By Jesse Hoffman, Engineering Manager -Engineering Center of Excellence

Power generation systems are critical to businesses and organizations, providing the electricity needed to run essential operations and equipment. But these systems are vulnerable to a wide range of potential issues, including overcurrent and electrical faults. Protective relays are used to detect and respond to these issues to ensure the safety and reliability of power generation systems. Still, if these protective relays aren’t operating correctly, it could lead to bad outcomes.

One issue that can impact the performance of protective relays is Current Transformer saturation. CT saturation occurs when the current flowing through a CT exceeds its capacity, leading to a distortion of the current waveform. When this happens, the protective relay may not accurately detect electrical faults, potentially leading to equipment damage, safety hazards, and downtime.  It is important to ensure your generator protection scheme is designed to mitigate these risks of CT saturation.

At Energy Systems Group (ESG), we understand the importance of CT saturation calculations and are committed to helping our customers ensure the safety and reliability of their power generation systems. Our experienced engineers use state-of-the-art software modeling system and techniques to perform CT saturation modeling that is accurate, reliable, and efficient.

Ultimately, the safety and reliability of power generation systems depend on the quality of the components and the effectiveness of the testing and maintenance practices used to maintain them. At ESG, we are committed to providing our customers with the highest quality services and technologies to ensure the safety and reliability of their power generation systems. If you’re interested in learning more about our approach to CT saturation calculations and ready to ensure your systems are prepared for the unexpected!