New solutions for improved transmission line protective relay performance analysis

Transmission line protective relays are assuring normal operation of power system by automatically isolating faulted sections. Different disturbances in power system could affect relay behavior and may result in relay misoperation or unintended operation. This paper explores various aspect of the performance analysis of existing protective relays. Three categories of solutions are discussed: 1) relay performance evaluation based on relay testing; 2) on-line relay monitoring based on advanced fault analysis and relay dynamic performance analysis; 3) intelligent alarm processing based on analysis of the relay logic operands. Case study and benefits are presented for each solution for relay performance analysis to demonstrate the advantages.