As large commercial and industrial construction ramped up in the 1990s and the size of facilities grew, electrical distribution transitioned from low voltage (480 volts and below) to medium voltage (12–15 kV). These design changes brought about the need for more sophisticated electrical distribution protection, which coincided with the early generations of electronic protective relays, including the widely employed GE Multilin …
Function vs. Functional Testing
Testing plays a critical role in verifying that the protection scheme is designed to meet its intended purpose. It ensures that the wiring diagrams match the schematics, and everything works together seamlessly. WHY DO WE TEST? While engineers and electricians are highly skilled professionals, they are human and can make mistakes. That’s why, during the commissioning process, we meticulously search …
Maintaining NERC Compliance during Site Upgrades
When a generator owner plans site upgrades that result in protection setting or coordination changes, compliance with several North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Reliability Standards such as PRC-019, PRC-024, PRC-025, PRC-026, PRC-027, MOD-025, and MOD-026 will be impacted, depending on the scope of the upgrade. However, the effort to maintain compliance — and equally important, maintain compliance documentation — …