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Overview
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PARTeC
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Flagship Projects
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Major Technology Adoptions
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Technical Papers
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POWERGRID Patents
To command technological leadership in power transmission sector in the Country, POWERGRID is aggressively pursuing R&D initiatives and channelizing efforts and outcome for overall benefit to Indian Power Sector. The R&D vision and objective of POWERGRID is:
Vision
Leading Continuous improvements through innovation in business processes with emphasis on development and/or demonstration of the State-of- the-Art technologies and be the Global Technology Leader in power transmission.
Objectives
- Innovate, develop, demonstrate, evaluate and absorb state of the art power transmission technologies for establishment of a smarter grid
- Demonstration, assessment and deployment of cutting edge technologies and condition monitoring techniques for efficient, effective and optimal operation of the electric grid
- Endorsement of basic and applied research for developing novel power transmission technologies to meet clean and sustainable power transmission requirement of the nation
- Promotion of participative/collaborative research in power sector by bringing agencies of mutual interest viz. academic institutions, national/international research bodies on the same platform
- Promote indigenous development of power transmission equipment and related products by Indian manufacturers and supplement the efforts under public-private partnership model
- Enhancement of knowledge base and dissemination of knowledge gathered among peers and stake holders
About Technology Development (R&D)
POWERGRID’s endeavour is continuing research development and demonstration/deployment of State-of-the-Art transmission technologies, build and maintain a robust, reliable, efficient, safe and cyber- secured National Grid. Efforts are also aimed towards seamless integration of Renewable Energy sources in National Grid to create environmental friendly transmission system towards sustainability. We are working in collaboration with International/ National research/academic institutions and standardization bodies like CIGRE, IEC, IEEE etc. POWERGRID is actively working in the emerging areas of protection and automation, asset management, cyber security, power system simulation, Renewable integration, Smart Grid, energy storage system, E-mobility etc.
Aiming towards AtmaNirbhar initiative, POWERGRID caters to the internal research, analysis, testing, calibration and ever-growing efficient asset management needs of the organization through its state-of- the-art laboratories located at POWERGRID Advanced Research and Technology Centre (PARTeC). The Centre has been recognized as a Research & Test infrastructure facility by the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN) for testing, simulation studies and research related works in Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and Smart Grid research infrastructure. PARTeC follows Quality Management System and is ISO 9001:2015 certified. PARTeC Brochure.
PARTeC calibration laboratory is accredited in accordance with the standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017 by NABL vide Certificate number CC-3439. For detailed scope of accreditation Click here.
Focus Areas of Research and Activities
- Modeling and simulation of power grid, Hardware-in-Loop studies through Real Time Simulator
- Studies and Analysis in Control and Protection system
- IEC 61850 conformance, Interoperability, and Dynamic testing of IEDs
- Cyber Security, vulnerability assessment of substation control & protection IEDs
- IEC/IEEE 60255-118 compliance testing of PMU
- Design and engineering of Process Bus based Digital Substation
- Field Testing and Residual life assessment (RLA) of substation equipment.
- Big data analytics using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for improved operational efficiency and asset management.
- Asset Mapping and Transmission line routing using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools tools. GIS Brochure
- Structural failure and material analysis, quality assurance, in-services performances, validation and testing of new and in-service materials
- Calibration and testing facilities of measuring equipment
- WAMS analytics & studies for control and protection application
- Image processing for transmission line health management
- Development of robot for substation inspection
- Transmission system inspection automation
- Unlocking power transmission capacity of existing transmission lines using DLL
- Development of Nano-materials for power system applications
- Transmission line health assessment
Patent Filed
- High Power Transmission Suspension Tower
- Thermal energy storage based air conditioning (AC) systems, ie; "Nature's AC"
- Asset Life Management System for Transformers and Reactors
POWERGRID Advanced Research & Technology Centre (PARTeC)
POWERGRID had been taking Research and Technological Development works in the transmission sector through its own establishments scattered all over the country and also in collaborative mode through manufacturers. Need was felt to undertake full scale R&D activities by synergizing the expertise of various verticals to meet the challenges and face technological advancement elsewhere in the world for optimal, efficient and economic utilization of transmission system. Such R&D efforts would benefit significantly to enhance the performance, availability, reliability and efficient operation of the transmission system.
In line with the above goal, POWERGRID established the prestigious Advanced Research and Technology Centre (PARTeC) in district Gurugram, an ancient mythological town meaning a place of learning. PARTeC was inaugurated by the Minister of State (Independent charge), Ministry of Power & Energy on 18th Sep 2018.
PARTeC has been recognized as a Research & Test infrastructure facility by the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN) for testing, simulation studies and research related works in Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and Smart Grid research infrastructure.Click here for details 
PARTeC brochure (PDF)
PARTeC follows Quality Management System and is ISO 9001:2015 certified.PARTeC calibration laboratory is accredited in accordance with the standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017 by NABL vide Certificate number CC-3439.
Real Time Simulation Laboratory
Facilities
- The largest Real Time Simulator (RTS) facility in India with 2340 Nodes (13 racks).
- Capacity up-gradation to 5220 Nodes (29 Racks) by 2021.
- The Real Time Simulator (RTS) allows system transients to be studied in great detail over a wide frequency bandwidth and user specific requirements.
- The current interface capability is upgraded to SMART simulation system with capability of simulating Sampled Values for Dynamic Testing of Process Bus Compliant IEDs.
- RTS lab has been integrated with the Protection Automation and Control Lab and Wide Area Measurement Lab. Wide area protection schemes (IEDs, PMUs, FACTS etc.) testing using Hardware-in-loop facility in the integrated lab.
Services
- Study of Impact of faults on HVAC/ HVDC system using RTS.
- Dynamic Testing of Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) using RTS.
- Power System Transient Studies through PSCAD, EMTP-Rv.
- Steady State studies though PSS-E, PSS-SINCAL.
- Study of Impact of PV system integration on protection system using RTS.
Protection Automation & Control Laboratory
Facilities
State-of-the-art laboratory to carry out conformance testing of IEC 61580 devices as per latest standards and with additional capabilities
Services
- Design and Engineering of Digital Substations.
- IEC 61850 Conformance related testing and Interoperability Studies.
- Parallel Redundancy Protocol /High-availability Seamless Redundancy Testing of IEDs.
- Cyber Security, vulnerability assessment and audit of IEC 61850 systems.
- Specialized hands on trainings on IEC 61850 standard and digital substation to protection engineers.
Wide Area Measurement System (WAMS) Lab
Services & Facilities
Fast and Automated Calibration facility, which allows compliance testing of PMUs of various makes/model as per latest IEEE standard C37.118, IEEE Synchrophasor Measurement Test Suite Specification and Customized Test Cases.
PMUs Tested so far:
- Alstom/GE
- Siemens
- Vizimax
- Elspec
Advanced Diagnostic Centre
Services & Facilities
- Comprises of Electrical/Electronics Diagnostics and Calibration Lab (EDC) & Field Measuring Instruments (FMI) lab.
- State-of-the-art instruments for field testing.
- Expert services for EHVAC/UHVAC equipment diagnosis and failure investigation.
- HVAC Electric & Magnetic Field Measurement and Analysis services for Lines.
- Residual Life Assessment studies.
- Electro-Technical Calibration of field equipment viz. Capacitance-Tan δ kit, Winding resistance measuring kit, Insulation testers, Energy meters, Multi-meters, Clamp-on meters, Temperature sensors, pressure gauges etc.
- Diagnosis and minor repairs of Electronic/printed circuit boards.
Material Science Laboratory
Facilities
- X-ray diffractometer facilitated with Texture cradle and large area detector for characterizing crystalline materials.
- Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) – Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy: A powerful analytical technique that combines the qualitative capabilities of Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and the quantitative capabilities of Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy – Capable of Thermal Analysis of Materials up to 1000°C.
Services
- Structure failure and material analysis, quality assurance, in-service performances, validation and testing of new and in-service materials.
- Analysis of Composition, Ageing Process, Desorption Behavior, Decomposition of materials.
- Residual Stress Analysis, Phase Analysis and Crystallographic texture analysis.
- 1200kV Ultra High Voltage AC (UHVAC)
- Digital Substation
- Transformer/Reactor Online Condition Monitoring System (TOCMS)
- POWERGRID Asset Life Management System (PALMS)
- Mobile Capacitor Bank
- Pollution Mapping
- In-house Tower Designs
1200kV Ultra High Voltage AC (UHVAC)
- Indigenous development of 1200kV technology in collaboration with Indian equipment manufacturers at National Test Station Bina.
- Established under public private partnership model in collaboration with 35 Indian equipment manufacturers and Central Power Research Institute.
- Brought India to the elite League of Nations having Ultra High Voltage AC technology.
- Assisted in development of manufacturing capabilities up to 1200kV indigenously and presently catering the needs of 800kV equipment indigenously.
- Meet long term power transfer requirements in the country.
- Caters to the challenges like right of way (ROW) availability, environmental conservation, reduction of transmission losses.
- Power flow commenced in 2016.
Digital Substation
- POWERGRID has been a Global leader in implementation of projects on Process Bus based Full Digital Substation Technology.
- Paradigm shift in the way the control & protection system are tested and maintained In Full digital substations.
- Improvement of overall availability of system by online Testing of control & protection schemes from a centralized access point.
- Helps in advanced diagnostics, superior visualization of information flow, reduced commissioning time and reduced environmental footprint.
- Successfully validated the performance of Full Digital substation Technology through pilot projects at Bhiwadi and Neemrana.
- Implementation of two commercial Full Digital substation projects underway- Greenfield Implementation at Chandigarh & Retrofit project for Malerkotla.
Transformer/Reactor Online Condition Monitoring System (TOCMS)
- A web-based, low cost asset analytics solution developed in-house by POWERGRID.
- Real-time monitoring POWERGRID’s nationwide fleet of Transformers (around 550 nos.) and Reactors (around 950 nos.)-Mostly 400kV and 765kV class equipment.
- Combines the data acquisition through SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) from DGA sensors.
- Analyses the data and displays diagnostic information of Transformer/Reactor condition using various international standards viz. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) C57.104, IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 60599 and POWERGRID’s own interpretation technique.
- Equipped with visual as well as audio alarm in case of any abnormal conditions, along with interpretation.
- Copyright for TOCMS has been granted by Copyright Office, Govt. of India in Nov 2020.
POWERGRID Asset Life Management System (PALMS)
- An in-house asset analytics solution.
- Automatic fetching and evaluation of the transformer test data from centralized database.
- Segregation of the transformers on the basis of their health index values and based on the extent of deterioration using POWERGRID’s own interpretation technique.
- Enough information about the health of the transformer to the user to take an appropriate decision for repair, refurbish or replace at the time of evaluation.
- Reduction in the costly downtime of critical transformers and safeguarding operator/worker lives.
- Assist in judicial utilization/allocation of resources (both financial and work force) for maintenance of the transformers and replacement planning.
- PALMS is currently monitoring a fleet of over 3000 oil filled high voltage equipment like transformers and reactors pan India.
- Copyright for PALMS has been granted by Copyright Office, Govt. of India in Nov 2020.
- Patent application for PALMS has been filed at Indian Patent Office in Jan 2021.
Mobile Capacitor Bank
- Low voltage in various areas for few months in a year during paddy season is a common phenomenon in agriculture intense area due to the pumping activity.
- Occurrence of such seasonal load varies from location to location during this period.
- In order to compensate the reactive power requirement, capacitor banks are required to be installed at 33kV bus bar of an existing substation.
- However, keeping a fixed capacitor may not solve the purpose as the requirement is not there throughout the year.
- A mobile capacitor bank which can be moved from one substation to another whenever required is the needed solution.
- A pilot project with two number of 33kV Mobile Capacitor Bank of 10 MVAR capacity each having the steps of 5MVAR have been commissioned in one of 33kV Substation in Haryana.
- Mobile capacitor bank has a capacitor bank along with switchgear mounted on a trailer. This will utilize the capacitor bank investment optimally as it will deliver the reactive power wherever required.
- Field trial and evaluation of its effect on distribution system have been successfully completed.
Pollution Mapping
- Pollution determination and mapping on the geographical map enables in choosing appropriate type of the insulator in a particular area to minimize the probability of occurrence of pollution flashover in lines.
- POWERGRID had taken up the activity initially in Northern region and subsequently in Southern Region and Eastern Region along with CPRI and respective State Transmission Utilities (STUs).
- The measurements were completed and pollution map was prepared and shared with STUs and Regional Power Committees for usage during planning state and operation phase by all stake holders.
- Report available at NRPC (link is external), ERPC (link is external) and SRPC (link is external) website.
In-house Tower Designs
- High capacity multi circuit towers, monopole structures, narrow base towers, etc. for different wind zones, have been designed in-house and prototype tested and used in POWERGRID’s own transmission network.
- POWERGRID owns more than 250 designs as on date including special towers.
- In-house design of tower has optimized the tower material requirement and reduced right-of-way thus minimizing environmental impact.
- The ease of construction and maintenance are other accrued benefits from these new designs.
Technologies adopted/implemented by POWERGRID
POWERGRID over the years has adopted latest and cutting-edge technologies for transmission system reliability & availability, optimization of RoW, Capacity upgradation, safety and security. Some of the notable includes EHV/UHVAC systems up to 1200kV, HVDC systems Bi-pole & Multi-Terminal up to 800kV, VSC based HVDC systems for bulk power transmission, High Surge Impedance Loading Lines, HTLS conductor, Multi-circuit and narrow base/mono-pole structures, FSC/TCSC in transmission systems for capacity upgradation & optimization of RoW and SVC, STATCOM, Digital Substations, RIP bushings, Transmission Line Arrestors, Geographic Information tools, Controlled Switching, Advanced monitoring & analysis techniques to enhance the system reliability and availability. Some of these technology adoptions in the recent past are highlighted here.
800kV Resin Impregnated Paper (RIP) Bushings
- POWERGRID migrated to RIP bushings having superior characteristics over Oil Impregnated Paper (OIP) bushings technology in 400kV systems
- POWERGRID is now introducing RIP bushings for 800kV Transformers and Reactors for their increased availability.
- The chances of fire breaking out on RIP bushings are minimal and catastrophic effects of its failure on nearby equipment in switchyard are very little.
Transmission Line Arrestors
- Reduction in the risk of insulator flashover during surge events particularly in high lightning activity areas NER & ER.
- POWERGRID has installed these arrestors as a pilot project in 220kV Birpara – Salakati transmission line in North Eastern Region and monitored the performance.
- After observing the improvement TLAs have been installed in some more 132 kV and 220 kV lines prone to lightning activity in NER & ER.
EMF Measurements
International Conferences/Journals
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“Implementation Experience of India’s First 400kV, IEC 61850 Process Bus Based Full Digital Substation”, CIGRE Paris, August, 2022
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“Study of impact of exclusion of line reactor current on distance protection function and fault locator for an IEC 61850 process bus compliant IED using hardware-in-loop simulation”, CIGRE Paris, August, 2022
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“Intelligent Monitoring, Testing & Diagnostics in a Process Bus Based Full Digital Substation – A Utility’s Experience”, CIGRE Paris, August, 2022
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“Asset mapping & vulnerability assessment using GIS tools - POWERGRID experiences”, CIGRE Paris, August, 2022
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"Development and Implementation of Intelligent Condition Monitoring System for Transformers and Reactors", CIGRE Paris, 24th-31st August, 2020
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"C3-209: Experience on Electric and Magnetic field induction under 765/400kV power transmission lines", CIGRE Paris, 24th-31st August, 2020
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"Engineering and Management of Communication Networks in POWERGRID's Full Digital Substations", CIGRE Paris, 24th-31st August, 2020
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"Online Condition Monitoring of Transformers/Reactors for Improved Asset Management", CIGRE Chengdu 2019 Symposium, 20th-26th September, 2019
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"Use of GIS Tools and Space Technologies for Optimal Transmission Line Routing and Asset Mapping", CIGRE Canada Conference 2019, 16th-19th September, 2019
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"Operational Experience of IEC 61850 Process Bus Systems Deployed in POWERGRID, India", CIGRE Paris Session 2018
National Conferences/Journals
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"Mobile Capacitor Bank – A solution to seasonal loads for utility and large industries for different locations", CAPACIT 2019 Ninth International Conference on Capacitors, 14th -15th February, 2019
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"A Novel Approach for Transformer Control, Protection and Monitoring through Application of IEC61850 Standard", TRAFOTECH 2018, 4th-5th October, 2018
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"Intelligent approach towards online condition monitoring of transformers reactors", TRAFOTECH 2018, 4th-5th October, 2018
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