ELECTRONIC LOAD CONTROLLER (ELC)

DIGITAL SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY

STATE OF THE ART CONTROL SYSTEM FOR SMALL

HYDRO POWER & MICRO HYDRO

Jl. Awibitung No.40 Ciawitali Selatan,

Cimahi 40512, Jawa Barat. Indonesia
Tel/fax : +62 22 6631608,
www.pme-bandung.com

ELC DEFINITION
Electronic Load Controller (ELC) is a controller used in small hydro power generation to
control the frequency of generator by diverting excess power to dummy/ballast load, thus
the speed, frequency and voltage of generator will be maintained.
Excess power normally happened during low power consumption on main load/villagers
during day or midnight. On the plant without ELC or appropriate governor, this condition will
lead to higher generator speed, high frequency and voltage which will destroy most of
electrical appliances and even generator it self due to runaway speed. In most large hydro
power generation, control is done by adjusting flow entering turbine through guide vane to
match the power output required and maintain the speed. This will be too complicated and
costly for small hydro power, especially for rural electrification that required simple and
affordable system.
Power diversion to dummy load is done electronically through thyristor as electronic switch
which controlled by ELC main board. It will keep the frequency at set point with smooth and
steady operation without the need of operator interferences. Our ELC panel is integrated
with standard protection for main load and generator and metering to monitor the plant
operation at real time.

Pgenerator

= Pload + Pballast

20.000 Watt = 15.000 Watt + 5.000 Watt

Installation of an ELC on Micro hydro power plant, Indonesia

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 2

ADVANTAGE OF ELC
1. Constant frequency and voltage generated by the system, thus preventing the damaged
on electronic appliances due to high frequency/voltage
2. Avoid damage on generator due to runaway speed when the main load is switched off
or decreased
3. No water hammer risk on the penstock, since no need of sudden flow closing when full
load rejection
4. No frequent turbine opening adjustment needed to regulate the power during the
operation. Once turbine opening position is possible for long period of operation, thus
operator work is simpler
5. Easy in installation, operation and maintenance as well as longer life time expectancy.
Standard components are used and widely available
6. Fast recovery time upon sudden load change. Frequency will be recover to set point less
than 2 second (adjustable)
7. Affordable price compared to any other control system type
8. ELC panel is integrated with standard protection and metering, as well as customized
system for data monitoring and logging, no more cubicle required
9. Customized metering and protection, based on customer requirements and applied
national standard
10. Suitable for synchronous generator, on/off grid application and can be integrated with
existing control system as back up.
11. Suitable for remote data monitoring system (RMS) to view the data of the plant through
web interface and mobile phone (SMS) (on demand)

Typical Single Line Diagram of Small hydro power with ELC off grid

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 3

WORKING PRINCIPLES OF ELC

Working Principles
ELC Protel Multi Energy use microcontroller chip and thus based on digital technology where
all the controller parameter is set from the software. It is ensure the high performance,
accuracy and steady operation of the controller. No need of trimmer or potentiometer
setting to adjust the control parameter during commissioning of the plant like analog based
ELC.
ELC works based on frequency signal, microcontroller will continuously measure and
calculate the generated AC signal every half cycle (10 ms) or 100 times per second and will
trigger the Thyristor at certain angle according to measured error. It will continuously adjust
the triggering angle until set point is reached (50 Hz). Frequency will be keep at set point
(50/60 Hz) with accuracy 0.1-0.2 Hz. Recovery time required takes 2 seconds, which
means in case of load change/disturbance the frequency will be back to set point at around
2 seconds. Controller response can be adjusted through provided dip switch on main board,
it is possible to make slow, medium and fast response controller according to plant and load
characteristics, but in most cases default setting are appropriate for most plant set up.

Two Step Systems

Thyristor triggering is based on phase angle system, which will vary the voltage and power
diverted to ballast load from 0-100% according to triggering angle. The disadvantage of
phase angle control is current/voltage distortion or harmonic. Total harmonic distortion will
correspond to the amount of power diverted to ballast load which based on phase angle
switching degree. The effect of harmonic might disturb the motor, transformer or any
sensitive appliances. But in most cases the effect are not significant especially to standard
electric appliances. To minimize and reduce the harmonic we use two step methods by
modifying the switching of ballast into 2 steps. Only 50% of ballast capacity will be
connected if the power diverted less than 50%, and the second capacity will only be
connected if more than 50% power diverted to ballast load.

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 4

Under Frequency and Voltage Control

Please notice that ELC will only regulate the Frequency when the power generated bigger
than consumed by main load. In the condition where consumers draw more power than
generated, frequency will falls below 50 Hz and ELC can not help to increase it. ELC will cut
off the main load connection with under frequency relay trip (if included) in case frequency
falls below threshold <47.5 Hz. When these conditions happen, it is suggested to increase
the flow into the turbine or reduce the consumption in case the turbine is already at its full
power. Some peoples think that ELC will stabilize the frequency at any circumstances, which
in fact its not. Following is the working condition of ELC;
EXAMPLE OF ELC WOKRING CONDITIONS
TURBINE CONSUMER

CONDITION

BALLAST FREQUENCY

ACTION

25 kW

10 kW

15 kW

F = 50 Hz

ELC WORKING

UNDERLOAD

25 kW

18 kW

7 kW

F = 50 Hz

ELC WORKING

NORMAL

25 kW

26 kW

0 kW

F < 50 Hz

ELC NOT WORKING

OVERLOAD

Reduce turbine
opening
increase ow or
reduce load

ELC works to detect and regulate the frequency and not the voltage! Generator voltage is
controlled by Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) which normally included on generator.
Brushless generator with AVR normally will be able control the voltage output when
frequency between 47.5 - 52.5 Hz. In most cases generator without AVR will have
uncontrolled voltage output, even when the frequency is 50 Hz the generator voltage can
reach up to 250 Volt or even more. Therefore the use of brushes generator without AVR
should be avoided to get the better quality of electrical power output.

BALLAST LOAD
Ballast load or dummy load basically is a resistive load (resistance) used to dump the excess
power. We normally used tubular air heater type, industrial standard which have good
quality to ensure long life time expectancy. Its normally used in industrial process for
heating and drying purpose. Air heater doesnt need forced air for cooling, natural water
flow should be sufficient to cool the heater, thus placement of ballast load on the good air
ventilation is recommended. We also use water heater resistance made from stainless steel
tubing if customer required the hot water for other purpose. But water heater system
require appropriate tank and maintain water availability to prevent overheating and damage.
Considering that voltage applied to ballast load is not sinusoidal waveform, it is
recommended not to use any normal appliances to be used as ballast load. Replace the
ballast load resistance immediately in case of any damage occurring, to avoid over speed of
generator. Ballast load capacity is recommended to be 20% higher than designed power
output to compensate thyristor waveform and expected higher output of the turbine. If
Ballast load is too small the generator speed and frequency might increase when all power
dumped, it is mean that generated power are bigger than ballast load capacity.

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 5

Air Heater Ballast Load

Water Heater Ballast Load

ELC METERING
Our ELC panel is provided with standard metering to monitor the electrical output and
electrical consumption by load, thus no additional panel required. Customer can request
additional metering system if standard version is not sufficient. Digital or analog version is
available on request. Following is our standard ELC metering;
1. Pilot lamps generator, 3 phase
2. Ampermeter ballast, 3 phase
3. Ampermeter konsumen, 3 phase
4. Voltmeter generator, 1 Phase
5. Frequency generator, 1 Phase
6. Hour counter, 1 unit
Standard metering is analog type with 72x72 mm
display dimension.

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 6

ELC PROTECTION
Besides metering, ELC panel is integrated with
standard protection to protect generator, main load
and ELC for standard application. Some additional
protection might be added upon customer
requirements especially for other application such as
grid connected and parallel operation with other
generator. Following are the included standard
protection of ELC;
1. Main load MCCB for overload and short circuit
2. Main load Contactor for on/off consumer
3. Protection Fuse/MCB
4. Grounding terminal
5. Under/over frequency relay (optional)
6. Lightning arrester (optional)
7. Exhaust fan for ELC>30 kW

DIP SWITCH SETTING

Main board ELC is equipped with dip switch setting to change some parameter of the
controller like controller PI response, frequency setting and so on. In most cases dip switch
default setting will serve basic system characteristic and no need to change, but some
parameter can be adjusted for certain cases. Following are general function of dip switch on
ELC main board.
DIP SWITCH NO
DIP 1
DIP 2
DIP 3
DIP 4
DIP 5
DIP 6
DIP 7
DIP 8

FUNCTION
Proportional Value
Integral Value
Set Point -1 = 49 Hz
Set Point +1 = 51 Hz
System freq. (50/60 Hz)
Droop setting (52Hz)

DEFAULT POSITION

STATUS
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF

VALUE
3
3
50 Hz
50 Hz
50 Hz
Disable

Detailed setting of dip switch is provided on ELC manual operation come with ELC unit.

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 7

ELC TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

1. ELC Type
2.
3.
4.
5.

: Digital system with microcontroller

Control method : phase angle control with PI algorithm, two steps.

Switching method : Double Thyristor (SCR), 6 units 2 units per phase
Power
: 1 500 kW
Voltage
: 220/380 V, 230/400 Volt

6. Phase
7. Frequency
8. Freq. accuracy

: 1 and 3 Phase
: 50 / 60 Hz
: < 0.2

9. Freq. sensing
; every half cycle or every 10 ms or 100 times/second at 50 Hz
10. Recovery time
: 2 seconds
11. Standard protection
-

Main load MCCB

Main load contactor
Fuse/ MCB protection

- Over/Under Frequency relay (optional)

- Lightning arrester (optional)
12. Standard metering
- Pilot lamps generator, 3 phase
-

Ampermeter ballast, 3 phase

Ampermeter consumer, 3 phase
Voltmeter generator, 1 Phase

- Frequency generator, 1 Phase

- Hour counter, 1 unit
13. Ballast load
: tubular air heater, 6 units (2 units / phase)
STANDARD CUBICLE LAYOUT

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 8

ELECTRONIC LOAD CONTROLLER SIZING

DESCRIPTIONS

SPECIFICATIONS
5-10 kW

11-20 kW

21-30 kW

31-40 kW

41-50 kW

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

DIRECT 30A

CT 50/5 A

CT 50/5 A

CT 75/5 A

CT 100/5 A

CT 50/5 A

CT 50/5 A

CT 50/5 A

CT 75/5 A

CT 100/5 A

Voltmeter generator - 1P

0-300 V

0-300 V

0-300 V

0-300 V

0-300 V

Frequency meter generator - 1P

45-55 Hz

45-55 Hz

45-55 Hz

45-55 Hz

45-55 Hz

6 digit

6 digit

6 digit

6 digit

6 digit

MCCB main load

20A

20/30A

50/60A

80A

100A

Contactor main load

20A

20/30A

50/60A

80A

100A

Fuse/MCB protection

3x2A

3x2A

3x2A

3x2A

3x2A

Over/underfrequency relay

Optional

Cooling fan

12 cm fan

12 cm fan

12 cm fan

Lightning arrester

PEN

PEN

PEN

PEN

PEN

4 mm

6 mm

10 mm

16 mm

25 mm

Ballast load cable size - x2

1.5 mm

2.5 mm

4 mm

6 mm

10 mm

THYRISTOR Size

3xSKKT42

6xSKKT42

6xSKKT42

6xSKKT57

6xSKKT57

Cubicle dimension (cm)

40x60x20

40x60x20

50x70x20

50x70x20

50x70x20

4x6

4x10

4x16

4x25

4x35

15 kg

20 kg

24 kg

31 kg

38 kg

220 or 230

220 or 230

220 or 230

220 or 230

220 or 230

1.5 - 2 kW

2 - 4 kW

4 - 6 kW

6 - 8 kW

8 - 10 kW

Ballast cables size - 7 pcs

4x2.5

4x2.5 mm2

4x4 mm2

4x6 mm2

4x10 mm2

Approximate Weight

7 kg

15kg

22 kg

28 kg

35 kg

METERING
Pilot lamp - 3P
Ampermeter ballast load - 3P
Ampermeter main load - 3P

Hour Counter
Digital multi meter CVM NRG
(V,I,Hz,kW,kWh,PF,kVA,etc)
PROTECTION

Grounding

47.5/52.5 Hz 47.5/52.5 Hz 47.5/52.5 Hz

CABLES & DIMENSION

Main load cable size

Generator cables size - 4 pcs

Approximate Weight
BALLAST LOAD
Rated Voltage
Ballast amount (pcs)
Ballast capacity per element

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 9

ELECTRONIC LOAD CONTROLLER SIZING

DESCRIPTIONS

SPECIFICATIONS
51-60 kW

61-70 kW

71-80 kW

81-90 kW 91-100 kW

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Ampermeter ballast load - 3P

CT 100/5 A

CT 150/5 A

CT 150/5 A

CT 200/5 A

CT 200/5 A

Ampermeter main load - 3P

CT 100/5 A

CT 150/5 A

CT 150/5 A

CT 200/5 A

CT 200/5 A

Voltmeter generator - 1P

0-300 V

0-300 V

0-300 V

0-300 V

0-300 V

Frequency meter generator - 1P

45-55 Hz

45-55 Hz

45-55 Hz

45-55 Hz

45-55 Hz

6 digit

6 digit

6 digit

6 digit

6 digit

Included

Included

Included

Included

Included

MCCB main load

100A

125A

160A

200A

200A

Contactor main load

100A

125A

160A

200A

200A

Fuse/MCB protection

3x2A

3x2A

3x2A

3x2A

3x2A

METERING
Pilot lamp - 3P

Hour Counter
Digital multi meter CVM NRG
(V,I,Hz,kW,kWh,PF,kVA,etc)
PROTECTION

Over/underfrequency relay
Cooling fan

47.5/52.5 Hz 47.5/52.5 Hz 47.5/52.5 Hz 47.5/52.5 Hz 47.5/52.5 Hz

12 cm fan

12 cm fan

12 cm fan

12 cm fan

12 cm fan

3P+N

3P+N

3P+N

3P+N

3P+N

PEN

PEN

PEN

PEN

PEN

Main load cable size

25 mm

35 mm

35 mm

50 mm

50 mm

Ballast load cable size - x2

10 mm

16 mm

16 mm

25 mm

25 mm

THYRISTOR Size

6xSKKT57

6xSKKT92

6xSKKT92

6xSKKT132

6xSKKT132

Cubicle dimension (cm)

60x80x30

60x80x30

60x80x30

80x120x40

80x120x40

4x35

4x35

4x50

4x50

4x50

45 kg

53 kg

58 kg

80 kg

80 kg

220 or 230

220 or 230

220 or 230

220 or 230

220 or 230

Ballast capacity per element

12 - 14 kW

14 - 16 kW

16 - 18 kW

18 - 20 kW

19 - 21 kW

Ballast cables size - 7 pcs

4x10 mm2

4x16 mm2

4x16 mm2

4x25 mm2

4x25 mm2

40 kg

47kg

54 kg

68 kg

73 kg

Lightning arrester
Grounding
CABLES & DIMENSION

Generator cables size - 4 pcs

Approximate Weight
BALLAST LOAD
Rated Voltage
Ballast amount (pcs)

Approximate Weight

v Only for guidance! Specification might change anytime with/without notice

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 10

ELC PROJECTS REFERENCE

Within the period of 2011 - 2015 ELC PME are being in operation in more than 430 MHP site
worldwide, ranging from 1-200 kW with total installed capacity of about 7.5 MW. ELC is
spread all over the Indonesia archipelago, mostly for village electrifications. Besides our local
market, about 20% of our ELC is exported to some country such as ; Malaysia, Philippine,
Thailand, Australia, Turkey, Switzerland, Iran, Francis, Pakistan, South Africa, Kenya,
Mozambique, Ethiopia, Nigeria,.
We always try to improve our product quality and services. We are dynamically improved to
follow the last technology and requirements to meet the customer need. We are very
welcome to advice and input from the customer to improve our product quality and service.
Following are some of the ELC projects we have been completed;

ELC+pelton turbine 75 kW Palu Indonesia

ELC 2x150 kW Kalimantan - Indonesia

ELC installed rural electrification projects (PNPM) in Sumatera and Sulawesi Indonesia

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 11

ELC + hydraulic actuator - Thailand

ELC 90 kW with PELTON Turbine Turkey

ELC + water heater Ballast load Pakistan

ELC on mini Geothermal Turbine Bandung

ELC 2x100kW Mozambique & South Africa

ELC 1 Phase for Sarawak projects - Malaysia

PROTEL MULTI ENERGY www.pme-bandung.com

Page 12