Expert Focus
Read the interview with Patricia Rouquette, our Energy Market Manager, presenting the issues encountered in distribution network infrastructure and the solutions proposed by Chauvin Arnoux Energy.
What are the issues encountered and what are the risk factors?
The main problems facing network managers are premature aging of the power transformers and equipment, technical losses and so-called "non-technical losses" linked to fraud.
A high temperature and a heavy load on the transformer significantly reduce its life span. Degraded ambient conditions in the transformer substation increase the probability of failure in the equipment composing it.
Significant overloading of the LV feeders and excessive heating of the cables and transformers may cause technical losses.
What impact can this have?
Premature aging or failure of the equipment in a substation not only generates maintenance costs, but may also have a negative impact on the network's users.
The technical losses, meanwhile, contribute to network operating cost overruns and may reach an annual volume which is greater than the electricity consumption of the network's largest customer.
Furthermore, the variability of the load on the transformers due to decentralized generation flows makes sizing the equipment more complex.
Is there a preventive solution available to avoid these issues?
GridWatch, the substation supervision solution developed by Chauvin Arnoux Energy, is ideal for preventing these issues. Based on the integration of the Ulys MCM multi-channel meter and sensors monitoring electrical or physical quantities, it can be used to:
- Monitor the transformer's load level and unbalance
- Monitor the energy flows at the level of the feeds and feeders on the substations in order to trace potential technical and non-technical losses
- Assess the available reserve or the effective overloading of the feeders by measuring the power and the current at the level of the LV feeders
- Monitor the temperature and the connection hot spots on the transformer and the ambient conditions and the hot spots and humidity in the MV cells
- Detect flooding by monitoring the water level in the substations
- Detect intrusions in the substations
