Advance Condition Assessment Techniques for Improved System Performance

Predictive maintenance is a proven technique to lower operating costs and improve system performance. Capturing and assessing the condition of the transmission and distribution grid enables predictive maintenance, but can be expensive and challenging. New technologies applied to grid surveys using advanced RF emission and Ultrasonic Acoustical emission detection and discrimination provides rapid assessment of large areas of the grid. This presentation will discuss the elements of an effective predictive maintenance strategy: Circuit Selection, Technology Deployment, Circuit Maintenance, and Case Study Results. Specific methods to identify areas of the grid where predictive maintenance strategies will generate measureable system improvements and effective ROI will be demonstrated. The technologies used for grid assessment and deployment strategies will be reviewed. Typical maintenance efforts to utilize the predictive maintenance analytics will be discussed. Case studies of published utility results will demonstrate the immediate and measurable results of a predictive maintenance strategy. Integrating the predictive maintenance analytics with GIS systems will also be demonstrated.