Primary side protection is allowed as secondary feeder protection when the following

requirement is met [240.21(C)(1)]. Per 240.21(C)(1), for a single-phase transformer having a

2-wire (single-voltage) secondary or a 3-phase, delta-delta connected transformer having a
3-wire (single-voltage) secondary,

secondary feeder shall be permitted to be protected by an OCPD on the primary side of the
transformer, provided this protection is in accordance with Sec. 450.3 and does not exceed
the value determined by multiplying the secondary conductor ampacity by the secondary-to-
primary transformer voltage ratio. A note in Sec. 450.3 mentions that it is not necessary to
duplicate overcurrent protection at the transformer secondary side, as long as the OCPD on
the primary side protects the transformer (meeting 450.3 requirements) and protects the
feeder (meeting 240.21 requirements). A possible reason to have Sec. 240.21(C)(1) is that
the primary side OCPD sees the same per unit fault current at the transformer primary side
as that at the secondary side.

For any other type of transformer, the secondary conductor is not required to be protected
by an OCPD at the transformer primary [240.4(F)]. For example, if an OCPD is only applied
to the high-voltage, delta side of a delta-wye grounded transformer, the device can have a
problem providing sensitive fault protection for the transformer. For a low-voltage (wye
side) line-to-ground fault, the high-side line current is only 58% of the low-voltage, per-unit
fault current [Sec. 11.9.2.2.3.1 of IEEE standard 242-2001].