Abstract
The present situation of power generation in Nigeria obviously represents a challenge to our ability for rethinking the delivery of energy at maximum efficiency. Previous research on the existing Nigerian 330-kV network grid, recommended that the network be transformed from radial to ring because of high losses inherent in it and the voltage insecurity. In this study, the existing 330-kV network was reconfigured based on the identified regions mapped out for upgrade to form a ringed 750-kV super grid. The bus voltages of some of the buses in the existing 330-kV were upgraded to 750-kV and new transmission lines added to create an integrated super grid with a ring structure as compared to the radial nature of the existing 330-kV grid. These proposed buses have been selected for upgrade based on the fact that they are positioned in critical areas within the topology of the grid that transforms the existing radial structure to a ring one. The method is also cheaper than making the entire network a 750-kV system. Load-flow analysis was carried out on the existing 330-kV Nigerian Grid and the proposed Nigerian 750-kV integrated into the existing grid using Newton–Raphson algorithm. The results analysis of the new network revealed a significant reduction of 30.2% power loss. This was validated using the code-based MATLAB and Power World Simulation model-based software. Contingency analysis was also carried out on both grids using the Power World Simulator. The study revealed that the 750-kV super grid was able to mitigate the losses experienced on the existing grid significantly with better voltage profiles in all the buses. It also revealed that the new network (330-kV and 750-kV integrated) performed better to the single line contingency analysis with less violations occurring and no unsolvable cases.
Highlights
The operation of transmission lines at high voltage level, above 500-kV, has been embraced by the developed countries as a standard [1,2,3,4,5]
The transmission line data for the 16 lines of the upgraded 750-kV shown in Table 1 are calculated from the first principle, while the bus and generator data of the existing 330-kV grid were used as obtained from PHCN
It has been established that the present Nigerian 330-kV power grid is characterized by lower power availability to consumers
Summary
The operation of transmission lines at high voltage level, above 500-kV, has been embraced by the developed countries as a standard [1,2,3,4,5]. The nation currently suffers the problem of under capacity and poor transmission due to the huge losses experienced on our transmission lines [14,15,16] In light of this observed challenges, the major objective of the ongoing reform is to expand the existing grid network to a proposed mesh structure and increase the number of buses to a total of 49 buses; 32 buses from existing 330-kV plus 17 buses of the proposed 750-kV. The resulting data obtained from the outcome will be used to infer the appropriate solution for the advancement and modification of the existing transmission grid for maximum efficiency and continuous sustainable energy supply
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