Tag:power=substation

power = substation

Description

A facility which controls the flow of electricity in a power network with transformers, switchgear or compensators.

Rendering in OSM Carto

Group: power

Used on these elements

Useful combination

substation=*
voltage=*
operator=*
location=*
ref=*

How to map

Tag a or a as power=substation. Most substations should be mapped as areas. Very small substations such as small transformer kiosks in residential areas may be mapped as substation nodes, or as transformers.

In a few cases, a single substation is split over multiple sites (for example on either side of a road), and should be tagged as a multipolygon relation.

The operator, maximum voltage, and a reference code are often marked on a sign outside the substation. These can be recorded in the operator=*, voltage=*, and reference=* tags.

Find more detailed guidelines for substations on this dedicated page.

Substation vs transformer

When should a facility be tagged as a substation and when should it be tagged as a transformer? Substations and transformers can be distinguished as follows:

power=substation represents an area that may contain transformers. It typically also comprises switchgear and other components.
power=transformer represents a transformer device, as a . Power transformers are mostly found inside substations. However, a small distribution transformer located in a power pole is considered by most people to be a "transformer", not a "substation". A pole-mounted transformer should not be tagged as a substation. See power=transformer for more details.

Tagging

The most common tags used for substations are:

Key	Value	Comment	Recommendation
`power`	`substation`	The substation should normally be mapped as an , but very small substations may also be mapped as a .	Mandatory
`substation`	`transmission` `distribution` ...	The role of the substation within the electricity network.	Recommended
`location`	`outdoor`(default) `indoor` ...	The physical location of the substation.	Recommended
`voltage`	<voltage>[;<voltage>..]	The voltages of the substation, ordered from highest to lowest (e.g. `400000;225000;63000`). It is recommended to tag at least the highest voltage of the substation.	Recommended
`gas_insulated`	`yes`	Whether this substation uses pressurized gas as insulator. Gas insulation is increasingly used in modern high voltage substations.	Optional
`name`	<name>	The name by which the substation is known.	Recommended
`operator` `operator:wikidata`	<operator>	Name of the company that operates the substation.	Optional
`owner` `owner:wikidata`	<owner>	Name of the company that owns the substation.	Optional
`ref`	<reference>	Abbreviation or reference number of the substation.	Optional

The location=* tag may also be used together with power=transformer and other components of a substation when their location differs from that of the substation.

location=kiosk has been used to tag compact distribution substation located in small enclosures where technicians cannot enter to work. man_made=street_cabinet + utility=power is more suitable for such objects.

Lifecycle

In general, it's recommended to use lifecycle prefixes for power infrastructure, and we encourage data consumers to support these.

Substations under construction

If a power substation is under construction and is not currently operational, it should be tagged with construction:power=substation (and not power=substation). It's not recommended to add power substations to OpenStreetMap until construction has started on the ground.

Open Infrastructure Map shows power substations with the construction:*=* prefix.

Disused power substations

A power substation can be put out of service and not yet demolished. All incoming lines are visibly disconnected near of it and no electricity comes inside the substation.
It should be tagged with disused=yes, not with the disused:*=* lifecycle prefix. This is because the substation is still physically present, and should be rendered on general-purpose maps which aren't expected to understand lifecycle prefixes.
Additionally, unconnected lines ends should be tagged with line_management=termination.

Disused power substations can't be part of any power=circuit relations.

Demolished power substations

If a power substation has been removed but is still visible in common OSM aerial imagery layers, it's recommended to use the demolished:power=substation lifecycle prefix so that other mappers don't re-add it. Once aerial imagery has updated, these objects should be removed - OSM is not a historical map.

Demolished power substations can't be part of any power=circuit relations.

Substation components

It's possible to map the components within substations, especially for larger outdoor facilities. A typical substation comprises at least the following components:

	Gray: Substation Cyan: Power line Blue: Bay Green: Switches etc Purple: Busbar assembly Red: Transformer

Power lines: busbars & bays

Power lines within a substation are further classified into line=busbars and line=bays, with the busbar being the central, high-current connection point of the substation.

There is normally one set of busbars per voltage level, with the higher-voltage busbar being the largest and most visible due to the larger conductor spacing. Bays are lines which run off the busbar to connect to transformers or power lines, usually via a combination of circuit breakers, disconnectors, and instrument transformers.

Lines in substations are almost always in groups of three, with one conductor per phase. These can be tagged as a single way (power=line, cables=3), or individually.

Other components

This table is auto-generated. See Template:Taglist for a documentation on it.

Examples

Maperitive	OSM Carto	Tagging	Note
white-solid:busbar, white-dashed:bay, red:400kV, blue:132kV, purple:converter,DC line/cable, yellow:transformer, black:switch, red circle:reactor, read area:filter	Standard OSM Carto rendering	`landuse=industrial` `utility=power` `power=substation` `substation=converter` `name=Bjæverskov HVDC Kontek` `voltage=400000;132000` (valve hall) `building=industrial` `power=converter` `name=HVDC Kontek` `operator=Energinet.dk` `poles=monopole` `rating=600 MW` `voltage=400000`	Bjæverskov HVDC substation in Denmark (northern terminal of Kontek HVDC connection). Bing imagery of the substation.

Photo	Tagging	OSM Carto	Note
	`landuse=industrial` `barrier=fence` `utility=power` `power=substation` `voltage=380000;150000` `substation=transmission` `name=380kV Bleiswijk` `operator=TenneT`		380 kV substation with three 380/150 kV transformers. Unusual for using outdoor gas insulated switchgear (GIS).
	On surrounding perimeter: `landuse=industrial` `barrier=fence` `utility=power` `power=substation` `voltage=25000;10000` `substation=distribution` `location=indoor`		Indoor 25/10kV substation near The Hague. The entire fenced area should be mapped as a substation, not just the building.
	`man_made=street_cabinet` `utility=power` `power=substation` `voltage=10000;400` `substation=minor_distribution` `operator=Stedin`		An example of a small kiosk type substation.
	`power=pole` `location:transition=yes` `transformer=distribution` `voltage:primary=10000` `voltage:secondary=400`		Typical pole mounted 10 kV transformer.
	`building=transformer_tower` `utility=power` `power=substation` `voltage=10000;400` `substation=minor_distribution`		Characteristic tower type transformer building functioning as an electricity pole.
	`building=service` `utility=power` `power=substation` `substation=minor_distribution` `voltage=10000;400`		Typical minor distribution station located in a small masonry building.

Tools using this scheme

Maperitive power rule set for rendering the substation features of this scheme in Maperitive.

Possible tagging mistakes

More details at taginfo

power=station

If you know places with this tag, verify if it could be tagged with another tag.
Automated edits are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you are doing!

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Tag:power=substation

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