Effective T&M solutions for T&D systems

As power transmission and distribution segment is growing with advanced technologies and digital innovations, test and measurement instrument players are coming up with innovative solutions to effectively meet the emerging needs.

Transmission and distribution are key aspects of energy delivery across the value system of power utility. Test and measurement (T&M) of power transmission and distribution (T&D) system plays a crucial role in making the power distribution efficient and economical.With the new challenges in T&D, and power grid getting smarter with additional systems connecting to it, the measurement needs are also increasing.

T&M: crucial for T&D system

Power sector plays a very crucial role in the industry. Right from generation to transmission & distribution, the systems and components must remain healthy and continuously running and unforeseen situations like power losses, system failures, shut down or accidents can deteriorate the efficiency of T&D systems to a massive extent. To tackle such circumstances, proper testing and measuring instruments become a requisite. As Narendra Goliya, Chairman & MD, Rishabh Instruments Pvt Ltd comments, “T&D is a very crucial sector, rather it’s the backbone to keep things running and powered up all the time. Hence, it becomes all the more vital to effectively test the devices used in T&D sector!”

According to Kalidas Bhangare, Managing Director, Testo India Pvt Ltd, to keep the electrical assets in T&D utilities healthy and to keep regular checks on their performance, electrical parameter measuring instruments like multimeters and clamp meters are of utmost importance. Other measuring instruments for T&D equipment condition monitoring are also favourable and helpful for the facility manager.

Prabhakaran V, Head – Product Management, Fluke India, says, “Accurate and reliable test and measurement equipment will give the engineers the required confidence at every stage of their work. This enables them to establish a safe, reliable and hassle-free network while lowering T&D losses.”

Measurements like earth resistance, insulation properties of assets are critical at the commissioning stage. Periodic or continuous monitoring of power quality, partial discharge, and temperature levels of critical assets throughout the operation will help avoid unwanted failures and loss of energy and money.

According to Narendra, the damage of any device due to the poor quality or life deterioration over a period of time can cost huge losses. Therefore, periodic, predictive testing of key devices in the T&D sector is the most essential aspect to keep the system up and running.

Evolving T&M solutions

Condition monitoring and proactive maintenance in T&D systems and assets are playing more important roles than ever. The need for reliable power from across the sectors is pushing the utility companies to innovate advanced tools and systems to avoid any unwanted failures of the asset and machinery. According to Prabhakaran, increased usage of power electronics-based systems and distributed power generation also calls for additional test equipment to meet the higher frequency and voltage levels present in such systems. He adds, “We have launched some of the tools like the acoustic imager to detect PD, wide-bandwidth portable power analyser to inspect and verify systems like inverters and other power electronic components, and 1,500V measuring devices to meet the clean energy challenges, to name a few.”

According to Kalidas, the latest T&M solutions aim to keep the electrical assets in T&D utilities healthy and to keep regular checks on its performance as well as output. “Test and measuring instruments are now SMART and are capable to effectively measure, monitor and record the essential parameters in the power industry. Such measurements not only confirm the maximum availability of the electrical assets but also keep checks on safety of the assets,” says Kalidas. With these smart and intuitive measuring instruments, the user can execute complete inspection, troubleshooting and take timely corrective actions to ensure continuous operation of the T&M sector with safer maintenance technique or without shutting down the entire power transmission network.

According to Narendra, one of the new trends is IoT-enabled devices helping in remote and online monitoring of the power sector devices. The handheld and desktop instruments with the Bluetooth technology is also an upcoming trend to avoid the physical contact with the devices under test. The data logging and data analysis with the help of software is the way forward. “Touch-screen displays on the measurement instruments are gaining more acceptances over the conventional displays due to their user-friendliness, reliability and aesthetic appeal,” he observes.

New products & technologies

With the evolving technologies and changing industry requirements, it has become imperative for T&M players to come up with products with matching technologies. As Prabhakaran highlights, “Fluke’s recently introduced acoustic imagers are quickly becoming the preferred tool for engineers and technicians in the HV transmission and distributions as well as the HV machinery industries to detect and localise Partial Discharge (PD).” Acoustic imagers are also used to detect leakage of compressed air or vacuum or gas leaks in utility facilities.

Kalidas elaborates, “Early identification of imminent malfunctions is critical for electrical components like switching cabinets. Testo offers efficient assistance to its customers involved in such predictive maintenance and facility management, in the form of new Wi-Fi enabled thermal imager testo 883.” With the testo Thermography App, thermal images can be quickly analysed on a smartphone/ tablet or shared with colleagues, decision makers and managers. Readings from the testo 770-3 clamp meter and testo 605i smart thermo-hygrometer are also integrated directly into the thermal image. Testo India also provides testo 890 high end thermal imagers that can be used to conduct thermal inspections in transmission lines up to 765 kV voltage level, using a super telephoto lens with correspondingly high resolution, conveniently from the ground. Along with that a very advantageous feature of ‘site recognition’ is also available in the IRsoft software of this thermal imager.

Rishabh Instruments has recently come up with the next-generation 5kV/10kV digital insulation testers. According to Narendra, these products are completely suitable for field testing and have proven their mettle in the worst test conditions. These new insulation testers are complemented with 8mA noise rejection current and filter to remove the noise effect during the testing. “These devices offer a touch-screen facility and an audio read-out facility that announces the results making the instrument user-friendly like never before! Also, it comes with a mobile app facility, which allows the user to operate instrument via mobile phones. This enhances the safety of user,” Narendra adds. According to him, Rishabh is planning to come up with a power clamp meter with Bluetooth communication and Android app which makes power measurement safe and easy, while the state-of-the-art solar clamp meter having 1,500-V and 1,500-A AC/DC measurement range is just around the corner.

Rishabh has plans to come up with more new solutions in future as Narendra says, “We have plans to come up with more products required by T&D sector so as to cater the requirements of this sector and become a prominent choice for the customers. Apart from this, we also have a concrete product roadmap till FY2025 to consolidate our position in this market.”

Opportunities galore

According to Prabhakaran, the T&D sector is flourishing because of the increasing number of startups and S&M businesses. Manufacturing has also been a contributor to the sector’s growth. As the demand for reliable measurements and dependable standards are a vital need in manufacturing, the demand for T&M solutions would rise remarkably in future for the T&D sector. “With the increased focus on smart grids and addition of green technology solutions to the grid, the opportunity for test and measurement instrumentation in this sector is ever-growing,” says Prabhakaran.

According to Kalidas, T&M is one of the rapidly growing segments and is a crucial part of electrical and T&D segment with numerous opportunities. “We intend to offer solutions that are relevant, precise, user-friendly, ensure environment health, power optimisation and human comfort. In the years to come, our T&M solutions are expected to gain more and more importance and their implementation for process optimisation and troubleshooting will surely increase,” he adds.

The customer requirements are changing very fast due to changing needs and applications. This brings a lot opportunities on the table to develop the new products as per the changing market needs. “We believe in providing the products as per the customer needs but at the same time to bring something extremely new or pathbreaking which shall change the way we operate the instruments today! This thought process opens the doors for the new and advanced solutions,” Narendra sums up on a positive note.