An Efficient Earthing System Design for Different Sections of Alborz Electricity Distribution Company Using IEEE Std. 142

Abstract

Earthing system design plays a vital role in safe and secure operation of the power distribution networks. With respect to the high prices of copper-based elements during recent years, the earlier designs for these earthing systems bring about high costs. With that in mind, the costs of the implemented earthing systems and their reliability are taken into account as major challenge that must be assessed by the electricity distribution company. In technical terms, cost of these systems is considerably affected via the soil type and the earthing electrodes. Therefore, it is indispensable that the soil type of the different parts of the Alborz province are examined and classified in order to design the earthing systems with lower costs. To that end, the different earthing methods described in IEEE Std. 142 are studied. According to this standard, 14 different designs can be proposed and implemented in the different parts of the Alborz province in such a way that the most effectiveness earthing system with the lower implementation costs are achieved. On the other hand, due to the different types of soils in the Alborz province, results obtained in this study can be applied for other provinces of the IRAN.