PBA were recently engaged by one of Orion’s HV Electrical Contractors to provide technical support at Larcomb and Weedons substations near Rolleston which form part of the Orion network. The work involved pre-commissioning and commissioning of transformer, line, bus zone and feeder protection systems using GE Multilin relays for 11kV and 66kV equipment.
The GE Multilin relays make use of the IEC61850 protocol which replaces traditional copper wiring with a fibre optic connection from the relay to the equipment. This also results in a simpler installation by reducing the need for traditional long cable runs as the same current, voltage, output and indication signals can be used in multiple protection relays.
PBA’s Hayden Burrows was tasked with becoming familiar with the relays and standards, a challenge he revelled in. These protection relays are relatively new in NZ and incorporates complex relay logic, requiring detailed test plans to ensure tripping of in service equipment does not occur. A major advantage of IEC61850 based relays is that the entire protection system could be tested in a controlled environment prior to installation on-site. Hayden worked alongside our client’s techs with relay acceptance testing including investigation and correction of software issues, reducing the time spent on-site.
Due to the required completion date looming up faster than expected, PBA’s Josh Wade was called upon to provide additional electrical fitter support to ensure the commissioning deadlines would not be compromised. With the additional PBA staff member, the testing schedule was completed successfully in a compressed time frame which allowed commissioning dates to be met.
Our client’s Project Manager, Soo Jern Lim, passed on a note of thanks “I have really appreciated PBA’s help, Hayden and Josh have done really well”.
