Continuous asset monitoring on the smart grid

The paper considers the potential to continuously monitor critical and important power assets in a smart grid structure. It introduces the smart node concept for multi-factorial monitoring and analysis of a single or cluster of assets. The proposed scheme always includes partial-discharge (PD) measurements because PD is an important distress indicator for insulation deterioration of all HV and most MV equipment. An essential aspect of the continuous monitoring paradigm is that an integrated database is generated that shows selected trend- and distress-indicating variables and extreme events in a consolidated time-sequence record. The data can be processed at the smart-node level. The smart database provides a history of asset operating conditions that facilitates optimal maintenance planning, dynamic rating and improved life-span prediction. The application of continuous monitoring in a smart-grid environment is described using Techimp's PDCheck II (smart node) and TiMS (smart database).