Global | November 8, 2024

Breathing New Life into Ageing Air-Insulated Substations

With new substation construction often hindered by regulations and community resistance, upgrading existing facilities has become a critical focus.

 

Image for illustration purposes.

As electrical infrastructure ages worldwide, utilities face the challenge of maintaining reliable substations while managing costs. This is particularly true for air-insulated substations (AIS), which form the backbone of many power networks.

Several strategies exist for revitalising ageing AIS:

  1. Maintain and Monitor: Implementing condition-based maintenance can extend equipment life. This approach uses advanced diagnostics to identify issues before they cause failures, allowing targeted interventions and reducing unnecessary replacements.
  2. Smart Replacements: When individual components fail, quick replacement is essential to restore power. However, a strategic approach to replacing entire equipment generations can minimise downtime and costs. This might involve utilising planned outages or coordinating with other maintenance work.
  3. Partial Renewal: Upgrading specific systems, such as secondary controls or auxiliary equipment, can significantly improve substation performance without a complete overhaul. This approach requires careful planning to ensure compatibility between new and existing components.
  4. Complete Renewal: In cases of severe obsolescence, a total substation rebuild may be necessary. This can be done all at once or in phases, with each approach having pros and cons regarding cost, uniformity of equipment, and operational disruption.
  5. Capacity Upgrades: Renewal projects offer an opportunity to increase substation capacity by installing higher-rated equipment or even raising the nominal voltage of the facility.

Source: Electrical Engineering Portal