Power system protection

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Power system protection is a set of techniques and power grid equipment used to limit the damage caused by an electrical fault and safeguard other components of the grid, like generators and transmission lines.^[1] The term is also used for a branch of electrical power engineering that deals with the protection.^[2] There is an overlap between the power system protection and power system operations, as the protection equipment, like other switchgear, can be used for operations.^[3]

The protection devices are used to protect the power systems from faults by detecting the faults and taking action ("tripping"). P. M. Anderson distinguishes the reactionary devices, like protective relays, that "clear" a fault by isolating it from the rest of system and safeguard devices that address the source of the hazard (for example, an emergency core cooling system of a nuclear reactor). As a discipline, power system protection mostly deals with the reactionary devices.^[4]