Protection system studies for Hydro-Québec

As a world leader in hydroelectric power generation, Hydro-Québec also distributes and transmits the power it generates. The company is committed to providing customers with quality power through the largest system in North America. Obviously, it considers system reliability and robustness of utmost importance.  

Client: Hydro-Québec
Location: Various facilities in Québec

OUR EXPERTS’ SOLUTIONS

As a result, Hydro-Québec mandated BBA to perform numerous studies to check its substations’ electrical protections and whether they comply with system standards. Some of the tasks involved challenges that come with an atypical facility configuration that ranged from 25 kV to 735 kV. These studies established setting criteria conformity. As such, we were able to protect equipment and optimize service continuity, which enabled Hydro-Québec to keep its many customers happy!

Here is a summary of some of BBA’s achievements:

  • Protection of distribution lines and feeders, bus bars, transformers, capacitor banks and shunt inductors

  • Short-circuit studies

  • Protection for single-line diagrams

  • Protection logic and detailed settings for protection relays

  • Technical analysis of temporary protection interruptions (change implementation and deployment)

  • Protection compliance with current standards

  • Use of ASPEN, specialized software for calculating short circuits and specific to transmission and distribution lines, which meets North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) standards

IN THE WORDS OF OUR EXPERT…

“BBA is proud to help optimize Québec’s hydroelectric grid by applying its electrical engineering expertise to this government-owned utility. Our long-term relationship with Hydro-Québec is emblematic of a high level of trust.”

Mathieu Riedl, Director – Transmission and Distribution.

IN NUMBERS

  • System with about 258 000 km of transmission lines (transmission and distribution) and over 500 substations

  • Facilities ranging from 25 kV to 735 kV

  • Nearly 150 reports produced by BBA since 1985

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