I.

E RULES & CEA REGULATION

AUTHORISATION ( OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, TESTING PERSON)

1.(a) I.E Rules- 3: The person shall be authorized if he possesses either an

appropriate Certificate of Competency or Permit to Work and competent to perform
the duties assigned to him.

(b) No person shall be authorized to operate or undertake maintenance any part or

whole of a 132KV and above Sub-Station unless he is adequately qualified and
trained specified in Annexure-XIV.

(c) No person shall be deemed to be authorized unless his name has been entered in
a list maintained at the office or premises of the person authorizing him, and
giving the purpose for which such person is authorized.

2. CEA Regulation- 3: The designated person shall possesses a Certificate of

Competency or Work Permit issued by the Appropriate Govt. His name and the
purpose for which is engaged shall be entered in a Register.
 SAFETY RULES
(A) SAFETY OFFICER:

I.E Rules- 3(6) & CEA Regulation- (5) Where more than 250KW load is connected
there shall be a person authorized by the management for ensuring safety provisions
laid under the Act and Rules.
CEA Regulation- 5
QUALIFICATION: Degree Engineer with 10 years of experience & Diploma Engineer
with 15 years of experience in operation and maintenance of electrical plant.
RESPONSIBILITY: Periodic Inspection of installations, get them tested and keep a
record thereof.
Please refer ANNEXURE-1
Regulation- 15: Identification of Earthed and Earth Neutral. (ANNEXURE-6)

Regulation-18: Danger Notice. As per IS-2551. (ANNEXURE-4)

Regulation- 19: All panels shall be painted with the description of its Identification at
front and at the rear. (ANNEXURE - 4 & 5)

I.E Rule-51-1(c) : (i) A clear space of not less than 1 meter in width shall be provided
in front of the Panel.
(ii) If there is any bare connection at the back of the Switchboard the
space behind shall be either less than 20cm or more than 75cm in width.

(iii) If the space behind the Switchboard exceeds 75cm in width there shall
be a passage-way from either end of the Switchboard clear to the height of
1.8 meters.
Regulation- 27: (1) Fire buckets filled with clean dry sand in addition to fire
extinguishers suitable for dealing with fires shall be conspicuously marked and kept in
all Generating Stations, Enclosed Sub-Stations and Switching Stations.
(2) FIre Extinguishers shall be tested at least once in a year as per IS.

As per CEA Regulation-18(3), mock exercise in Fire fighting shall be carried out at
least once in a year and record maintained.
(3) First-aid Box / Cupboards equipped with such contents as specified by State Govt.
shall be provided and maintained in every Generating Station, enclosed Sub-Stations,
enclosed Switching Stations except un-attended Sub-Station.
(4) Gas-Mask: Two or more Gas-Masks shall be provided & maintained at
Generating Stations with capacity of 5MW and enclosed Sub-Station with
transformation capacity of 5MVA and above.

Regulation- 28: (1) Shock Treatment Chart; English or Hindi and local language to
be affixed at conspicuous place in every Generating station, enclosed Sub-Station or
enclosed Switching Station. (ANNEXURE - 6)

(2) Artificial Respirator: In every manned Generating Station, enclosed Sub-station

or Switching Station an Artificial Respirator shall be provided.

Regulation- 41(i) & 48(2): Neutral conductor of 3-phase 4-wire system and middle
wire of 2-phase 3-wire system shall be earthed by not less than two separate and
distinct connections with a minimum of two different earth electrodes.

(xii) The frame of every generator, stationary motor, portable motor, and the
metallic parts, not intended as conductor, of all transformers any other
apparatus used shall be earthed by two separate and distinct connection with
earth.

(xiv) All earthing system shall be tested for resistance on dry day during the dry
season not less than once every two years (for voltage below 650 volts) and
once a year (for voltage exceeding 650 volts) Reg.48-8.
EFFECTIVE EARTHING (Reg.48)
(i) Limit the Touch and Step Potential to tolerable limit. (ANNEXURE - 7)
(ii) Limit the Ground Potential Rise.
(iii) Maintain the Resistance of the earth connection to such a value as to
make operation of the protective device effective.
( EHT = 0.5 ohm, HT = 1 to 2 ohm, MV = 3 to 5 ohm, LT = 5 to 10 ohm )
Regulation- 44: (vii)(a) The apparatus having more than 2000 liters of oil is installed
shall be provided with Baffle Wall of four hour fire rating where adequate clearance
between the units is not available.
(b) Provision shall be made for suitable Oil Soakpit and where use of more than 9000
liters of oil in any one oil tank is involved.
(c) Spare oil shall not be stored in vicinity of any oil filled equipment.
(d)(ix) Transformer 10MVA and above rating or in case of oil filled transformer with oil
capacity of more than 2000 liters are provided with fire fighting system as per IS-
3034:1993 or with Nitrogen Injection Fire Protection system.
Regulation- 45: Inter-locks and protection for use of voltage exceeding 650 volts.
(1) (i) Inter-lock between Switch and Isolator.
(ii) Inter-lock between Earth Switch and Isolator.
(iii) Inter-lock between Switches where two or more supplies are not intended to
be operated in parallel.
(2) The following protection shall be provided in all systems and circuits to
automatically disconnect the supply under abnormal conditions.
(i) Over Current Protection.

(ii) Earth Fault or Earth leakage protection.

(iii) Gas Pressure Type and Winding and Oil Temperature protection.
(iv) Differential protection for transformers of capacity 10MVA and above.
(vii) High speed Bus Bar differential protection along with LBB protection for all
132KV and above voltage Sub-Station and Switching Stations connected with the
Grid.

(viii) Disturbance recording and Event logging facilities and all such equipments
shall be provided with time synchronization facility for Global common time
reference for Sub-stations connected to Grid at 220KV and above.

(ix) Distance protection and Carrier-Communication protection shall be provided

for all lines connecting to 400/220 KV Sub-Station.

Regulation- 46: (6) Record of Test, Tripping, Maintenance, Repair for the purpose
of compare.

(8) Failure of Transformer/Reactors of 20 MVA/MVAR and above shall be

reported to CEA within 48 Hrs. and the reason for failure and measures to be taken
to avoid recurrence of failure shall be sent to CEA within one month of the occurrence
in the Fotmat given in Schedule-IX. (ANNEXURE - 8)
 OPERATION, MAINTENANCE,TESTING

(A) CEA REGULATION Part-III, Sec-4, Regulation-11-

Employees shall have knowledge of General Safety Policy, Firs Aid, Emergency
procedure including Shock Treatment, Use of PPE, Safety precautions while
handling Electro-Mechanical Equipments, Use of different type of Fire fighting
Equipments, Response in the event of emergencies including Fire, Flood,
Landslide, Earthquake.
(B) Schedule-II :
1. Procedure for obtaining permission to work for carrying out Operations/
Maintenance of Equioments/ Testing. (ANNEXURE - 2)

2. Safe working clearance. (ANNEXURE - 3)

3. Guarding of live parts.
4. Operation on live apparatus.
5. General provisions relating to maintenance. (ANNEXURE - 1)
6. Working in areas containing exposed live high voltage and extra high voltage
conductors.
7. Demarcation of work areas.
8. Working on remotely controlled and automatically controlled equipments.
9. Handling failed SF6 circuit breaker.
10. Procedure for adding or removing equipment to or from High Voltage system.

(C) CEA Regulation-16 (Operational Data Record)

(1) Operational data including equipment and system parameters logged manually
or electronically shall be preserved for at least 3-years.
(2) Logbooks shall be maintained by every manned Switchyard and Sub-Station or at
the Control Centre responsible for the Operation of the unmanned Switchyard
and Sub-Station.
(3) All operations conducted shall be recorded in chronological order and time of each
operation occurrence of each event shall be recorded in such a manner that there shall
be no over-writing and any mistake shall be neatly cut by a line and new word
written thereafter.
(4) The observation made during inspection including important parameters outside
permissible tolerances shall also be recorded in the Log Book and all entries must be
made in the Log Book immediately.
Regulation-23; (Inspection and Patrolling) (1)- All essential parameters, which
indicates the healthiness of the equipment in a Sub-Station shall be inspected by
the Shift Engineer once in each Shift and periodically by the Officer-in-Charge.
(ANNEXURE - 1)

CONCLUSION
ALL ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT CONDUCTORS, BARE OR INSULATED, ARE ASSUMED TO
BE ENERGIZED UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE. THEY SHALL BE DE-ENERGIZED,
LOCKED OUT AND TESTED FOR THE ABSENCE OF VOLTAGE BEFORE WORKING ON
THEM OR WORKING NEAR THEM. WORK ON ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT CONDUCTORS
MAY ONLY BE PERFORMED BY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL WHO HAVE BEEN
AUTHORIZED TO DO THE WORK.
 \ANNEXURE -1
5.3 The guidelines given here are the broad guidelines just to give the feel of the type of O&M
required to be carried on each and every sub-station equipment. Individual equipment
standards such as relevant ISS/BIS/IEC and manufacturer recommendations must not be
ignored in any case.
5.5 On line inspection and testing is normally limited to visual, external, physical examination
in order to ensure that plant is in a safe condition. Infra red detector must be used periodically
for inspection of overhead lines and open terminal, sub-station bus bars for hot spots caused
by faulty terminals.
5.7 Switchgear site tests during operational maintenance stage which may depend upon utility
to utility depending upon the quality of upkeep of the equipment and environmental conditions
of the site. These generally include the following :
General checks :
These tests include
• Tightness of terminal connection piping junctions and bolted joints.
• Painting and corrosion protection
• Cleanliness
• Cracking and chipping of bushings.
• Checking of foundation bolts
• Inspection of contacts lubrication of moving parts of mechanism of circuit
breakers

Electrical Circuit Checks :

Insulation check
• Die-electric strength of the insulating oil.
• Level of the oil.
• Quality of SF6 gas/ insulating medium such as humidity content, filling pressure
or density except for sealed apparatus
• Leakage of oil etc.

Mechanical tests:
• Operating circuits(hydraulic, pneumatic, spring charged) consumption during
operation.
• Verification of correct rated operating sequence(recharging etc)

Time quantities:
• Checking and adjustment of the track alignment and interlocking mechanism.
• Closing and opening times.
• Operation and control of auxiliary circuits.
• Recharging time of operating mechanism after specified sequence.
• Checks on specific operations.
 Electric tests:
• Dielectric tests
• Resistance of main circuit.

5.8 If the sub-station is constantly attended, the rounds of switchgear are usually planned for
each shift so that all the equipment will be looked at least once a day . Equipment should also
be inspected immediately after a trip out.

5.9 Sub-stations switchgear requires regular cleaning in accordance with its design, type of
insulation, the degree of pollution of the atmosphere or ambient air etc. The frequency of
cleaning depends upon the type of layout of the apparatus and insulators. However, cleaning
must be done during each preventive maintenance.

5.10 Even though the vacuum switchgear do not require elaborate maintenance like that of oil
insulated, it is still necessary to make periodic routine inspection.

5.11 There are two aspects of problem of maintenance. Firstly, the parts which wear during the
normal operation must from time to time, be replaced and secondly there is preventive
maintenance for detecting deterioration and mal-operation of mechanism. The absence of
ionized gas and carbon during interruption removes the major source of insulation
contamination.

5.12 In the daily operation of the sub-station it is the duty of the attendant to inspect the
equipment externally and remedy any abnormality that does not require disconnection of the
apparatus. During this inspection, a watch is required to be kept for deposits of dust and dirt on
the insulators heating of a contact, joint or some part, low oil level and oil leakage etc.

5.13 A check should also be made that the locks and doors of the switch house are in good
condition, no leaks have developed in the roof, the ventilating and heating systems are operating
normally, the prescribed safety aids are in place and in good order, the earthing connection
remain unbroken, the packing of the cables entering or leaving a cable trench or tunnel
within the premises are intact, the ventilating louvers are not damaged , the access roads
leading to the oil filled apparatus are unobstructed and will allow the approach of the fire
engines in the event of an oil fire during an emergency.

5.14 Guidelines for O & M of Vacuum type Circuit Breaker

1. Vacuum circuit breakers require little maintenance. Only the parts subject to normal wear and
tear need to be serviced to ensure fully reliable operation.The interval at which the
maintenance depends are ,number of operations on faults, switching frequency and actual
service time.
2. Maintenance and inspection should be performed in accordance with the maintenance
schedule given by the manufacturer and should be adjusted to suit particular operating
condition. Visual inspection should be made once a year and if necessary the older insulating
parts wiped with a clean rag. Under normal conditions vacuum interrupters need not be
serviced. The maximum permissible contact wear is 3 mm.

3. Before starting any maintenance work breakers should be

• isolated
• short circuited
• earthed
• auxiliary supply disconnected
• springs through normal operation be discharged
• safety regulations be followed
• visually inspected for any loose or damaged parts
• slow closing operation after ensuring the breaker truck is in withdrawal position
be performed
• contact erosion on the interrupter be checked
• vacuum of the interrupter be checked
• mechanism be lubricated
• electrical operation of the breaker be performed after putting the truck in test
position

4. The operating mechanism should be oiled and lubricated every 10 years or after 10,000,
make break operations.

5. Breaker should be overhauled after 30,000 operations.

6. The interrupter must be replaced after 30,000 mechanical operation or when the contacts
have eroded by the maximum amount as recommended by the supplier. Generally it is 3
mm.

7. The vacuum circuit breakers with very high switching frequency and exposed to dust laden
atmosphere shall be serviced at 6 months interval.

5.15 Because of relatively low energy arc , the contact erosion is negligible in most applications
and contact adjustments may not be necessary throughout the life of the vacuum interrupter.
5.16 The periodicity of Maintenance is given below :

Sl No Item of Periodicity Remarks

Maintenance

1 Measuring I.R Monthly Compare with

Values of the recommended
poles with Values/Earlier
Breaker open(ie Values
across
contacts)and
Breaker
closed(pole to
earth)

2 Measuring Yearly Minimum 2 Mega

Insulation Ohms with a 500
Resistance of Volt Megger
control Circuit
winding

3 Anti Condensation Daily Ensure that heater

Heaters is on and is
working
5.17 Guidelines for O&M of SF6 Circuit Breakers

SF6 switchgear require virtually no maintenance .Complete protection against ambient

conditions prevents deterioration of insulating strength .There is no need to clean the insulators
with conventional equipment. Moisture content remains roughly constant at the value set at
commissioning.

The maintenance involves following jobs.

Sl. No. Item of Maintenance Periodicity Remarks

1. SF6 Density Monitering Daily in each Shift If change carry Leakage Test.

2. Humidity Measurement Yearly Use Dew Meter. If change,

Evacuation, Re-Cycling and
Re-filling required.

3. Acid concentration Measurement Yearly -----------DO---------------

4. Air content Measurement Yearly

5. Gas leakage Test Yearly Consult Manufacturer if

any leakage.

6. Control Circuit Insulation Yearly Min 2 Mega Ohm with 500V

Testing Megger.

7. Measurement of Contact Yearly To be done by 2.5KV Megger

Insulation. or above.

8. Evacuation, Re-Cycling and 5 Yearly or To be done if humidity is in

Re-filling. excess of permissible value.

9. Checking of Br. Level Yearly

with Spirit Level.

2. Following precaution is required to be taken in case unit is suspected of leakage of SF6 gas :
• All personnel should be evacuated from the area
• Good Ventilation should be provided in that area
• Contaminated SF6 gas should be removed through pipes vented to outside atmosphere
• The gas should be removed by pumping through absorbents and stored in cylinders
1.21 Guidelines for O & M of Control Circuits and Power Sources

1. In sub-stations lead acid storage batteries are normally used to supply D.C. power
required for control and other auxiliary purposes. The following are the activities to be
performed during O&M of auxiliary equipment.

• Cleaning of battery room

• Checking of proper functioning of exhaust system. Exhaust system should be in operation

while charging of battery is in progress.

• Prohibit smoking, striking of match boxes or use of blow lamps or welding torches
and display in this regard is intact in the battery room

• Avoid flange joints in the heating system in these rooms,

• 5% soda solution as spare be kept so as to neutralize splash of acid on the skin or

clothing

• Use of canvas work gloves and apron is must.

• Use of small glass plates of slightly smaller size than inside dimension to cover open
jars

• Glazing of windows with frosted glass to protect batteries from direct action of
sunrays.

• Use acid paint to paint walls, ceilings and metal parts and accessories.

• Check specific gravity of the electrolyte at the bottom and top of the battery cells once
every quarter.

• Boost charging of the battery once in three months/as per manufacturer

recommendation.

• Monitor the voltage conditions and specific gravity (once a month).

 • Regular inspection of the battery room/battery daily/weekly for
♦ Visual checking of battery room, ventilation and lighting(daily)
♦ Checking of electrical connections for tightness (weekly)
♦ Application of petroleum jelly to joints and cell connections (weekly)
♦ Complete intactness of the jars (daily)
♦ Level of electrolyte and topping of jars with DM water (weekly)
♦ Correct position of the plates (daily)
♦ No leaks (daily)
♦ Clean the jars, stands, walls and floors (daily)
♦ Specific gravity measurement of pilot cell (daily)
♦ Voltage reading of pilot cell (daily)
(
♦ Indentification of lagging cells(low specific gravity cells) (daily)
♦ Look for white spots (sulphation) buckling or short circuiting of plates
(daily)
♦ Traces of corrosion (daily)
♦ Mud in the bottom of the jars (daily)
♦ Checking electrolyte temperature(random cells) (daily)
♦ Checking operation of rectifier (daily)

1.22 Time interval for preventive maintenance of sub-station

equipment.

1. Preventive maintenance tests are to be carried out on the sub-station in accordance with the
rules and standards covering each kind of equipment. The intervals at which they should be
carried out depend on number of factors such as, number of trippings , quality of earlier
maintenance of equipment, severity of faults occurred etc .However the following interval is
generally recommended

Circuit breakers, insulators, earthing , no load disconnectors and their operating

mechanism as a rule are tested following each general overhaul (but intervals no longer
than 3 years)

• Dry type reactors, carrier frequency coupling capacitors,power factor correction

capacitors and oil immersed instrument transformer must be tested at least once
every three years.

• Busbars etc. must be tested/maintained once a year.

 • Transformer inspection must be carried out disconnecting the units
from the line and are timed for the following frequency:

(a) In permanently attended sub-stations the maintenance and service transformer

must be inspected once every day, all the other transformer once every five
days.

(b) In unattended sub-station all the units must be inspected once a month

(c) In small transformer sub-station and kiosks all the units are inspected at
intervals not longer than 6 months.

2. During the above inspection, check must be made for oil leaks at the joints, oil cocks
and radiator etc. for bad or defective joints in the bushing and for signs of chipping
cracks or flashover on the bushing’s porcelain. Other abnormality that can be detected by
external inspection are :
• loud and irregular noise
• crackling sounds from within the transformer
• Oil discharge through the diaphragm of the relief vent
• High and rising oil at normal load

5.23 O & M of Relays

5.23.1 The following checks are required to be made on relays & associated
circuitry:
• Physical check on all wiring and connections
• Check on all fuses, MCBs, links, test switches and earthing terminals etc.
• Proper earthing of relay cases
• Polarity of DC supply
• Cleaning of relay cases or racks for dirt etc.
• Insulation resistance measurement on all DC and AC circuits
• Secondary current and voltage injection tests
• Checks for correct setting of relays
• Directional tests in case of directional relay
• Any other tests based on manufacturer recommendation for various types of
relays

5.23.2 Periodicity of tests may be decided based on manufacturer’s recommendation, site

conditions, number of operations, trouble in operation etc. However, these tests should be
carried out at least once in six months.
5.24 Typical transformer, on load tap changer and sub-station maintenance inspection
report are given in Annexure-PEVOM1 to Annexure-PEVOM4. These appendix are
general guidelines.However it is recommended that manufacturer recommendation and
relevant ISS/BS/IEC must also be referred to.
 ANNEXURE - 2

5.27 Procedure for Permit to Work(Line Clear)

A Line Clear is a permit to work on any electrical equipment or line. It will be issued by an
authorised person to another authorised person. If there are more than one gang working
under the same supervisor, each gang should take sub-line clears from the supervisor who has
taken the line clear.In case, if the line clear has to be issued for himself, he shall take self
line clear. In this case also, all the precautions that are to be followed in issue and return of
line clear shall be followed.

Line clear books are very important records. Pages in these books should be serially
numbered, no paper from this book should be used for any other purpose. If any, page is to
be destroyed, the custodian should specifically mention the reasons for doing so. It should
be attested by his dated signature. The line clear books shall be reviewed periodically by the
Asstt. Divisional Engineer.

Line clear can be issued/received over telephone. It is desirable that the issuer/receiver
recognises each other’s voice. The requisition for line clear and the line clear issue messages
shall be repeated by both the parties to ensure that line clears are issued/received on the
equipment on which it is intended. A secret code number shall be followed in such cases.

Procedure before issue of Line Clear

i) Approval of the competent authority for shut-down of line/equipment should be verified.

ii) Line/equipment shall be switched off.

iii) No back feed certificates, wherever necessary shall be obtained.

iv) The issuer should personally see and ensure that all the blades of the
AB Switch are physically in open condition and locked.

v) The line/equipment shall be earthed by discharge rods.

vi) A ‘Danger Do not operate ‘ Board shall be exhibited on the

Concerned control panel a ‘Men on line’ board shall be exhibited on the
outdoor AB/Switch/equipment.

vii) All operations for issue of line clear shall be done personally by
the issuer or it shall be done under his personal supervision.
viii) After following all the precautions the Line clear book shall be filled
up carefully without leaving any column left unfilled. It shall be signed
with date and time by the issuer and issued to the receiver. Signature
with date and time of the receiver shall be obtained on the duplicate,
and this shall be kept in safe custody

Responsibilities of the receiver:

i) The receiver should very clearly indicate the specific equipment/line which he
wants to work when requisitioning for L.C.
ii) If the receiver is at the same place as that of the issuer he shall follow all the
operations being conducted so as to ensure that line clears are being issued
on the correct line/equipment.
iii) At the work spot, after receiving line clear, he shall earth the line/equipment on
either side of the workspot.
iv) In case if any other power lines are crossing near to work spot of the line on
which LC is received he shall also obtain LCs on all such lines to avoid
induction.
v) He shall write down on the duplicate form the number of persons engaged on the
work.

Rules to be followed when returning of LC:

i) The persons who has received the LC only should return it.

ii) He shall personally ensure that there are no men, material or earth
on the line.

iii) He shall inform all the workmen that it is no longer safer to work
on the line as the line clear is being returned.

iv) The Line/equipment shall not be charged until the LC is cancelled.

Before cancellation of LC the following precautions shall be taken:

a) The returned LC shall be carefully examined.It shall be ensured that all the
certificates required are furnished.
b) ‘Men on Line’ Danger do not operate boards shall be removed.
c) It shall be ensured that no other LC is pending. All men material removed; Earthing
is removed.
d) All no back fed certificates shall be returned.
e) After charging the line/equipment check should be made for unusual sound/noise.
f) All the workmen/supervisor shall be permitted to leave the work spot only after
the normalcy is restored.
ANNEXURE -3
ANNEXURE - 4
ANNEXURE - 5
ANNEXURE - 6
ANNEXURE - 7
ANNEXURE - 8