Function & Structure Of Electric Power System:
The function of an electric power system is to connect the power station to the consumers’ loads.The power demanded by the consumers is supplied by the power station through the transmission and distribution networks.As the consumers’ load demand changes, the power supply by the power station changes accordingly.
The function of a power station is to deliver power to a large number of consumers. However, the power demands of different consumers vary in accordance with their activities. The result of this variation in demand is that load on a power station is never constant,rather it varies from time to time. Most of the complexities of modern power plant operation arise from the inherent variability of the load demanded by the users.Unfortunately, electrical power cannot be stored and, therefore, the power station must produce power as and when demanded to meet the requirements of the consumers.On one hand, the power engineer would like that the alternators in the power station should run at their rated capacity for maximum efficiency and on the other hand, the demands of the consumers have wide variations.This makes the design of a power station highly complex.
Variable Loads On Power Station:
The load on a power station varies from time to time due to uncertain demands of the consumers and is known as variable load on the station.
A power station is designed to meet the load requirements of the consumers.An ideal load on the station, from stand point of equipment needed and operating routine, would be one
of constant magnitude and steady duration.However, such a steady load on the station is never realized in actual practice.The consumers require their small or large block of power in accordance with the demands of their activities.Thus the load demand of one consumer at any time may be different from that of the other consumer.The result is that load on the power station varies from time to time.
Effects of variable load. The variable load on a power station introduces many perplexities in its operation. Some of the important effects of variable load on a power station are :
(i) Need of Additional Equipment. The variable load on a power station necessitates to have
additional equipment.By way of illustration, consider a steam power station. Air, coal and water are the raw materials for this plant.In order to produce variable power, the supply of these materials will be required to be varied correspondingly. For instance, if the power demand on the plant increases, it must be followed by the increased flow of coal, air and water to the boiler in order to meet the increased demand.Therefore, additional equipment has to be installed to accomplish this job. As a matter of fact, in a modern power plant, there is much equipment devoted entirely to adjust the rates of supply of raw materials in accordance with the power demand made on the plant.
(ii) Increase in Production Cost. The variable load on the plant increases the cost of the production of electrical energy.An alternator operates at maximum efficiency near its rated capacity. If a single alternator is used, it will have poor efficiency during periods of light loads on the plant. Therefore, in actual practice, a number of alternators of different capacities are installed so that most of the alternators can be operated at nearly full load capacity.However, the use of a number of generating units increases the initial cost per kW of the plant capacity as well as floor area required. This leads to the increase in production cost of energy.
Variable Loads On Power Station:
The load on a power station varies from time to time due to uncertain demands of the consumers and is known as variable load on the station.
A power station is designed to meet the load requirements of the consumers.An ideal load on the station, from stand point of equipment needed and operating routine, would be one
of constant magnitude and steady duration.However, such a steady load on the station is never realized in actual practice.The consumers require their small or large block of power in accordance with the demands of their activities.Thus the load demand of one consumer at any time may be different from that of the other consumer.The result is that load on the power station varies from time to time.
Effects of variable load. The variable load on a power station introduces many perplexities in its operation. Some of the important effects of variable load on a power station are :
(i) Need of Additional Equipment. The variable load on a power station necessitates to have
additional equipment.By way of illustration, consider a steam power station. Air, coal and water are the raw materials for this plant.In order to produce variable power, the supply of these materials will be required to be varied correspondingly. For instance, if the power demand on the plant increases, it must be followed by the increased flow of coal, air and water to the boiler in order to meet the increased demand.Therefore, additional equipment has to be installed to accomplish this job. As a matter of fact, in a modern power plant, there is much equipment devoted entirely to adjust the rates of supply of raw materials in accordance with the power demand made on the plant.
(ii) Increase in Production Cost. The variable load on the plant increases the cost of the production of electrical energy.An alternator operates at maximum efficiency near its rated capacity. If a single alternator is used, it will have poor efficiency during periods of light loads on the plant. Therefore, in actual practice, a number of alternators of different capacities are installed so that most of the alternators can be operated at nearly full load capacity.However, the use of a number of generating units increases the initial cost per kW of the plant capacity as well as floor area required. This leads to the increase in production cost of energy.
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