This free online course teaches you how to keep high-voltage power circuits protected so that they operate optimally.

Electricity can be destructive when handled inappropriately and the importance of prioritising safety cannot be over-emphasized. This course will give you a good overview of managing electrical systems efficiently, thereby ensuring that value is delivered to the end-user safely. You begin by exploring the elements of a substation, and how they are segmented and configured for optimal operation. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is essential to the modern-day operation of power substations, so you will learn how it works. You will be shown the open profile for air-insulated switchgear (AIS) and enclosed or gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) under high voltage switch configuration. Investigate the effect of cost, reliability, flexibility, and maintainability for optimal selection and setup. Then explore system protection and control elements, including breakers, switches, battery banks and relays. 

The purpose of protective relaying is to ensure that faulty power equipment is removed from service quickly to minimise equipment damage, limit the effects of disturbance and maintain the stability of systems. This course will take you through an extensive study of relaying in general. You will examine the purpose of protective relaying, protection requirements for systems, failure of protection schemes, fault characteristics and types of electrical faults. You will also study basic electrical system structure, devices in a power system, instrument transformers, potential transformers and polarity. Three-phase power distribution has become standard, and knowing how it works will help you understand its advantages over single-phase power. You will discover what causes the failure of high-voltage transformers, as well as learn about transformer construction review, voltage classification and cooling. Surge protectors guard against voltage spikes in electrical equipment. In contrast, circuit breakers keep wires from catching fire due to an overload of amps (amount of electrical current). In this light, you will review surge protective equipment and types of breakers and their characteristics. Study the schematics and general requirements of control circuits. This includes control closing, control tripping, trip-free, anti-pump and reliability in breaker control circuits. 

The next step up from protection by fuses and involving relays is the instantaneous and time overcurrent protection. You will learn what differentiates the two and where you can best apply them in the power grid. The final stage of the delivery of electricity to the end-user is distribution. Understand how distribution networks operate and the schematics of low-voltage feeder protection. You will also learn about the causes of feeder faults and protection essentials for transmission lines such as graded overcurrent protection, differential protection and more. This course examines the different aspects of impedance relaying, the mho type distance relay, impedance zone tripping and permissive overreach transfer trip (POTT). Finally, look at the working of some relays that are in use across different utilities. Empower yourself by enrolling in this course now.