Improved Distribution Feeder Topology Against Lightning

CABRAL, ROBERTO JOSÉ; LEBORGNE, ROBERTO CHOUHY; BRETAS, ARTURO SUMAN; MORALES, JOHN; ORDUÑA, EDUARDO A.

Simposio; 2013 International Symposium on Lightning Protection (XII SIPDA); 2013

Energy supply is a significant resource foreconomic and social development. Power systems statistics showsthat the lightning phenomenon is one of the most importantcauses of power systems outage. In this context, the paper presenta study of the performance of a 23kV distribution line related tothe occurrence of direct lightning in a particular point of thesystem, with focus in a comparative analysis of different feedersand poles configurations. The analysis is based on the calculationof flashover and backflashover using ATP-Draw version of theEMTP. The differences of the performance between thehorizontal and the vertical feeder configurations with groundingsystem are demonstrated through the comparison of themaximum lightning current withstand by the feeder. Non-lineargrounding resistance and variability of the resistivity of the soilwere considered. Simulation results show that the configurationwith guard-wire can improve the immunity up to 100% related tothe maximum lightning current that the feeder withstand.