-Ground Fault to Trip Result Result
Trip Result
Multiphase Fault as possible before picking up for faults on the low side of
2 cycles Single-pole trip
Three-pole Reclose remote transformers.
trip block
Three-pole No reclose G. Reclosing Issue With Existing Breaker Failure Logic
3 cycles Single-pole trip
trip block The full system review of PG&E breaker failure, HSR, and
Three-pole No reclose line protection practices and their interdependency was not
12 cycles Single-pole trip
trip block
considered because the subtlety of their interaction was not
known. One of the line differential relays in the new design,
with existing legacy breaker failures and HSR practices, led to
the overtripping of a bus due to a false breaker failure
operation for a permanent line fault. The original legacy
PG&E breaker failure logic, as shown in Fig. 13, starts the
breaker failure protection when the BF Initiate input is picked
up and seals it in for the duration of the Control Timer. After
the programmed BF Timer (8 cycles for PG&E) has elapsed, if
current is detected the relay issues a BF Trip and the bus
and/or adjacent circuit breakers are tripped and locked out.

Fig. 11. Updated Custom Logic for Reclose Block for Evolving Faults

D. Simplified DNP3 Mapping

The relays were originally programmed with a large DNP3
map. This resulted in the RTUs being overloaded and the
technicians performing testing being overwhelmed by the Fig. 13. Original PG&E Breaker Failure Logic
 13

Fig. 14. Line Differential Relay Event Report

With this existing breaker failure logic, if the following breakers because the BF Timer had elapsed when local current
three conditions exist simultaneously, a false breaker failure was flowing during the reclosing of the local end into the
trip will be initiated: permanent fault.
• Tripping and BF Initiate when the circuit breaker is Although the HSR times had drifted from the anticipated
open and there is no local current. values, it was not possible to reclose both ends at the exact
• The existing PG&E logic, which allowed the same time. It was investigated whether the relays could be
BF Timer to start timing without local current altered to initiate trip only with local current or disturbance,
supervision. but this was not possible. Therefore, in order to keep the HSR
• Reclosing into a permanent fault after the timer has in service, PG&E studied, tested, and implemented breaker
timed through several cycles, leaving not enough time failure logic to include current supervision logic to supervise
for the circuit breaker to properly open before BF Initiate and have it present for the duration of the
initiating breaker failure. BF Timer. In addition, to accommodate non-current-initiated
At PG&E, HSR is initiated from the line relays for SLG trips (e.g., those from a circuit breaker in a breaker-and-a-half
faults. It takes place 30 cycles after the trip when three-pole configuration shared by the line transformer position, DTT, or
trip is selected and 60 cycles after the trip when single-pole special protection systems or remedial action schemes), the
trip is selected. breaker failure logic has provisions to incorporate an option
After the new system was employed with the new line for circuit breaker auxiliary 52a status supervision to start
differential relays, a permanent SLG fault occurred and the BF Initiate.
line was properly cleared at both terminals. The remote end The Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC)
reclosed about 8 cycles before the local end, tripped, initiated was queried to investigate breaker failure practices, and from
breaker failure at the local end, and started the local BF Timer. this query it was found that the vast majority of utilities are
When the local end reclosed, the timer had already been moving forward with requiring breaker failure initiation and
timing for around 7 cycles. The BF Timer expired before the fault detection to initiate breaker failure for the duration of the
breaker cleared the fault, which resulted in a false breaker BF Timer. The team also reviewed the IEEE breaker failure
failure operation. The cause of the false breaker failure protection standard for guidance [11].
operation was that the breaker failure initiated and started Shown in Fig. 15 is the new PG&E breaker failure logic,
timing when the local circuit breaker was opened (because of which supervises breaker failure initiation with local current
the reclosing at the remote terminal) into a permanent line and stops the BF Timer if the current drops out.
fault with a line differential scheme that did not require local
current or disturbance in order to issue a trip.
The relay event report shown in Fig. 14 shows the
reclosing at the remote end (ICX current), local tripping and
Fig. 15. New PG&E Breaker Failure Logic
breaker failure initiation by the differential element, clearing
at the remote terminal (current goes to 0), local reclosing The new logic provides a secure solution to correct for
(IC current), and local tripping (current goes to 0). Although overtripping. One accepted consequence of choosing this
the circuit breaker was properly opened to clear the fault, the secure method is that there may not be dependable breaker
breaker failure also picked up and tripped all adjacent circuit failure operate times.
 14

X. CONCLUSION [7] D. Erwin, M. Anderson, R. Pineda, D. A. Tziouvaras, and R. Turner,

“PG&E 500 kV Series-Compensated Transmission Line Relay
This paper lists the important aspects of a relay Replacement: Design Requirements and RTDS® Testing,” proceedings
replacement project from the scoping stage through field of the 64th Annual Conference for Protective Relay Engineers,
deployment with the challenges encountered along the way. College Station, TX, April 2011.
The diagram in Fig. 16 is a simplified process flow chart of [8] D. Erwin and F. Karchemskiy, “An Automated Fault Study
Application,” proceedings of the 36th Annual Western Protective Relay
each step discussed in this paper. Conference, Spokane, WA, October 2009.
[9] H. J. Altuve, J. B. Mooney, and G. E. Alexander, “Advances in Series-
Compensated Line Protection,” proceedings of the 62nd Annual
Conference for Protective Relay Engineers, College Station, TX,
March 2009.
[10] E. O. Schweitzer, III, and J. Roberts, “Distance Relay Element Design,”
proceedings of the 46th Annual Conference for Protective Relay
Engineers, College Station, TX, April 1993.
[11] IEEE Standard C37.119-2005, IEEE Guide for Breaker Failure
Protection of Power Circuit Breakers.

XII. BIOGRAPHIES
Davis Erwin received his BSEE and MSEE in 1997 and 1998, respectively,
from New Mexico State University. Davis is a registered professional
engineer in California and has been with PG&E system protection since 1999,
primarily supporting 500 kV system projects and Special Protection Schemes.

Rafael Pineda received his BSEE in 1990 from California Polytechnic State
University, San Luis Obispo. Rafael is a registered professional engineer in
California and has been with PG&E since 1991. He is currently supporting
500 kV system protection projects and Special Protection Schemes. He is a
member of the WECC Relay Group.

Monica Anderson received her BSEE in 1988 from the University of

California, Davis. Monica is a registered professional engineer in California
and has been with PG&E system protection since 2003. Previously, she
worked at Western Area Power Administration, First Energy Corp., and
Puget Sound Energy.

Eric Udren has 45 years of experience in the design and application of

protective relaying. He works with major utilities to develop new substation
protection, control, communications, and remedial action scheme designs.
Eric is an IEEE Life Fellow and Chair of the Relaying Communications
Subcommittee of the IEEE Power System Relaying Committee. He is a U.S.
Technical Advisor for IEC relay standards and is a member of
IEC TC 57 WG 10, which develops IEC 61850. Eric serves on the
Fig. 16. Process Flow Chart NERC System Protection and Control Subcommittee (SPCS) and the
NERC Protection System Maintenance Standard Drafting Team developing
XI. REFERENCES NERC Standard PRC-005-2. He has written and presented over 90 technical
papers and book chapters and has 7 patents. He currently serves as Executive
[1] IEEE Standard C37.94-2002, IEEE Standard for N Times 64 Kilobit Per Advisor with Quanta Technology, LLC of Raleigh, NC, with his office in
Second Optical Fiber Interfaces Between Teleprotection and Multiplexer Pittsburgh, PA.
Equipment.
[2] NERC Order No. 754. Available: http://www.nerc.com. Jordan Bell received his BS degree in electrical engineering from
[3] NERC Standard PRC-023-1 – Transmission Relay Loadability. Washington State University and joined SEL Engineering Services in 2008 as
Available: http://www.nerc.com. a protection engineer. He performs event report analysis, relay settings and
[4] S. Watanasiriroch, M. Best, and S. Turner, “An Application of Relay-to- relay coordination, fault studies, and model power system testing using a Real
Relay Logic Communications for Single Pole Tripping,” proceedings of Time Digital Simulator.
the 4th International Conference on Advances in Power System Control,
Operation and Management, Hong Kong, China, November 1997. Neal Jones received his BSEE and MEEE in 2004 and 2008, respectively,
[5] F. Plumptre, M. Nagpal, X. Chen, and M. Thompson, “Protection of from the University of Idaho. Neal is a registered professional engineer in
several states and has been with SEL Engineering Services Protection since
EHV Transmission Lines With Series Compensation: BC Hydro’s
2009, providing custom control designs and conducting protection studies for
Lessons Learned,” proceedings of the 62nd Annual Conference for
clients varying from utility to industrial sectors. He is currently the protection
Protective Relay Engineers, College Station, TX, March 2009. group manager. Previously he worked at Dashiell Corporation and Georgia
[6] G. Corpuz, K. Koellner, J. Bell, S. Rajan, A. Somani, and Transmission Corporation.
M. Thompson, “Series-Compensated Line Protection Challenges in the
CREZ Region,” proceedings of the 67th Annual Conference for
Protective Relay Engineers, College Station, TX, March 2014.
© 2014 by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Quanta Technology, LLC,
and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
All rights reserved.
20141014 • TP6670-01