Duration
- 3 Months
Study Mode
- Online
- Online Electrical Engineering
Location
- Online
Course Code
CEY2
Intakes
- 15 July 2025
Course Type
- Professional Certificate
- Electrical Engineering
Fees
This professional development course is designed for engineers and technicians who need to gain practical skills and knowledge in the control, protection, and facility planning systems within substation design control.
Substations are critical assets in any power system and serve as important nodes in a transmission and distribution network. Substations, therefore, handle multiple voltages in a given location and link two or more systems of different voltages.
This course will focus on subsystems that perform essential functions in substations. These include earthing and grounding, lightning protection of outdoor equipment and substation buildings, power system protection, control, and interlocking equipment, including the auxiliary power sources and various switchyard facilities. These include foundation, structures, cable routing, lighting, fire protection and surveillance equipment.
Earthing of a high voltage switchyard requires careful design as it has a direct bearing on safety. The design approach to switchyards will be discussed, and the basic methods of calculation will be outlined. Lightning is a common threat to substation equipment and supply reliability, as overvoltage surges can result in insulation failure or spark over. While lightning cannot be prevented, its effects can be minimized by proper lightning and surge protection measures.
Any electrical equipment is susceptible to insulation failures. Protection against such failures and the resulting short circuits is a vital need in power systems. The various protection options available to the designer and the protection of busbars, transformers, and substation feeders will be discussed.
Another essential system is the control of switchyard equipment and the required auxiliary power supply. AC auxiliary power is used for the operation of isolators and disconnectors, the operating mechanism of circuit breakers, and substation lighting. The essential functions are powered through DC supply backed with batteries for reliability. This includes control, annunciation and protection functions, breaker close and trip commands, and in some cases, emergency lighting.
A switchyard has to be adequately planned by preparing the site, measuring earth resistivity required for earthing design and optimization, earthwork, foundations, cable trenches inside the switchyard, draining arrangements, etc. These aspects will be covered in detail during the course. We will also discuss gas-insulated switchgear as an alternative to outdoor open type switchyards.
This course will also cover selecting and applying appropriate power system protection to protect equipment and personnel from abnormal system conditions, including short circuits and earth faults.
The course is composed of 12 modules, covering topics such as auxiliary power requirements and performing sizing calculations for the battery backup of essential DC power supply, the requirements for site preparation, foundations, structures, cable trenches and draining arrangements to effectively coordinate with design teams of related disciplines, the designing of substation earthing to ensure the safety of personnel and equipment under all conditions, and designing appropriate protection against the direct and indirect effects of lightning strikes on substations and the incoming and outgoing overhead lines.
Based on the layout and data of a given HV switchyard:
Based on the data/SLD for a typical MV substation work out:
Based on the data of typical substation with both HV and MV switchgear, work out the following:
To obtain a certificate of completion for EIT’s Professional Certificate of Competency course, students must achieve a 65% attendance rate at the live, online fortnightly webinars. Detailed summaries or notes can be submitted in lieu of attendance. In addition, students must obtain a mark of 60% in the set assignments which could take the form of written assignments and practical assignments. Students must also obtain a mark of 100% in quizzes. If a student does not achieve the required score, they will be given an opportunity to resubmit the assignment to obtain the required score.
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Learn more about payment methods, including payment terms & conditions and additional non-tuition fees.
Hashemi Ford has over 20 years international experience in electrical power industry with a focus on modelling, analysis, planning and operation of power systems including distribution, sub-transmission and transmission networks. He has been involved in modelling and analysis of major projects including HVDC interconnectors and wind farms.
Learn about our instructors.
You are expected to spend approximately 5-8 hours per week learning the course content. This includes attending fortnightly webinars that run for about 90 minutes to facilitate class discussion and allow you to ask questions. This program has a 65% attendance requirement in the live webinars in order to graduate from the program. If you are unable to attend the live webinars, you have the option of watching the recording of completed webinars and sending a summary of what you have learnt from the webinar to the Learning Support officer. The summaries go towards your attendance requirement for the program.
This program is run online on an intensive part-time basis and has been designed to fit around full-time work. It will take three months to complete.
We understand that sometimes work commitments and personal circumstances can get in the way of your studies, so if at any point you feel that you are struggling with the pace of the course or finding a particular module challenging, you are encouraged to contact your designated Learning Support Officer for assistance.
Registrations are open for our upcoming intakes. Please ensure you book your place at least one week before the start date of the program.
