Utilization of the monitoring system for MV/LV transformers in smart grid application

Continuous development of the power grid infrastructure in the area of distribution and legal regulations concerning the reliability of the powering consumers of electricity is a challenge for systems used for power system protection. This requires continuous improvement of an existing solutions and development of new methods for fast and reliable identification and location of the disturbances and failures occurring in the network. The application possibilities offered by modern digital devices go far beyond what was the primal purpose, and allows the creation of “intelligent” electric networks. This article presents the equipment used by Polish electricity distributors for monitoring load of the low voltage transformers, describes analyzes carried out in the range of functionality and measurements and mentions capabilities of the data acquisition systems for other purposes. In this paper also considered are the possibilities of usage of existing metering systems and obtained data from them in automation systems supporting the operation of the medium and low voltage networks.