Overcurrent Coordination Study of the Electrical System of PDVSA Sur, Barinas

In this paper part of the results of an overcurrent coordination study for the 34.5/13.8-kV system of PDVSA Sur, operational area of Barinas, Venezuela, are presented. After previous load flow and short-circuit calculations, the protective devices of each distribution circuit were analyzed to choose new pickup currents, time-current characteristic (TCC) curves, time dials, and instantaneous settings for the phase-fault and ground-fault protection functions. The new settings improved the times of response of the short-circuit protective devices, the coordination time intervals, and the selectivity and reliability of the system.