Electrical Substations

Most often implemented for outdoor utilities, our above-ground substations are constructed to the absolute highest quality standards and are designed to be efficient, safe and secure.

Gas-Insulated Switchgear Substation units can be up to five times smaller than Air-Insulated Switchgear Substation units, which often times equates to considerable cost savings and requires smaller, less intrusive housing structures. We also produce Low Profile Substations which are better suited to suburban areas where appearance is more critical. In addition, urban and suburban Indoor Substations can be finished on the outside so as to blend in with other buildings and surroundings.

A Transmission Substation connects two or more transmission lines usually with the same voltage. If voltages are indeed the same the substation will contain high voltage switches that allow lines to be connected or isolated for fault clearance or maintenance. If voltages are not the same the electrical substation will contain transformers to convert between the two transmission voltages. Capacitors, reactors or static VAR compensators as well as phase shifting transformers are also implemented to control the power flow between two or more adjacent power systems.

A Distribution Substation transfers power from the transmission system to the distribution system of a given area. While Distribution Substations do transform voltage, they also isolate faults in both the transmission or distribution systems. Whereas our Distribution Substations often act as the points of voltage regulation, on vastly expanded distribution circuits M. Scher also installs voltage regulation equipment along the lines themselves.

Collector Substations are often employed in the development of distributed energy or decentralized energy projects such as Wind Parks or energy gathering Wind Farms. Collector Substations resemble normal distribution substations although power flow is reversed, traveling from the source of generation such as a wind turbine, up into the transmission grid itself. M. Scher’s Collector Substations perform power factor correction and metering functions and if needed can house an HVDC Converter Station as well.

Converter Substations are most often employed in coordination with HVDC Converter Plants or interconnected non-synchronous networks. These stations are implemented to change the frequency of current, convert from alternating to direct current or the reverse. M. Scher has been producing Converter Substations since the days when rotary converters were used to convert frequency and we are one of the few companies with decades of experience on both the old and the more modern systems.

Automatic Switching Substations connect and disconnect transmission lines to and from the primary distribution system. Transmission lines and other components often need to be de-energized for the purpose of new construction or maintenance. Automatic Switching Substations provide a safe method for accomplishing these goals while maximizing up time throughout the grid and preventing interruptions in supply. Perhaps the most critical function of an Auto Switching Substation is to isolate a faulted portion of the system in the shortest possible time. Lightning strikes and other natural disasters can cause tremendous damage to the grid and de-energizing faulted equipment can protect it from further harm. Promptly isolating a fault helps keep the rest of the electrical grid operating with maximum stability