Examples of Application of a DTS System in a Utility Environment

This chapter contains several examples of the application of a DTS system in BC Hydro. In early 1990s, the utility undertook an extensive program of monitoring some of the more heavily loaded transmission cables. This, most likely, was the first such attempt in the world and it provided a valuable experience for the future similar endeavors around the globe. The chapter shows how temperature monitoring of existing transmission corridors may be conducted by blowing fiber into spare ducts and isolating hot spots along the route. It presents two studies, one of a 230kV system and a second 69kV system, and discusses how the impact of hot spot on future performance. BC Hydro is an electrical utility that has an extensive 230kV underground system in a metropolitan area. Some of these older circuits periodically operate near their thermal limits under first contingency conditions.