BHUTAN POWER CORPORATION LIMITED

THIMPHU

RELAY SETTING GUIDELINES

TRANSMISSION CONTROL CENTRE

TRANSMISSION OPERATION & MAINTENANCE DIVISION
TRANSMISSION DEPARTMENT

September, 2024
Third Edition
 FOREWORD

The Bhutan power system network has grown significantly over the past decade and is still
growing with the increase in generating plants and transmission network. The domestic load
has increased with more and more industries coming up over the years. Hence with the growth
in the transmission and distribution network it has become very crucial to have a protection
system which shall secure the grid from any system disturbances. In order for the protection
system to intelligently segregate the healthy system from the faulty system with minimum
outage, it is of utmost importance to configure and set the relays properly. This will further
enhance the dependability and reliability of the system.

The modern numerical protection relays also referred to as Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs)
supports a wide range of functionalities. Apart from the protection functions, the numerical
relays are used for monitoring and analysis of the system disturbances. The relays have the
capability to continuously monitor the system and record any undesirable events in the system.
The disturbance records from the relays provide a wealth of valuable information regarding
power system phenomena and the behavior of protection systems. The records can be extracted
from the relay and used by the protection engineers to analyze the type of disturbance that
occurred and provide recommendations for further improvement of the system including the
revision of settings if necessary.

This document is intended primarily for engineers of BPC working in the areas of control and
protection. To ensure security, reliability and dependability of the system, the engineers shall
follow these setting guidelines diligently. Guidelines are also provided to set the disturbance
recorder function in the numerical relays in a uniform manner.

The First Edition of this document was released in August, 2022 and the relays in the field were
set accordingly. However, numerous co-ordination problems were observed e.g. transformers
tripping before the tripping of downstream feeders, tripping even at low fault currents, etc.
which necessitated the guidelines to be reviewed thoroughly to resolve these issues.

In the Second Edition, apart from some setting guidelines which were revised, a new topic on
plotting time-current coordination curves for overcurrent and earth fault protection relays were
added. This was meant to enable the protection engineer to visualize the settings better and give
more confidence in the calculated and adopted settings for proper operation and performance
of the intended functions of the relays.

In this Third Edition of the document, substantial revisions in the distance protection settings
have been incorporated which has been necessitated by the installation of Fiber Optic
Teleprotection Equipment (FOTE) in 66kV / 132kV and above transmission lines in addition to
the earlier Power Line Carrier Communication (PLCC) equipment where available. Substantial
revisions have been made in the other relay setting guidelines also in order to incorporate the
requirements of Distribution Department.

(Sonam Tobjey)
Chief Executive Officer
Relay Setting Guidelines

CONTENTS
1. SETTING OF TRANSMISSION LINE PROTECTION RELAYS ................................................. 1
1.1 220kV and 400kV Transmission Lines ............................................................................................ 1
1.2 66kV and 132kV Transmission Lines ............................................................................................... 3
1.3 Procedure for Calculation of Zone Settings ................................................................................... 3
2. SETTING OF TRANSFORMER PROTECTION RELAYS ........................................................... 6
2.1 Transformer Differential Protection ................................................................................................ 6
2.2 Overcurrent and Earth Fault Setting ................................................................................................. 7
3. SETTING OF FEEDER PROTECTION RELAYS ....................................................................... 12
3.1 Overcurrent and Earth Fault Protection Relays ...................................................................... 12
4. SETTING OF BUS BAR & BUS COUPLER PROTECTION RELAYS .................................... 16
4.1 Bus Bar Differential Protection Relays ......................................................................................... 16
4.2 Overcurrent and Earth Fault Protection Relays ...................................................................... 16
5. PLOTTING RELAY COORDINATION CURVES ....................................................................... 19
5.1 General Guidelines ................................................................................................................................... 19
5.2 Plotting Procedure ................................................................................................................................... 19
6. SETTING OF DISTURBANCE RECORDERS............................................................................. 24
6.1 General Guidelines ................................................................................................................................... 24
6.2 Disturbance Recorder Setting for Transmission Line Protection Relays.................. 25
6.3 Disturbance Recorder Setting for Transformer Protection Relays .............................. 26
6.4 Disturbance Recorder Setting for Feeder Protection Relays ........................................... 27
6.5 Disturbance Recorder Setting for Bus Bar Relays .................................................................. 28
ANNEXURE .................................................................................................................................................... 30

List of Figures and Tables

Figure 1: Overcurrent Relay Coordination Curves ........................................................................................ 22

Figure 2: Final Overcurrent Relay Coordination Curves ............................................................................. 23

Table 1: Zone-2 settings of Distance Relays ........................................................................................................ 4

Table 2: Characteristic equations of Overcurrent and Earth Fault relays ........................................... 20
Table 3: Relay setting template with sample calculation............................................................................ 20
Table 4: Calculation of Fault Currents and Operating Times .................................................................... 21
Table 5: Relay setting template with final settings ....................................................................................... 23
Table 6: Transmission Line Distance Protection Philosophy.................................................................... 30
Table 7: Conductor Parameters for Transmission Line Protection Setting ........................................ 31

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 Relay Setting Guidelines

Abbreviations and Device Numbers

CEA Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power, Government of India
Eastern Region Power Committee under CEA based in Kolkata, West
ERPC
Bengal
Inverse Definite Minimum Time denotes the characteristics of overcurrent
IDMT
and earth fault relays
Definite Time in the context of IDMT relays and Direct Trip in the context
DT
of teleprotection
CTR Current Transformer Ratio is ratio of primary to secondary current
PTR Potential Transformer Ratio is ratio of primary to secondary voltage
PS / PSM Plug Setting / Plug Setting Multiplier
TMS Time Multiplier Setting
DR Disturbance Record
CTI Coordination Time Interval also referred to as Grading Margin
Device number for transmission line distance protection relay. 21M1 and
21 21M2 represents Main-I and Main-II transmission line distance protection
relays respectively.
27 Device number for under voltage protection relay
Device number for non-directional instantaneous (DT) overcurrent
50
protection relay
Device number for non-directional instantaneous (DT) earth fault
50N
protection relay
51 Device number for non-directional IDMT overcurrent protection relay
51N Device number for non-directional IDMT earth fault protection relay
52 Device number for circuit breaker
59 Device number for over voltage protection relay
Device number for Restricted Earth Fault (REF) protection relay provided
64R
on the earthed point of transformers with star connected windings
67 Device number for directional IDMT overcurrent protection relay
67N Device number for directional IDMT earth fault protection relay
79 Device number for autoreclose function
Device number for differential protection relay. 87T represents
87 differential relay used for transformer protection and 87L for
transmission line protection if provided.
I>1, T>1/IN>1, Stage 1 (Inverse Time) overcurrent / earth fault protection setting (PS and
TN>1 TMS)
Stage 2 (Definite Time) overcurrent / earth fault protection settings (high-
I>2,T>2/
set settings and time). Still higher settings are represented by the
IN>2,TN>2
numerals 3, 4, and so on.

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Relay Setting Guidelines
1. SETTING OF TRANSMISSION LINE PROTECTION RELAYS

1.1 220kV and 400kV Transmission Lines

1.1.1 Transmission lines rated 220kV and 400kV are provided with high-speed
Main-I (21M1) and Main-II (21M2) distance protection relays which are
either of different makes or same make with different characteristics.

1.1.2 Each distance relay shall have four (4) independent zones (three forward
zones and one reverse zone) of protection. For zone setting, the setting
philosophy adopted by CEA/ERPC, India shall be followed. Refer to Table 6
for the protection philosophy of distance relays and Table 7 for conductor
parameters in the Annexure. The calculation procedure is elaborated in 1.3
below.

1.1.3 For transmission lines provided with Fiber Optic Teleprotection Equipment
(FOTE) or Power Line Carrier Communication (PLCC) equipment, Permissive
Underreach Transfer Trip (PUTT) or Permissive Underreach Protection
(PUP) scheme shall be adopted for distance protection. In this scheme, the
relay which has detected a Zone-1 fault shall send a signal to the remote end
relay. Upon receiving the signal, if the remote end relay has detected a Zone-
2 or Zone-3 fault then it shall trip the circuit breaker (52) immediately
without waiting for its zone time to elapse.

1.1.4 However, for very short transmission lines (less than 10km), Permissive
Overreach Transfer Trip (POTT) or Permissive Overreach Protection (POP)
scheme shall be adopted, as PUTT or PUP schemes are not suitable due to
difficulties in distance protection measurements which leads to problems in
distinguishing between internal and external faults. In this scheme, the Zone-
1 setting of distance relay itself shall be set to overreach the protected line
(i.e. the setting shall be more than 100% of the protected line instead of 80%
as recommended generally). In this scenario, if a distance relay has detected
a Zone-1 fault then it shall send a signal to the remote end relay. Upon
receiving the signal, if the remote end relay has also detected a Zone-1 fault
then it shall trip the circuit breaker (52) immediately.

1.1.5 Apart from the Permissive Transfer Trip schemes, Direct Trip (DT) function
shall be used. Operation of Directional Earth Fault (DEF), Over Voltage, Local
Breaker Backup (LBB), Bus bar protection functions and manual / hand
tripping of circuit breakers shall initiate and send DT signal to the relay in the
remote end substation. Upon receiving the signal, the remote end relay shall
trip the circuit breaker (52) instantaneously.
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 Relay Setting Guidelines

1.1.6 In addition to the above, the following functions in at least one of the distance
relays shall be enabled:

i) Two-stage over voltage protection (59). The first stage (U>) shall be
set for alarm only at 110% for 5 seconds. The second stage (U>>) shall
be set for trip at 120% with a time delay of 100 milliseconds. The
measurement method shall be either phase-to-phase voltage or phase-
neutral voltage based on the relay capability.

ii) Under voltage protection (27). The under voltage function (U<) shall
be set at 70% for 5 seconds for alarm only. The measurement method
shall be either phase-to-phase voltage or phase-neutral voltage based
on the relay capability.

iii) In-built broken conductor check (BRC). The broken conductor check
function shall be set at I2/I1 = 50% with a time delay of 5 seconds for
alarm only.

iv) Power swing detection (PSD). It shall be set to block all zones of
distance protection from operation except Zone-1. The power swing
unblocking time shall be set to 2 seconds.

v) Fuse-failure supervision (FFS). The fuse fail supervision shall be set to

operate for a zero sequence voltage magnitude of 20% and / or a zero
sequence current magnitude of 10% after a time delay of 5 seconds
wherever applicable. The operation of FFS function shall block the
operation of distance protection.

vi) Inbuilt directional earth fault protection (67N). For directional earth
fault (DEF) protection, the curve chosen shall be definite time with a
time of operation of 1.1 to 1.3 seconds (coordinated with Zone-3 time
of distance relay). The plug setting or current magnitude shall be 50%
of full connected CT ratio (e.g. 0.5A for 1A CT). All the high-set settings
shall be kept disabled.

vii) Inbuilt autoreclose (79). The autoreclose (AR) function shall be set to
single pole, single shot autoreclosing with 1 second dead time and 25
seconds reclaim time depending upon the capability of the circuit
breaker.

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Relay Setting Guidelines
viii) Switch onto fault (SOTF) protection. SOTF shall be enabled to avoid
closing the circuit breaker on to an existing fault. All three poles of the
circuit breaker shall be tripped when SOTF operates or when AR is
unsuccessful.

1.2 66kV and 132kV Transmission Lines

1.2.1 66kV and 132kV transmission lines are provided with only a single main
distance protection relay (21). The backup protection is provided by
standalone directional over current and earth fault relays (67/67N).

1.2.2 The settings of the main distance protection relay shall be the same as given
in 1.1 above.

1.2.3 The settings of the backup overcurrent and earth fault protection relay shall
be calculated as given in 3 below. However, the time setting of both
directional overcurrent and earth fault protection shall be coordinated with
the Zone-2 time of the main distance protection relay.

1.3 Procedure for Calculation of Zone Settings

Using the Protection Philosophy of ERPC and conductor parameters given in

Annexure-A, the standard procedures outlined below may be followed for
calculating the settings of distance relays.

1.3.1 Calculation of Protected Line Impedance and Angle

For calculating the impedance of a protected line (ZL) and its angle (ZA), the
length of the protected line (L), type of conductor used, number of circuits,
etc. should be known. Then from Table 7, the resistance (R1), reactance (X1)
and other parameters as applicable shall be used to calculate the protected
line impedance as follows:

𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿 = �((𝑅𝑅1𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥)2 + (𝑅𝑅1𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥)2 )

The angle of the protected line is given by:

𝑋𝑋1
𝑍𝑍𝐴𝐴 = 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡−1
𝑅𝑅1
The impedance value calculated above is in primary ohms. The same shall be
converted to secondary ohms for setting in the relay. This conversion is done
by multiplying the primary impedance by the CT/PT ratio.

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 Relay Setting Guidelines
1.3.2 Zone-1 (Z1) Setting

From Table 6, the Zone-1 (Z1) setting shall be calculated as follows:

𝑍𝑍1 = 80% 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 = 0.80 𝑥𝑥 𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿

and
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝑍𝑍1𝑠𝑠 = 𝑍𝑍1 𝑥𝑥
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
Where, Z1 and Z1s are the impedances in primary and secondary values, respectively.

Operating time = 0 seconds, i.e. instantaneous.

1.3.3 Zone-2 (Z2) Setting

For calculating the Zone-2 settings, details of the adjacent shortest line at the
same voltage level is required. If there are no adjacent lines, then the
parameters of the same line shall be used. To set the Zone-2 operation time,
it is necessary to check the zone overreach. The Zone-2 setting guidelines of
ERPC is reproduced below in Table 1:

Sl. Protected Line Reach Time Settings (in

Zone Direction
No. Settings Seconds)

For single circuit:

120% of the protected 0.5s to 0.6s - if Z2
line reach overreaches
2a Zone-2 Forward
For double circuit: 50% of the shortest
150% of the protected line; 0.35 s otherwise
line

Zone-2 (for 120% of the protected

220kV and line, or 100% of the
2b below voltage Forward protected line+50% of 0.35s
transmission the adjacent shortest
lines of utilities) line

Table 1: Zone-2 settings of Distance Relays

From the above table, Zone-2 setting for 400kV and above transmission lines
shall be calculated as follows:
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐, 𝑍𝑍2𝑠𝑠 = 𝑍𝑍2 𝑥𝑥 = 1.20 𝑥𝑥 𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐, 𝑍𝑍2𝑠𝑠 = 𝑍𝑍2 𝑥𝑥 = 1.50 𝑥𝑥 𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
To set the Zone-2 time, the condition for overreach needs to be checked. If
𝑍𝑍𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 is the impedance of the adjacent shortest line calculated similarly as given
in 1.3.1 then,

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Relay Setting Guidelines

′
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝑍𝑍2𝑠𝑠 = 𝑍𝑍2 𝑥𝑥 = 𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥 + 0.5𝑍𝑍𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑥𝑥
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃

′
If 𝑍𝑍2𝑠𝑠 > 𝑍𝑍2𝑠𝑠 then the zone overreaches so the operating time shall be set from
0.5s to 0.6s otherwise 0.35s.

The Zone-2 settings for all 220kV and below transmission lines shall be
calculated as follows:
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝑍𝑍2𝑠𝑠 = 𝑍𝑍2 𝑥𝑥 = 1.20 𝑥𝑥 𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃

𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝑅𝑅

𝑍𝑍2𝑠𝑠 = 𝑍𝑍2 𝑥𝑥 = 1.00 𝑥𝑥 𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥 + 0.50 𝑥𝑥 𝑍𝑍𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑥𝑥
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃

Zone-2 time shall be set to 0.35s. However, Zone-2 setting should not
encroach the next voltage level of the substation. If Zone-2 encroaches the
next voltage level of the substation, then Zone-2 time must be increased to
coordinate with the setting of transformer protection relays. This will allow
the relays at the transformer side to operate prior to Zone-2 tripping.

1.3.4 Zone-3 (Z3) Setting

For calculating the Zone-3 settings, details of the next longest line at the same
voltage level is required. If there are no adjacent lines, then the parameters of
the same line shall be used. If 𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 is the impedance of the next longest line
calculated similarly as given in 1.3.1 then,
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝑍𝑍3𝑠𝑠 = 𝑍𝑍3 𝑥𝑥 = 1.20 𝑥𝑥 �𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥 + 𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥 �
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
Zone-3 time shall be set from 0.8 second to 1 second.

1.3.5 Zone-4 (Z4) Setting

Zone-4 functions as backup protection for the bus bar protection of the
relaying point substation in reverse direction unlike other zones of
protection. Zone-4 setting shall be calculated as follows:

𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 (≥ 100𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘), 𝑍𝑍4𝑠𝑠 = 𝑍𝑍4 𝑥𝑥 = 0.10 𝑥𝑥 𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 (< 100𝑘𝑘𝑚𝑚), 𝑍𝑍4𝑠𝑠 = 𝑍𝑍4 𝑥𝑥 = 0.20 𝑥𝑥 𝑍𝑍𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
Zone-4 time shall be set to 0.5 second.

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 Relay Setting Guidelines
2. SETTING OF TRANSFORMER PROTECTION RELAYS

2.1 Transformer Differential Protection

2.1.1 Transformers with rated voltages of 66/33kV and above are provided with
differential protection relays (87T) as main protection irrespective of the
MVA rating.

2.1.2 The pickup of the differential element shall be set at 0.2pu and bias element
shall be set at 1.2 to 1.5 pu considering the transformer overloading settings.

2.1.3 The slope 1 (K1) shall be set at 30% to ensure sensitivity to internal faults up
to the full load current. The slope 2 (K2) shall be set at 80%.

2.1.4 First stage and second stage high-set elements shall be set to 8pu and 12pu of
the transformer full load respectively if available or as limited by the relay
capability.

2.1.5 The 2nd and 5th Harmonic blocking shall be set at 15% and 25% of the rated
current respectively.

2.1.6 Transformers with star connected windings are provided with standalone
Restricted Earth Fault (REF) protection relays (64R) on both the HV and LV
sides. For star winding transformers without standalone REF relays, the
inbuilt REF protection element in the differential relay shall be enabled. The
REF shall be set at 10% to 20% of the rated current.

2.1.7 The overflux protection for the transformer shall have 2 stages of setting.
Stage 1 shall be set at 110% for alarm with 60 seconds time delay and stage 2
for tripping at 150% with 1 second time delay.

Note:

In numerical differential relays, the transformer full load current is

considered to be equal to 1 per unit (pu) and is accordingly used for
setting the relay unlike in the older relays where the rated CT secondary
current value is used.

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Relay Setting Guidelines
2.2 Overcurrent and Earth Fault Setting

2.2.1 General Guidelines

[Link] All transformers are provided with overcurrent and earth fault protection
relays having Inverse Definite Minimum Time (IDMT) characteristics and
multiple stages of protection.

[Link] For auto-transformers and interconnecting transformers, the overcurrent

and earth fault protection relays shall be directional (67/67N) whereas for
other transformers, the relays shall be non-directional (51/51N).
Directional relays are those with PT supply connected.

[Link] If the maximum three-phase short circuit unbalanced fault current and the
maximum single-phase to ground fault current can be obtained from the grid
after simulation studies then the same shall be used for overcurrent and
earth fault relay coordination.

[Link] The stage 1 overcurrent (I>1) and earth fault (IN>1) protection elements
(51/51N, 67/67N) shall be enabled. These elements shall have Normal
Inverse (NI) or Standard Inverse (SI) characteristics.

[Link] If there are protection devices downstream with different characteristics, it

shall be ensured that the characteristic curves of these devices do not
intersect, especially in the inverse-time region.

[Link] The stage 2 overcurrent (I>2) and earth fault (IN>2) protection or high-set
element (50/50N) shall also be enabled. These elements shall have Definite
Time (DT) characteristics. The operating time of this element shall be
coordinated with the stage 2 elements of upstream and downstream relays.

[Link] The other stages of overcurrent protection shall be disabled. However if

required, the stages can be enabled. These shall have only Definite Time (DT)
characteristics and operating time shall be coordinated with the stage 2
element within the relay in addition to the upstream and downstream relays.

[Link] The time delay of the high-set setting on the LV side of the transformer shall
be graded higher than the bus coupler relay at the same voltage level and
that on the HV side shall be graded higher than the LV side relay.

[Link] For 220kV and above transformers, the inbuilt thermal overload function in
the differential or overcurrent relay shall be enabled with 150% pickup

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 Relay Setting Guidelines
setting for a duration of 30 minutes. For other transformers, the thermal
overload element shall be enabled based on the anticipated loading or 110%
continuous loading.

[Link] For station transformer and colony transformer feeders, pickup setting shall
be set the same as power transformers based on full load current and TMS
shall be calculated considering these as distribution feeders.

[Link] Coordination Time Interval (CTI) / grading margin of 300ms between

upstream and downstream relays for electromechanical relays and 200ms
for numerical relays shall be considered. However, if total relay coordination
time permits, then CTI / grading margin of 300ms may be used for numerical
relays also.

[Link] The calculated settings shall be rounded off to the next lower or higher figure
as limited by the setting possible in the relay.

2.2.2 Overcurrent Protection Setting

[Link] The pickup or plug setting (PS) for stage 1 overcurrent protection (I>1) shall
be 110-150% of the full load current of the transformer. Sample setting
calculation is shown below:

Rated MVA = 5 MVA

CT Ratio = 100/1 A (HV side) and 300/1A (LV side)
Rated Voltage = 66/11 kV
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 ∗ 1000
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 =
√3 ∗ 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
5 ∗ 1000
= = 43.74𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
√3 ∗ 66
5 ∗ 1000
= = 262.44𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
√3 ∗ 11
Pick up setting, primary = 150% of full load current
= 1.50 x 43.74 = 65.61A on HV side

𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠, 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝

𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠, 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 =
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
65.61
= = 0.6561 𝐴𝐴 = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯 𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔
100
1.50∗262.44
= = 1.31𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
300

8|Page
Relay Setting Guidelines
[Link] The Time Multiplier Setting (TMS) for stage 1 overcurrent protection (I>1)
of the transformer shall be determined by the anticipated fault clearing time
considering the maximum fault level on the LV side of the transformer
replicated to the HV side with appropriate CTI. While the maximum fault on
the HV side might be different, it is assumed that differential relay will
operate and protect the transformer. Sample TMS calculation is shown
below:

Using the % impedance voltage given in the transformer name plate (i.e. 6.807),
the maximum fault MVA and fault current that can be supplied by the transformer
is:
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇. 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 ∗ 100 5 ∗ 100
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 = = = 73.45𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇. % 𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 6.807
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 ∗ 1000 73.45 ∗ 1000
𝑆𝑆ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐, 𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 = =
√3 ∗ 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 √3 ∗ 66
= 642.5𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
73.45 ∗ 1000
= = 3,855.44𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
√3 ∗ 11
For the above value of short circuit current on the LV side, the transformer must
trip in 1.5 seconds. Therefore, from Table 2, time of operation of relays with NI
curve is given by:
0.14 ∗ 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = 0.02 = 1.50
𝐼𝐼𝑝𝑝 −1
Rearranging the terms of the above equation:

1.50 ∗ (𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼0.02 − 1) 1.50 ∗ (9.810.02 − 1)

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = = = 0.50 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
0.14 0.14
where Ip is the fault current multiple in terms of the plug setting and CT ratio of
overcurrent relay, i.e.
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 3855.44
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 = = = 9.81 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 ∗ 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 1.31 ∗ 300
The HV side relay should operate after a CTI/Grading margin of 0.20 seconds.
Therefore, the desired operating time of HV side relay is 1.50+0.20=1.70 seconds.
For this operating time, the TMS shall be:

1.70∗(𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼0.02 −1) 1.70∗(9.810.02 −1)

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = = = 0.57 (round off to 0.60)
0.14 0.14

[Link] The stage 2 overcurrent protection (I>2) setting or high-set setting (50)
shall be 1.25 to 1.30 times the short circuit current, Isc calculated above.

9|Page
 Relay Setting Guidelines
For the above transformer, the high-set settings shall be:

1.25 ∗ 642.5
= = 8𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
100
1.25 ∗ 3855.4
= = 16𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
300
The high-set overcurrent elements shall operate instantaneously for fault
currents greater than 800A on HV side and 4,800A on LV side.

2.2.3 Earth Fault Protection Setting

[Link] The pickup setting of stage 1 earth fault protection relay (IN>1) with inverse
characteristics shall be 25-50% of the full load current of the transformer.
Sample setting calculation is shown below:

For the above transformer, the calculated HV side full load current is 43.74A and
262.44A on the LV side. The pickup setting of earth fault relay shall be 50% of this
current, i.e.

Pick up setting, primary = 50% of full load current = 0.50 x 43.74A

= 21.87 A on HV side

𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠, 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝

𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠, 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 =
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
21.87
= = 0.2187 𝐴𝐴 = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯 𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔
100
0.50∗262.44
= = 0.44𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
300

[Link] The operating time of earth fault relays shall be in addition to CTI of the
operating time of downstream relays. In case there is no requirement for
coordination, operating time of 100ms shall be considered and TMS shall be
calculated accordingly. Sample TMS calculation is shown below:

The maximum earth fault current supplied by the transformer shall be taken as
1/3rd of the maximum short circuit current of the transformer.

𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 642.5
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = = = 214.17𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
3 3
3855.44
= = 1,285.15𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
3
For the above value of earth fault current, the transformer must trip in 1.5
seconds. Therefore, from Table 2, time of operation of relays with NI curve is given
by:

10 | P a g e
Relay Setting Guidelines

0.14 ∗ 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = = 1.50
𝐼𝐼𝑝𝑝 0.02 − 1

Rearranging the terms of the above equation:

1.50∗(𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼0.02 −1) 1.50∗(9.740.02 −1)

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = = = 0.50 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
0.14 0.14

where Ip is the fault current multiple in terms of the plug setting and connected
CT ratio of overcurrent relay, i.e.

𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 1285.15
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 = = = 9.74 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 ∗ 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 0.44 ∗ 300
The HV side relay should operate after a CTI/Grading margin of 0.20 seconds.
Therefore, the desired operating time of HV side relay is 1.50+0.20=1.70 seconds.
For this operating time, the TMS shall be:

1.70∗(𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼0.02 −1) 1.70∗(9.740.02 −1)

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = = = 0.57 (round off to 0.60)
0.14 0.14

[Link] The stage 2 earth fault protection (IN>2) setting or high-set setting (50N)
shall be 1.25 to 1.30 times the short circuit current, Isc calculated above.

For the above transformer, the high-set settings shall be:

1.25∗214.17
= = 2.67𝐴𝐴 (round off to 3A on HV side)
100
1.25∗1285.15
= = 5.35𝐴𝐴 (round off to 5A on LV side)
300

The high-set earth fault elements shall operate instantaneously for currents
greater than 300A on HV side and 1,500A on LV side.

[Link] The earth fault protection setting shall be applicable for only star connected
windings of transformers.

11 | P a g e
 Relay Setting Guidelines
3. SETTING OF FEEDER PROTECTION RELAYS

3.1 Overcurrent and Earth Fault Protection Relays

3.1.1 General Guidelines

[Link] All distribution feeders are provided with overcurrent and earth fault
protection relays having Inverse Definite Minimum Time (IDMT)
characteristics and multiple stages of protection. These relays are either
numerical or electro-mechanical.

[Link] For distribution feeders connected radially, overcurrent and earth fault
relays shall be of non-directional type (50/51). However, if directional
relays are provided, the direction function shall be enabled.

[Link] For distribution feeders connected in parallel or in a ring main system where
the fault current can flow in both directions through a relay location, relays
shall be directional (67/67N), and it shall be ensured that PT supply is given
to the relay.

[Link] If the maximum three-phase short circuit unbalanced fault current and the
maximum single-phase to ground fault current can be obtained from the grid
after simulation studies then the same shall be used for overcurrent and
earth fault relay coordination.

[Link] The stage 1 overcurrent (I>1) and earth fault (IN>1) protection elements
(51/51N, 67/67N) shall be enabled. These elements shall have any of the
following IEC inverse time characteristics depending upon the
characteristics of upstream and downstream relays:

i) Normal Inverse (NI) or Standard Inverse (SI)

ii) Very Inverse (VI)

[Link] If there are protection devices upstream or downstream with different

characteristics, it shall be ensured that the characteristic curves of these
devices do not intersect, especially in the inverse-time region. If it intersects,
then the characteristic curves shall be matched with the characteristic
curves of upstream and downstream relays. If there are no downstream
relays in the outgoing 33kV and 11kV feeders, then the characteristic curve
shall be set to Very Inverse (VI).

12 | P a g e
Relay Setting Guidelines
[Link] The stage 2 overcurrent (I>2) and earth fault (IN>2) protection or high-set
element (50/50N) shall also be enabled. These elements shall have Definite
Time (DT) characteristics. The operating time of this element shall be
coordinated with the stage 2 elements of upstream and downstream relays.

[Link] The other stages of overcurrent protection shall be disabled. However if

required, the stages can be enabled. These shall have only Definite Time (DT)
characteristics and operating time shall be coordinated with the stage 2
element within the relay in addition to the upstream and downstream relays.

[Link] Coordination Time Interval (CTI) / grading margin of 300ms between

upstream and downstream relays for electromechanical relays and 200ms
for numerical relays shall be considered. However, if total relay coordination
time permits, then CTI / grading margin of 300ms may be used for numerical
relays also.

[Link] The calculated settings shall be rounded off to the next lower or higher figure
as limited by the setting possible in the relay.

3.1.2 Overcurrent Protection Setting

[Link] The pickup or plug setting (PS) for the stage 1 overcurrent protection (I>1)
for 33kV and 11kV distribution feeders shall be set at 110-150% of the full
load current of the feeder. Sample setting calculation is shown below:

Let CT ratio of 11kV feeder = 100/1 A

The maximum load current of the feeder = 50A

Pick up setting, primary = 150% of full load current

= 1.50 x 50 = 75 A

𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠, 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝

𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠, 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 =
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
75
= = 0.75𝑨𝑨
100

[Link] TMS of 11kV feeder protection relays shall be determined by the anticipated
fault clearing time. For a feeder without any protective device downstream,
the fault clearing time shall be 100ms. For those feeders having protective
devices downstream, the fault clearing time shall be graded with
appropriate CTI as per the protection hierarchy. Sample TMS calculation is
shown below:

13 | P a g e
 Relay Setting Guidelines
For the above 11kV feeder, let the fault current be 500 A. Then, secondary fault
current as a multiple of plug setting is,

𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 500
𝐼𝐼𝑝𝑝 = = = 6.67 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 ∗ 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 0.75 ∗ 100

Let the characteristic curve of relay be VI and assuming that protective relays are
provided downstream, the desired operating time of relay = 200ms+100ms =
300ms = 0.30 seconds

From Table 2, time of operation of relays with VI curve is given by:

13.5∗𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = = 0.30
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼1 −1

Rearranging the terms of the above equation:

𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑥𝑥(𝐼𝐼𝑝𝑝 1 −1) 0.30∗(6.67−1)
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = 13.5
= 13.5
= 0.13 (round off to 0.10)

[Link] The stage 2 overcurrent protection (I>2) setting or high-set setting (50)
shall be 1.25 to 1.30 times the short circuit fault current considered above.

For the above feeder, the high-set setting shall be:

1.25 ∗ 500
= = 6.25𝐴𝐴
100
The high-set overcurrent element shall operate instantaneously for fault currents
greater than 625A on the 11kV feeder.

3.1.3 Earth Fault Protection Setting

[Link] The pickup setting for the stage 1 earth fault protection (IN>1) shall be set
at 25-50% of the full load current of the feeder. Sample setting calculation
is shown below:

For the above 11kV feeder,

Pick up setting, primary = 50% of full load current
= 0.50 x 50 = 25A

𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠, 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 25

𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠, 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = = = 0.25𝑨𝑨
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 100
[Link] TMS for earth fault protection relay shall be set calculated similarly as that for
overcurrent relay.

14 | P a g e
Relay Setting Guidelines
For the above 11kV feeder, let the fault current be = 500/3 = 166.67A. Then,
secondary fault current as a multiple of plug setting is,

𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 166.67
𝐼𝐼𝑝𝑝 = = = 6.67 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 ∗ 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 0.25 ∗ 100

Let the relay characteristic curve be VI and assuming that protective relays are
provided downstream, the desired operating time of relay = 200ms+100ms =
300ms = 0.30 seconds.

From Table 2, time of operation of relays with VI curve is given by:

13.5∗𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = = 0.30
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼1 −1

Rearranging the terms of the above equation,

𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑥𝑥(𝐼𝐼𝑝𝑝 1 −1) 0.30∗(6.67−1)

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = 13.5
= 13.5
= 0.13 (round off to 0.10)

[Link] The stage 2 earth fault protection (IN>2) setting or high-set setting (50N)
shall be 1.25 to 1.30 times the earth fault current considered above.

For the above feeder, the high-set setting shall be:

1.25∗166.67
= = 2.08𝐴𝐴 (round off to 2A)
100

The high-set earth fault element shall operate instantaneously for currents
greater than 200A on the 11kV feeder.

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 Relay Setting Guidelines
4. SETTING OF BUS BAR & BUS COUPLER PROTECTION RELAYS

4.1 Bus Bar Differential Protection Relays

4.1.1 General Guidelines

[Link] Bus bar system at 220kV and above voltage levels are provided with high
impedance differential protection relays.

[Link] Bus bar protection is provided for high speed clearance of bus bar faults by
tripping all the circuit breakers connected to the faulty bus.

[Link] The bus bar protection is divided into different zones depending on the
number of buses to be protected e.g. for a double bus bar arrangement, Zone-
1 is for Bus-1 and Zone-2 for Bus-2 protection respectively. A separate Check
Zone is provided to ensure the security of the bus bar protection system.

[Link] Bus bar differential protection relay shall be current operated and for
stability during through fault conditions, the external resistance shall be set
such that the voltage developed across the relay and resistance is below the
voltage required to force the relay operating current.

[Link] Depending upon the type of bus bar differential relay provided, the setting
of slope (S), differential current (Id) and bias current (Ibias) shall be done
similarly as per the guidelines given for transformer differential protection
relay. However, the maximum load to be considered shall be the summation
of maximum connected CT ratio of each feeder connected to the bus.

[Link] For systems without bus bar differential protection, the operation of reverse
zone of distance protection relays or the operation of overcurrent and earth
fault protection relays shall be relied upon to protect against bus faults.

4.2 Overcurrent and Earth Fault Protection Relays

4.2.1 General Guidelines

[Link] Bus couplers are provided for systems having more than one bus at all
voltage levels. Overcurrent and earth fault protection relays are provided for
bus couplers.

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Relay Setting Guidelines
[Link] The bus coupler overcurrent and earth fault relays shall be set non-
directional even if the relay is capable of providing directional protection.

[Link] The characteristic curve of bus coupler overcurrent and earth fault relay
shall be set to Normal Inverse (NI).

4.2.2 Overcurrent Protection Setting

[Link] The pickup setting of bus coupler stage 1 overcurrent (I>1) protection
elements (51/51N) shall be set to 110-150% of the full connected CT ratio.

[Link] TMS of bus coupler overcurrent relay shall be set with adequate CTI/grading
margin of the downstream feeder relays but lower than the LV side of
transformers.

[Link] The stage 2 overcurrent (I>2) protection or high-set element (50) shall be
set at 1,000% of the full connected CT ratio.

[Link] The characteristic curve of the stage 2 high-set element shall be Definite
Time (DT) with instantaneous (0 seconds) operating time i.e. without any
intentional time delay. However, if intentional time delay is to be set, then
this shall include appropriate CTI with downstream relays.

[Link] The other stages of overcurrent protection shall be disabled. However if

required, the stages can be enabled. These shall have only Definite Time (DT)
characteristics and operating time shall be coordinated with the stage 2
element within the relay in addition to the upstream and downstream relays.

4.2.3 Earth Fault Protection Setting

[Link] The pickup setting of stage 1 bus coupler earth fault protection relay (IN>1)
shall be set to 50% of the overcurrent pick up setting.

[Link] TMS of bus coupler earth fault relay shall be set with adequate CTI/grading
margin of the downstream feeder relays but lower than the LV side of
transformers.

[Link] The stage 2 earth fault protection (IN>2) or high-set element (50N) shall be
set at 250% of the overcurrent pick up setting.

[Link] The characteristic curve of the stage 2 high-set element shall be Definite

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 Relay Setting Guidelines
Time (DT) with instantaneous (0 seconds) operating time i.e. without any
intentional time delay. However, if intentional time delay is to be set, then
this shall include appropriate CTI with downstream relays.

[Link] The other stages of earth fault protection shall be disabled. However if
required, the stages can be enabled. These shall have only Definite Time (DT)
characteristics and operating time shall be coordinated with the stage 2
element within the relay in addition to the upstream and downstream relays.

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Relay Setting Guidelines
5. PLOTTING RELAY COORDINATION CURVES

5.1 General Guidelines

5.1.1 Before setting the relays based on the above guidelines, the setting values
have to be verified visually to ensure that the required coordination time
interval is actually available. This is done by graphically plotting the values of
fault current and relay operation time at each fault current corresponding to
the chosen setting. As far as possible, the various coordination curves shall
not intersect each other or the damage curve of the transformer, although
when high-set elements are enabled some intersection is unavoidable.
However, if the inverse portions of the various curves intersect, then either
the plug setting or the TMS shall be adjusted or choice of other curves or
optimization of the CTI shall be done.

5.1.2 The calculated relay settings must be extensively simulated through power
simulation software to ensure the intended relay coordination wherein CTIs
are maintained for fault discrimination. Instantaneous elements shall be
discriminated against fault currents with time delay if the setting is below the
maximum available fault current.

5.1.3 DIgSILENT power system simulation software is available with Distribution

Department (DD) in BPC.

5.1.4 A standard relay setting template shall be used for proper record and user
convenience. The format given in Table 3 shall be used as the standard
template.

5.2 Plotting Procedure

The procedure for plotting the time-current coordination curves in Microsoft Excel are
as follows:

5.2.1 The time of operation of the relay (top) shall be calculated for each feeder and
transformer using the actual fault current, TMS or time settings and as per the
equations given in Table 2 for the selected relay characteristic. Time shall be
plotted on the vertical (y-axis).

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 Relay Setting Guidelines

Selected Characteristic Curve of Relay Equation for top, seconds

0.14 ∗ 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
Standard or Normal Inverse (SI or NI)
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼0.02 − 1
13.5 ∗ 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
Very Inverse (VI)
𝐼𝐼𝑝𝑝 − 1
80 ∗ 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
Extremely Inverse (EI)
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼2 − 1
120 ∗ 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
Long Time Inverse (LTI)
𝐼𝐼𝑝𝑝 − 1
Definite Time 𝑡𝑡
Table 2: Characteristic equations of Overcurrent and Earth Fault relays

5.2.2 Tabulate the feeders and transformers for which the coordination curves are
to be plotted. The table shall contain names of feeders and transformers,
connected CT ratios, plug setting, TMS, high-set current and time settings,
relay characteristic, etc. as shown in Table 3 for the sample calculations done
in this document.
Relay Setting Template :: Example 66/11kV System
Sl.
Parameters Transformer (HV side) Transformer (LV side) 11kV feeder
No.
System Data
1 MVA rating (For transformers only) 5.00 5.00 -
2 kV rating 66.00 11.00 11.00
3 % Impedance (For transformers only) 6.81 6.81 -
4 Full load current, A 43.74 262.44 50.00
5 Primary CT, A 100.00 300.00 100.00
6 Secondary CT, A 1.00 1.00 1.00
7 CT ratio 100.00 300.00 100.00
9 Overload factor 1.50 1.50 1.50
10 Pry. fault current, A 642.57 3,855.44 500.00
11 Relay used P14NB P14NB P14NB
IDMT Overcurrent Setting Calculation
12 I>1=(4)*(9)/(7) 0.66 1.31 0.75
13 I>1, chosen (PS) 0.66 1.31 0.75
14 PSM = (10)/((12)*(7)) 9.74 9.81 6.67
15 Characteristic selected NI NI VI
16 CTI/Grading Margin 0.30 0.30 -
17 Desired operating time, s 1.50 1.20 0.30
18 T>1, calculated 0.50 0.40 0.13
19 T>1, chosen (TMS) 0.50 0.40 0.15
20 Actual operating time, s 1.50 1.20 0.54
21 Actual CTI/Grading Margin 0.30 0.66
High-set Overcurrent Setting Calculation
22 High-set characteristic selected DT DT DT
23 I>2 = 1.25*(10)/(7) 8.03 16.06 6.25
24 I>2, chosen (A) 8.00 16.00 6.00
25 I>2, actual primary A 800.00 4,800.00 600.00
26 T>2, chosen (seconds) 0.30 0.20 0.10
Table 3: Relay setting template with sample calculation

5.2.3 Values of fault current shall be taken as common multiples just greater than
1 and going up to 20 or 50 times or as required. For proper visualization of
the time-current coordination curves, fault currents shall be at the same

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Relay Setting Guidelines
voltage level as shown in Table 4. The fault current conversion to the base
voltage level shall be done as follows:
For the 11kV Feeder of Table 3:
Actual fault current, If = Fault current multiple (Ip)*PS*CTR
=1.05*0.75*100 = 78.75A at 11kV
𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 11
𝐼𝐼𝑓𝑓 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 = 𝐼𝐼𝑓𝑓 ∗ = 78.75 ∗ = 13𝐴𝐴 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 66𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 66
5.2.4 The curves shall be plotted on logarithmic (log-log) scale so that the values
are compressed to a manageable scale and I2t curves of fuses, if any, are
plotted as straight lines. The overcurrent relay coordination curve plotted
using Table 4 is shown in Figure 1.
5.2.5 The dark vertical line in Figure 1 shows the fault current at which relay
coordination is being observed.
5.2.6 Earth fault relay settings shall be calculated in the same way and the
coordination curves will also be similar unless the settings are manually
changed.

Data for Plotting Chart

Base voltage, kV 11
Time axis
Fault current, A 500.00 500.00 0.01 1000
(Y)
Current Multiples If Top If Top If Top
1.0500 416 71.70 413 57.36 79 40.50
1.2600 499 15.11 495 12.09 95 7.79
1.5120 599 8.43 594 6.74 113 3.96
1.8144 719 5.84 713 4.67 136 2.49
2.1773 862 0.30 856 3.57 163 1.72
2.6127 1,035 0.30 1,027 2.89 196 1.26
3.1353 1,242 0.30 1,232 2.42 235 0.95
3.7623 1,490 0.30 1,479 2.09 282 0.73
4.5148 1,788 0.30 1,774 1.83 339 0.58
5.4178 2,145 0.30 2,129 1.63 406 0.46
6.5013 2,575 0.30 2,555 1.47 488 0.37
7.8016 3,089 0.30 3,066 1.34 585 0.30
9.3619 3,707 0.30 3,679 1.22 702 0.10
11.2343 4,449 0.30 4,415 1.13 843 0.10
13.4811 5,339 0.30 5,298 0.20 1,011 0.10
16.1774 6,406 0.30 6,358 0.20 1,213 0.10
19.4128 7,687 0.30 7,629 0.20 1,456 0.10
23.2954 9,225 0.30 9,155 0.20 1,747 0.10
27.9545 11,070 0.30 10,986 0.20 2,097 0.10
33.5454 13,284 0.30 13,183 0.20 2,516 0.10
40.2545 15,941 0.30 15,820 0.20 3,019 0.10
48.3054 19,129 0.30 18,984 0.20 3,623 0.10
57.9665 22,955 0.30 22,781 0.20 4,347 0.10
69.5597 27,546 0.30 27,337 0.20 5,217 0.10
83.4717 33,055 0.30 32,804 0.20 6,260 0.10
100.1660 39,666 0.30 39,365 0.20 7,512 0.10
120.1992 47,599 0.30 47,238 0.20 9,015 0.10
144.2391 57,119 0.30 56,686 0.20 10,818 0.10
173.0869 68,542 0.30 68,023 0.20 12,982 0.10
Table 4: Calculation of Fault Currents and Operating Times

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 Relay Setting Guidelines

Overcurrent Relay Co-ordination Curves

1000
Transformer (HV side)
Transformer (LV side)
11kV feeder
Fault current, A
Operating time, seconds 100

10

0.1

0.01
10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000
Current, A

Figure 1: Overcurrent Relay Coordination Curves

5.2.7 From Figure 1, it is observed that the overcurrent relay curve on the HV side
of the transformer intersects with the LV side curve. This intersection can be
avoided by disabling the high-set setting on the HV side or setting it to a very
high value e.g. I>2 set to 60 or 6,000A.
5.2.8 In some relays, there is a maximum limit (e.g. 4A in MiCOM P14 relays) on the
setting of I>2 so it is required to set I>3 or I>4 if higher currents are required.
5.2.9 From Figure 1, it is also observed that the CTI/grading margin between HV
and LV side of transformers seems to be very less at low fault currents. This
is increased by reducing the chosen plug setting (I>1) for LV side of
transformer.
5.2.10 With the above modifications, the final settings shall be as shown in Table 5.
The figures highlighted in green are to be set in the relay.
5.2.11 The revised curve for the final settings is shown in Figure 2. It is seen that
there is no intersection between the curves of HV and LV transformer relays
and CTI has also improved.

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Relay Setting Guidelines
Relay Setting Template :: Example 66/11kV System
Sl.
Parameters Transformer (HV side) Transformer (LV side) 11kV feeder
No.
System Data
1 MVA rating (For transformers only) 5.00 5.00 -
2 kV rating 66.00 11.00 11.00
3 % Impedance (For transformers only) 6.81 6.81 -
4 Full load current, A 43.74 262.44 50.00
5 Primary CT, A 100.00 300.00 100.00
6 Secondary CT, A 1.00 1.00 1.00
7 CT ratio 100.00 300.00 100.00
9 Overload factor 1.50 1.50 1.50
10 Pry. fault current, A 642.57 3,855.44 500.00
11 Relay used P14NB P14NB P14NB
IDMT Overcurrent Setting Calculation
12 I>1=(4)*(9)/(7) 0.66 1.31 0.75
13 I>1, chosen (PS) 0.66 1.20 0.75
14 PSM = (10)/((12)*(7)) 9.74 10.71 6.67
15 Characteristic selected NI NI VI
16 CTI/Grading Margin 0.30 0.30 -
17 Desired operating time, s 1.50 1.20 0.30
18 T>1, calculated 0.50 0.42 0.13
19 T>1, chosen (TMS) 0.50 0.40 0.15
20 Actual operating time, s 1.50 1.15 0.54
21 Actual CTI/Grading Margin 0.35 0.61
High-set Overcurrent Setting Calculation
22 High-set characteristic selected DT DT DT
23 I>2 = 1.25*(10)/(7) 8.03 16.06 6.25
24 I>2, chosen (A) 60.00 16.00 6.00
25 I>2, actual primary A 6,000.00 4,800.00 600.00
26 T>2, chosen (seconds) 0.30 0.20 0.10

Table 5: Relay setting template with final settings

Overcurrent Relay Co-ordination Curves

1000
Transformer (HV side)
Transformer (LV side)
11kV feeder
Fault current, A
100
Operating time, seconds

10

0.1

0.01
10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000
Current, A

Figure 2: Final Overcurrent Relay Coordination Curves

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 Relay Setting Guidelines
6. SETTING OF DISTURBANCE RECORDERS

Analysis of power system disturbances is an important function that monitors the

performance of a protection system. It can also provide a wealth of valuable information
regarding correct behavior of the system. Review of disturbance records from the fault
recorder or fault records of numerical relays for system operations can help to isolate
incipient problems so that corrections can be implemented before the problems become
serious.

The modern digital or numerical relays have the capability to record any imbalance or
faults in the system. The disturbance record (DR) can then be downloaded and analyzed.
Analysis of fault records will help in adapting operating and protection practices and in
assuring the reliability of a bulk power system.

For the ease of proper analysis and the complete information it should provide, the
configuration of the disturbance recorder shall be set uniformly depending on the
capability of the relay and the equipment being protected. The disturbance recorder
setting guidelines mentioned below shall be followed and implemented as a standard
for all substations.

6.1 General Guidelines

All the numerical protection relays installed for transmission lines, transformers, bus
bars and outgoing feeders with disturbance recorder function shall be set as below:

6.1.1 Triggering criteria: Any Start signal in the relay shall be used as the triggering
signal for the disturbance recorder. The relay shall start recording when any
protection elements in the relay start or pick up.

6.1.2 The DR time window for both main and backup protection relays shall be set
to a minimum of 3 seconds with a pre-fault time window of 0.5 seconds and a
post-fault time window of 2.5 seconds.

6.1.3 The disturbance recorder shall have a minimum sampling frequency of

1,000Hz (64 samples per cycle).

6.1.4 All protection relays shall have the following input signals connected and
configured in the DR:

i) CB Open status
ii) CB Close status
iii) 86 A/B operated

24 | P a g e
Relay Setting Guidelines
iv) Main or Backup relay operated

6.1.5 Other digital signals for the disturbance recorder may differ depending on the
type of relay and its functionality. The signals to be configured for different
relays have been described separately below.

6.2 Disturbance Recorder Setting for Transmission Line Protection Relays

6.2.1 The disturbance recorder in the distance protection (Main-I and Main-II)
relays shall have the following signals.

[Link] Analog Signals:

i) Three phase and neutral voltages

ii) Three phase and neutral currents
iii) Frequency

[Link] Digital Signals:

i) Any start
ii) Any trip
iii) Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4 pick up
iv) Over voltage stage I & II pick up
v) DT send and receive
vi) Carrier send and receive
vii) Main three phase CB open signal
viii) Tie three phase CB open signal (where applicable)
ix) Power swing
x) SOTF/TOR
xi) LBB
xii) A/R lockout
xiii) Bus bar trip
xiv) VT failure
xv) Distance Forward & Reverse
xvi) T1, T2, T3, T4
xvii) Broken conductor
xviii) A/R 1P in progress
xix) A/R Fail
xx) Stub/Teed (where applicable)
xxi) Loss of carrier signal

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 Relay Setting Guidelines
6.2.2 The following signals shall be configured in the backup overcurrent and earth
fault protection relay:

[Link] Analog Signals

i) Three phase and neutral voltages

ii) Three phase and neutral currents
iii) Frequency

[Link] Digital Signals

i) Any Start
ii) Any Trip
iii) Stage 1 overcurrent trip
iv) Stage 2, 3, 4, etc. overcurrent trip if enabled
v) R-phase trip
vi) Y-phase trip
vii) B-phase trip
viii) Stage 1 earth fault trip
ix) Stage 2, 3, 4, etc. earth fault trip if enabled

6.3 Disturbance Recorder Setting for Transformer Protection Relays

6.3.1 The following analog and digital signals shall be configured in the Differential
Protection relay.

[Link] Analog Signals:

i) Three phase and neutral currents of HV

ii) Three phase and neutral currents of LV
iii) I_REF_HV
iv) I_REF_LV
v) Voltages
vi) Frequency
vii) Differential current
viii) Restraining current
ix) Low impedance REF-Diff. of all windings
x) Low impedance REF-restraining of all windings

26 | P a g e
Relay Setting Guidelines
[Link] Digital Signals:

i) Any start
ii) Any trip
iii) Differential trip
iv) REF trip HV
v) REF trip LV
vi) Over flux
vii) Over voltage
viii) Under voltage
ix) 2nd Harmonic
x) 5th harmonic
xi) Frequency protection
xii) Overload Protection

6.3.2 The following signals shall be configured in the backup overcurrent and earth
fault relays on HV and LV side of the transformer.

[Link] Analog Signals:

i) Three phase and neutral voltages

ii) Three phase and neutral currents
iii) Frequency

[Link] Digital Signals:

i) Any start
ii) Any trip
iii) Stage 1 overcurrent trip
iv) Stage 2, 3, 4, etc. overcurrent trip, if enabled
v) R-phase trip
vi) Y-phase trip
vii) B-phase trip
viii) Stage 1 earth fault trip
ix) Stage 2 earth fault trip, if enabled

6.4 Disturbance Recorder Setting for Feeder Protection Relays

6.4.1 For feeder protection relays the following signals shall be configured in the
disturbance recorder.

27 | P a g e
 Relay Setting Guidelines
[Link] Analog Signals:

i) Three phase & neutral voltages

ii) Three phase & neutral currents
iii) Frequency

[Link] Digital Signals:

i) Any start
ii) Any trip
iii) Stage 1 overcurrent trip
iv) Stage 2, 3, 4, etc. overcurrent, if enabled
v) R-phase trip
vi) Y-phase trip
vii) B-phase trip
viii) Stage 1 earth fault trip
ix) Stage 2, 3, 4, etc. earth fault trip, if enabled

6.5 Disturbance Recorder Setting for Bus Bar Relays

6.5.1 The disturbance recorder in bus bar differential protection relays shall have
the following analog signals:

[Link] Analog Signals:

i) Three-phase differential Current

ii) Three-phase bias Current
iii) Neutral differential current
iv) Neutral bias current

[Link] Digital Signals:

i) Any start
ii) Any trip
iii) R phase fault
iv) Y phase fault
v) B phase fault
vi) Earth fault
vii) Check Zone operated
viii) Zone 1 BB fault
ix) Zone 2 BB fault
x) Trip bus bar Zone 1

28 | P a g e
Relay Setting Guidelines
xi) Trip bus bar Zone 2
xii) Trip breaker failure Zone 1
xiii) Trip breaker failure Zone 2
xiv) Bus bar differential blocked

6.5.2 The disturbance recorder in bus bar overcurrent and earth fault protection
relays shall be the same as for feeder protection relays given in 6.4 above.

29 | P a g e
 Relay Setting Guidelines

ANNEXURE

Table 6: Transmission Line Distance Protection Philosophy

Sl. No. Zone Direction Protected Line Reach Settings Time Settings (in Seconds)

1 Zone-1 Forward 80% Instantaneous (0)

For a single circuit- 120% of the protected line 0.5 to 0.6 - if Z2 reach overreaches
2a Zone-2 Forward 50% of the shortest line;
For double circuit- 150% of the protected line
0.35- otherwise
Zone-2 (for 220 kV
and below voltage 120% of the protected line, or 100% of the
2b Forward 0.35
transmission of protected line + 50% of the adjacent shortest line
utilities)

3 Zone-3 Forward 120% of the (Protected line + Next longest line) 0.8 - 1.0

10%- for long lines (for a line length of 100 km and

4 Zone-4 Reverse above) 20%- for short lines (for a line length of less 0.5
than 100 km)
(Source: CEA/ERPC, India)
Note:

1) Zone-2: Z2 Reach should not encroach on the next lower voltage level.
2) Zone-3: If Z3 reach encroaches on the next voltage level (after considering “in-feed”), then Z3 time must be coordinated with the fault clearing
time of the remote end transformer.
3) Zone-4: If the utility uses a carrier blocking scheme, then the Z4 reach may be increased as per the requirement. It should cover the LBB of the
local bus bar and should be coordinated with the Z2 time of all all-other lines.
4) The above settings are recommended primarily (exclusively) for uncompensated lines.

30 | P a g e
 Relay Setting Guidelines

Table 7: Conductor Parameters for Transmission Line Protection Setting

Loadability
Tower R1 X1 B1 R0 X0 B0 Xm Xom
(MVA)
400kV S/C Twin Moose 0.0288 0.3280 3.5500 0.2850 1.0200 2.6100 462.11
400kV D/C Twin Moose 0.0288 0.3070 3.7700 0.2690 1.0700 2.2900 0.2080 0.6750 1,500.00
400kV D/C Quad Moose 0.0147 0.2530 4.5800 0.2480 1.0000 2.6400 0.2030 0.6620 2,000.00
220kV S/C Single Zebra 0.074875 0.39925 0.219978 1.339228 224.82
220kV D/C Single Zebra 0.0697 0.3980 2.9100 0.2810 1.2900 1.8400 0.2510 0.8030 400.00
132kV S/C Single Panther 0.1622 0.3861 0.4056 1.622 90.31
132kV D/C Single Panther 0.1400 0.4010 2.8600 0.3540 1.3300 1.7800 0.2630 0.8220 180.62
66kV S/C Single Dog 0.257 0.408 2.7200 0.498 1.402 1.9680 - - 27.32
66kV D/C Single Dog 0.257 0.417 0.493 1.387 54.64
66kV S/C Single Wolf 0.260 0.401 1.4430 0.430 0.997 0.8120 - 43.89
(Source: CEA/ERPC, India and others)

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 Relay Setting Guidelines

Editorial Team

Transmission O&M Division (TOMD), Transmission Department (TD)

1. Mr. Kunzang Tobgye, General Manager
2. Mrs. Tashi Choden, Chief Manager

Transmission Control Centre (TCC), TOMD, TD

1. Mr. Chophel, Chief Manager
2. Mr. Sonam, Executive Engineer
3. Mr. Ashik Rai, Engineer

Smart Grid Section (SGS), Distribution Department

1. Mr. Cheten Tshering, Chief Manager