Influence of Negative Sequence Injection Strategies on Faulted Phase Selector Performance

Renewable power is expected to increase drastically in the coming years due to the energy transition. A large part of the newly installed generators will be connected to the power system through inverters and electronic converters, whose behaviour differs from the generators connected synchronously to the network. One of the main differences is the current contribution during symmetrical and asymmetrical faults which can affect protection systems. New grid codes establish requirements for fast current injection, but the converter’s maximum current limitations during faults make it difficult to establish control strategies for such current contribution. This paper studies the performance of faulted phase selector algorithm of a commercial relay under the current contribution from renewables before unbalanced faults. Two positive and negative sequence current injection strategies in compliance with new Spanish grid code requirements are proposed and tested under fault conditions in HiL (Hardware in the Loop). Test results show that the selected injection strategy affects the fault phase identification algorithm. Furthermore, the negative sequence injection requirements established in the new grid code improve the relay performance when line-to-line faults are applied, but they are not enough to identify all fault types.