S&c Electric Company

Michael Meisinger

David G Porter

Stephen E Williams

Martin T Bishop

Yoav Sharon

Qing Guo

David Francis Klein

David Porter

Stephen Williams

Martin Bishop

A power restoration system comprising a feeder, a plurality of power sources available to provide power to the feeder, a plurality of normally closed reclosing devices electrically coupled along the feeder, at least one normally open recloser electrically coupled to the feeder, and a plurality of normally closed switches electrically coupled along the feeder between each adjacent pairs of normally closed reclosing devices. Each switch is assigned a position code having a value for each of the plurality of power sources that determines when the switch will open in response to the fault current and which power source the switch is currently receiving power from, where timing control between the reclosing devices and the switches allows the switch to be selectively opened to isolate the fault within a single feeder section between each pair of adjacent switches or between each switch and a reclosing device.

Utility distribution fault restoration system

A communication-based permissive protection method for protecting an electrical power distribution network from a fault. The network includes a power source, an electrical line and a plurality of fault interrupters, where the fault interrupters are operable to prevent current flow in response to the fault. The method includes detecting the fault by each fault interrupter that is between the fault and the power source, and sending a drop of voltage message from each fault interrupter that doesn't detect the fault, but does detect a drop of voltage as a result of the fault to its immediate upstream fault interrupter. The method opens the fault interrupter that both detects the fault and receives a drop of voltage message from all of the fault interrupters immediately downstream of that fault interrupter.

Communication-based permissive protection scheme for power distribution networks

A control system and method for sectionalizing switches and pulse-testing interrupter/reclosers in a distribution grid feeder which enables fault location, isolation and service restoration without requiring an external communications infrastructure to pass information between the switches. The method includes switches entering an armed state when they experience a high fault current during an initial fault event. Then, when the interrupter/recloser runs its test pulse sequence, any armed switch counts all test pulses as fault pulses, while non-armed switches count the test pulses as load pulses. Switches open to isolate the fault based on threshold values of fault pulse count and load pulse count. When an initially active interrupter/recloser completes its test pulse sequence, another interrupter/recloser begins its sequence, and all switches reconfigure their threshold values based on the new interrupter/recloser. Interrupter/reclosers after the initial device use a fast close-open event if necessary to arm some switches for proper fault-count opening.

Locating and isolating grid faults utilizing a fast close-open operation

Fault protection devices for electrical distribution systems and related reclosing methods are provided. One exemplary method of reclosing a switching element of a fault protection device after fault detection involves pulsing the switching element closed to enable a temporary current flow through the fault protection device and verifying absence of a fault condition based at least in part on the temporary current flow using a testing fault detection threshold. After verifying the absence of the fault condition, the method closes the switching element to enable current flow through the fault protection device, monitors the current flow through the fault protection device for the fault condition using the testing fault detection threshold for a transition period, and monitors the current flow through the fault protection device for the fault condition using a different fault detection threshold after the transition period.

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Chicago, IL, United States of America

Michael Meisinger