Electric Power Systems

An electric power system has the following basic functions:

1.Generation of electrical energy economically with minimum ecological disturbance.

2.Transfer of this energy to consumers with maximum efficiency and high reliability at practically constant voltage and constant frequency.

Electric power generation system

Large amount of power is generated at the generating stations.The present trend is to install bigger size of alternators to generate large amount of power to cater the required increasing demand.The site of the power station depends upon the type of power station.The new thermal stations are being constructed at pit heads (near the coal mines) because of the higher cost of transportation of coal.Hydro-power station sites are governed by the availability of water resources.The nuclear plants are also situated remote from the centers of consumption due to safety reasons. Thus,the difficulty of getting power station sited near the consuming centers makes it inevitable to transfer    bulk of electrical energy through longer distances.Long-distance,bulk power transfer is only possible by high voltage transmission systems.Extra high voltage (EHV) and ultra high voltage (UHV) transmission systems have been developed in most of the countries for transporting energy from remote power stations.By EHV is meant the voltage above 220 kV. The voltages above 760kV are called ultra high voltages (UHV). 

picture of power station(nuclear power plant