POWER LINE CARRIER COMMUNICATION

POWER LINE CARRIER COMMUNICATION equipments (PLCCs) are used for POINT TO POINT Communication over high voltage power lines PLCC equipments are used to SEND OR RECEIVE speech / data teleportation signals by using HF carrier signal ranging from 30 kHz to 500 kHz

NEED FOR COMMUNICATION

Speech Tele-protection Data Signal ( ex.RTU ) Telemetering Telecontrol

VARIOUS COMMUNICATION MODES IN POWER UTILITIES

Communication System employed by electrical utilities Fibre Optic Link (high capital cost, high reliability, speed and large band width availability for data transfer, commonly used in European & American countries ) PLCC Telephony wires /DOT lines Wireless ( commonly used by some of SEBs among cluster of HT/EHT substations) Conventional Radio Telephone Services (some of utilities abroad) VHF or Microwave radio channels(for huge data transfer among Load Despatech centres) Satellite communication (Not suitable for teleprotection due to inherent transmission time delay typically in seconds)

ADVANTAGES OF PLCC

High reliability as that of the power lines Low capital and running cost B) Disadvantages Limited bandwidth of 4 Khz Low speed of data transfer (typical 1200 baud, transfer of file comprising of graphics size of 1 MB take minutes ) Needs separate Battery/Battery chargers for reliable DC supply Proven availability and overall economy of the channel makes PLCC the preferred telecommunication medium of many power authorities.

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION OF PLCC

A carrier frequency in the range 36 to 500KHz is generated in a high frequency oscillator. It is then amplified, modulated by speech and other super imposed signals like telemetering, ,teleprotection etc. whenever required and transmitted over power lines. Coupling equipments (i.e. coupling device and Coupling capacitor) are used for isolation of Carrier equipment from high tension voltage and providing a low impedance path for the carrier frequency. In addition wave traps are used to confine the carrier current signals between the two Carrier Equipment located at respective substations. The various components of PLCC are shown in Fig. 1.

Mode of Operation:

PLCC terminals are used as a pair, one at each end of the power line ( between substations) Each terminal is designated for a set of transmit and receive frequencies ( channel frequencies) The corresponding PLCC at the other end will be designated for the reverse value of the transmission and reception frequencies. The channel frequency will be either in 4 KHz bandwidth or 8 KHz bandwidth depending upon single channel or twin channel equipments. PLCC converts a input signal of 300-4 kHz bandwidth to the RF range between 30-500 kHz and amplifies this RF signal to the desired output power level ( upto 40 Watts).

Pilot Signal

A Pilot channel (3600 30 Hz/ 2580 30 Hz / 3825 30 Hz) is provided for self monitoring and automatic gain control (receiver volume control). Pilot frequency is transmitted ( e.g. 3570 Hz) during normal rest condition and shifted dial (e.g. 3630 Hz) is transmitted during dialing for transmission of pulses.

Speech Signal

An input signal of 300-2000 Hz or 3002400 Hz or 300-2200 Hz or 300-3400 Hz bandwidth can be used as speech signals depending upon the customer requirements. PLCC has got provision for 2 wire/ 4 wire speech from switching equipments ( EPAX etc.), 2 wire/ 4 wire express telephone communications ( hot line from control desk to control desk) and communication through emergency jack telephones.

Data / Telemetering

PLCC terminals can be used for sending/ receiving data signals for telemetering etc. The input signal for this channel will be between 2000-4000 Hz. VFT-MODEM will be connected with PLCC for this purpose along with RTU.

Teleportection

Protection coupler equipments can be used along with PLCC terminals for teleportection requirements. During line fault/ other fault occurring in substations, trip signals can be transmitted or received by the protection couplers through PLCC terminal for activating the distant protection relaying equipments

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENTS
WITH PLCC: COUPLING DEVICE
The outdoor equipment consists of Co-axial cable, Coupling Device, Coupling capacitor or CVT and Wave traps. The functions of each of these are:Coupling Device :- Comprises of LMU, Drain Coil, Lightening arrester Earth switch . Further LMU has tuning unit and high frequency transformer Tuning unit of LMU: Compensates for the reactive component of the coupling capacitor impedance, in order to promote the efficient transmission of carrier frequency signals. Transformer unit of LMU:i) Impedance matching between the powerline carrier frequency connections i.e. it matches the output impedance of carrier set(75 ohms ) to that of overhead line (320 ohms to 640ohms) ii)Galvinic isolation between primary and secondary terminals of the coupling device. Drain Coil: Draining to earth , the power frq. Current derived by the coupling capacitor LA : Limitation of voltage surges coming from the power line at the terminals of the coupling device. Earth Switches :- Direct earthing of primary terminals of coupling device during maintenance activities.

Technical Parameter of Coupling device

Line side Impedance : 320 to 600(ohms) Ph to earth coupling 400KV line: 320ohm Equipment side: 75 ohms(unbalanced) Composite Loss: Not more than 2dB Return Loss: Not les than 12 dB Bandwidth: 36 kHz to 500kHZ Nominal Peak envelope power: Not less Than 650 watt Drain Coil ( Impedance at Power Frq. 20 ohms, Continuous Current 1A rms & short time 50A rms for 0.2 sec) Routine Testing/Checks of Coupling Device Composite Loss :- It measures the loss of signal level at HF Carrier Frequency band width and thus indicates efficiency of coupling device equipment.(Acceptable limits : less than 3 dB) Return loss :- It measures the efficiency of impedance matching circuit ( of coupling device) to inject maximum signal into load (into the EHV line) with minimum return signal in HF Carrier Frequency band. It is defined in terms of the ratio of output signal voltage across an impedance equal to the characteristic impedance of the line and infinite impedance i.e. open circuit . (Acceptable limits Return loss less than 12 dB)

COUPLING CAPACITOR
Coupling capacitor of value 4400pF or 8800pF are inserted between coupling device and EHV line. These are suitable for withstanding EHV side high voltage. CVT comprises of coupling capacitor and transformer unit, thus requirement of a separate PT may be avoided. Routine tests on Coupling Capacitor: i) Capacitance and Tan Delta (Tolerance for Capacitor at rated power frq. -5% or +10% , Tan Delta value of capacitance= less than 0.005%)

WAVE TRAP OR LINE TRAP

This is connected in series with the power line between the point of connection of the coupling capacitor and the substation. Its function is to confine the high frequency currents to the out going power line and to block them from the impedances represented by the station transformers and other equipment. Consists of choke coil (inductance value of 0.5mH or 1mH) , tuning unit and a protection device i.e.LA. The choke coil is rated for continuous current and rated short time fault current of the line. Short time current rating for 1 sec (31.5 KA for 132KV and 40KA for 220KV and 400KV lines) determines the mechanical strength of Line trap Rated Continuous Current 1250/1600/2000A. Broad Band tuned line traps (36Khz to 500Khz)

WAVE TRAP OR LINE TRAP

Two types based on broad band tuning 36khz to 90Khz and 90khZ to 500 khz. Resistive component of impedance of line trap ( approx. 570 ohms) offer high attenuation to Carrier frequency (36Khz to 500Khz) Mounting arrangement suspension or pedestal type i) Main Coil :- The inductor which carries the power frequency current of the High Voltage transmission line. Inductance rating of 0.5 mH and 1 mH and short time current ratings of 31.5KA or 40KA are commonly in use. ii) Tuning Device:- A combination of capacitors, inductors and resistors connected across the Main Coil for obtaining a relatively high line trap impedance for carrier frequencies. Usually line traps are with broad band tuning device. The minimum resistive component occurs at the limits of the blocking band and is given by Rmin = K(2x3.14)Lx (f1xf2)/(f1-f2) ( L is inductance of main coil

WAVE TRAP OR LINE TRAP

iii)Protective Device:- To protect the line trap against transient over voltages which may occur across it. It is connected across the main coil and tuning device. Tests on Line trap Tapping Loss:- of line trap is a measure of the loss of power sustained by a carrier frequency signal due to the finite blocking ability of the line trap. It is defined in terms of the ratio of the signal voltage across an impedance equal to the characteristic impedance of the line with and without shunt connection of the line trap. ( Acceptable Value less than 2.6 dB) The most unfavorable case is a short circuit just behind the trap. Blocking Attenuation : Blocking attenuation expresses the magnitude of carrier signal blocked by the line trap. Blocking attenuation will be infinite for ideal line trap.

DIFFERENT TYPE OF COUPLING USED

PHASE TO PHASE COUPLING PHASE TO GROUND COUPLING INTERPHASE COUPLING Typical Block Schematic of a Coupling Device used for phase to Phase Coupling is as shown below Wattage of the Coupling Device is calculated as follows W= n*n*p, Where n is the number of PLCCs connected and p is the coaxial power of individual PLCCs

INDOOR CARRIER TERMINAL

It comprises of carrier transmitter-receiver housed in a floor mounted steel cabinet. The protection coupler for carrier teleprotection is also housed in the same panel. The other auxiliary such as telephone exchange, telephone sets, telemetry equipment etc are also indoor mounted. i) Features of HF carrier terminal equipment:a)Mode of transmission: Amplitude Modulation single side band with suppressed carrier or reduced carrier. b) Carrier frequency 40 to 500 kHz range c) Nominal carrier frequency 4.0 kHz band in either direction of transmission d) Power output (PEP) 20/40 Watt at HF terminal e) Frequency difference Frequency difference between VF between a pair of signal at the transmitting and recePLC terminals iving ends will not exceed 2 Hz f) Automatic gain shall be less than 1dB receive level of signal 40 dB g) Supply voltage : 48 V DC + 15%, - 10%. (Positive pole earthed)

INDOOR CARRIER TERMINAL

Features of Protection coupler: Voice Frequency transmission equipment (Ex.2580+/-250Hz) Work on frequency shift or coded signal Transmission time for permissive inter trip code:-20ms Transmission time for Direct Trip code:-30ms Power Supply The 50Volt DC supply ( with +ve earthed) comprises of 50 volt battery bank and battery charger of adequate capacity. HF Cable Armoured Co-axial Type Loop resistance: Less than 30 ohms Characterstic Impedance: 75ohms Attenuation :- 1-5 dB /Km for range 40 to 500kHZ

PLCC Carrier Frequency Allocation Principles

HF FREQUENCY used IS 30 KHz- 500 KHz. For insulated earth wire transmission, 5 KHz- 500 KHz. Available range of carrier frequencies ( 30 KHz to 500 KHz) is divided into a number of channels each of 4 KHz wide. In some places where 2.5 KHz are used, the channels are 2.5 Khz wide.

MODULATION & SPACING PRINCIPLES

Single Side band ( SSB) Modulation is widely used with suppressed carrier - Produce zero error in the re-constituted VF( convenient in telemetering/ data transmission in transit conditions) - Higher availability of frequency space and additional power for other signals. - By careful carrier oscillator design the problem of frequency deviation in reconstituted VF band can be overcome. Double- Side band ( DSB) is not so prevalent today.

Channel Spacing and paralleling

SSB Frequency spacing between transmitters and/ or receivers is equal to n * b where n is an even number and B is channels band width ( i.e. 4 Khz) Single Channels Terminals Two nominal carrier frequency bands are required. The transmitter and Receiver bands may be either adjacent or with a spacing of n*B; where n 2 Twin Channel Terminals Four nominal carrier frequency bands are required. Two channels are placed side by side in each direction. The frequency spacing between the channel pairs is equal to n* B; where n 4

Several Terminals connected to same coupling device Single channels terminals: n*B; where n 2 Twin channels terminals: n*B; where n 2 for neighbouring transmitters or receivers n*B; where n 4 for neighbouring transmitter and receiver A conveneient rule for frequency planning to choose n equal to the number of channels per terminal ( if this number is odd, the frequency spacing is n+1 )

Points to be taken care while allocating Frequencies

The PLC systems must not cause interference to priority radio communication services with in the frequency bands laid down by the ITU Radio regulations. The actual range of frequencies available for use in specific country must take account of the needs of various radio services and broadcasting services, including aeronautical and maritime navigation systems together with any local or national restrictions or regulations affording them the appropriate protection. The signals received on board aircraft may give false radio compass indications in the event of interference. It is recommended that there should be close consultation between the PLC users on the one hand, and frequency assignment bodies and radio navigation authorities on the other, to ensure that any risks of mutual interference are reduced to acceptable levels.

In special situations like installations near international boundaries, the consultations should be done with the bodies in the adjacent countries also, which at present take place in relation to radio services. The attenuation increases with frequency , it is preferable to use the lowest frequencies of the available range for the longer PLC link ( 250 Km or more). As the power lines form a closed mesh, a frequency used on one section of a network may appear in other sections with a level high enough to cause interference. This limits the extend to which same frequencies can be are used in the network.

PLCC- 9505 V3

INPUT BANDWIDTH ( FOR SINGLE CHANNEL)- 300 TO 4 KHZ: TWO OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE: OPTION 1 : PILOT : 3570 Hz DIAL : 3630 Hz Speech : 3000 to 2000/2200/2400/3400Hz DATA : 2180 TO 3460 Hz ( Programmable) ANOTHER OPTION OF PILOT FREQUENCY AT 3825 Hz IS ALSO AVAILABLE BUT THIS IS LESS COMMONLY USED. INPUT IMPEDANCE ( AF) : 600 OHMS OUTPUT IMPEDANCE ( HF) : 75/125/150 OHMS IF FREQUENCY : 5.12 Mhz CARRIER FREQUENCY RANGE : 40-5000 KHZ IN STEPS OF 0.5 KHZ. RECEIVER SENSITIVITY: - 45 dB SPACING BETWEEN SPEECH AND PILOT : 14 dB BASIC CONFIGURATIONS: 9505- TP : 80W ( 40 W PEP) S/C OR T/C 9505- HP : 40W ( 20 W PEP) S/C OR T/C 9505- IP : 20W ( 10 W PEP) S/C OR T/C

ALLOCATION OF POWER

PILOT : 10 % SPEECH : 40% DATA : 10% (EACH DATA CHANNEL) AUX CARRIER : 10% GUARD FREQ : 10% ( EACH GUARD) TRIP FREQUENCY : 100 % IS ALLOTED

9505 V3 PLCC OUTPUT LEVEL

Output Impeda nce Output Level ( dB) Single Channel IP HP TP Twin Channel IP HP IP

75 OHMS

Speech
Pilot Data

25
11 11 27.2

28.8
14.8 14.8 31

31
17 17 33.2

19
5 5 21.2

22.7
8.7 8.7 25

25
11 11 27.2

125 OHMS

Speech

Pilot
Data

13.2
13.2 28 14 14

17
17 31.8 17.8 17.8

19.2
19.2 34 20 20

5.2
7.2 22 8 8

11
11 25.7 11.7 11.7

13.2
13.2 29 14 14

150 OHMS

Speech Pilot Data

The Tolerance in output level of speech is 0.6 dB. For pilot is 1.0 dB, and for Data is 2.6 dB. Guard ( G1/G2) levels will be same as that of pilot These are optimum O/P power levels. The TX Levels may be reduced in case of shorter line distances/ less frequency attenuation. The standard HF RX level should be between 19dB 15. please ensure that the receive level is not more than 4 dB.

Recommended pilot O/P levels for S/C and T/C 9505 V3 at co-ax points
Line Length ( KM) 0-50 km Loss TX ( PI) Level at Co- Ax ( SC ) 5 db TX ( PI) Level at CoAX ( TC ) -1db/CH. RX (PI) Level at Co- AX far end -19 15 db

Approx. line loss upto 50 km 5-10 db Approx. line loss upto 50 - 100 km 1015 db Approx. line loss upto 100-200 km 15-25 db Approx. line loss 200-300 km 25-35 db Approx. line loss 300-400 km 35-45 db

50-100 km

8 db

-2db/CH.

-19 15 db

100-200 km

11 db

+5db/CH.

-19 15 db

200-300 km

+14 db

+8db/CH.

-19 15 db

300-400 km

+14 db

+11db/CH.

-19 15 db

DATA COMMUNICATION

Data Communication means transmission / reception of AF signal corresponding to the digital input from RTU ( carries various parameters with respect to system voltage, freq, current etc.) over PLCC link Speed of the data transmission starts from 50 baud ( available 50, 100,200,300,600,1200 and 2400) Generally 300 or 600 baud rate is used over PLCC In case of more baud rate is required full AF band of PLCC to be used Normally data band will be below pilot frequency in case pilot of 3570 HZ is used ( between speech cut off and pilot). Generally the bank is 2180 to 3460 Hz Data band will be above pilot frequency in case 2550 HZ pilot is used, Band will be from 2720 to 3680 hz. Analog interface with PLCC; impedance 600 OHM Out put and input to be interfaced with data input and output section of PLCC Data input level to PLCC IS-20 dB, 600 ohm Data output level from PLCC lS 0 to -20 dB, 600 OHM

Baud rate and channel allocation

Baud rate 50 Baud 120 Hz band 100 Baud 240 Hz band 200 Baud 360 Hz band 300 Baud 480 Hz band 600 Baud 960 Hz band 1200 Baud 2400 Hz band 2400 Baud 3200 Hz band

Channel allocation

Option 1 : PILOT : 3570 Hz SPEECH : 300 TO 2000 Hz DATA : 2180 TO 3460 Hz ( PROGRAMMABLE) Option 2: PILOT : 2550 Hz SPEECH : 300 TO 2400 Hz DATA : 2760 TO 3760 Hz ( PROGRAMMABLE) Option 3 : PILOT : 3570 Hz SPEECH : Not used DATA : 300TO 3460 Hz ( PROGRAMMABLE) Option 4 : PILOT : Not Used SPEECH : Not used DATA : 300 TO 3860 Hz ( PROGRAMMABLE)

INTERCONNECTION OF PLCC EQUIPMENT

STAT A

WT

WT

STAT B

PLCC

LMU

LMU

PLCC

Interconnection Diagram

Basic Term

Absolute Power Level L (dBm)

This defines by how many dB a signal strength Px is greater or less than the reference power P0=1mW. L= 10 log Px/1mW dBm

Absolute Voltage Level Lu (dBu)

The Lu defines by how many dB a signal voltage Ux is greater or less than reference voltage Uo=77mV Lu= 20log Ux/77mV dBu