Calibrating power equipment safety with digitised testing and measurement

Industry leaders talk about the increasing significance of testing and measurement (T&M) in the power sector and also discuss upcoming opportunities in the market.

Accurate and reliable T&M products coupled with Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled communication systems are greatly helping to monitor transmission line assets almost on a 24/7 basis. Effective implementation of condition monitoring systems and incorporating best practices for maintenance can significantly improve the efficiency of the transmission systems apart from reducing safety-related concerns. We look at how the T&M market is faring and the new opportunities and developments that can benefit market players.

Green Energy Corridor project boosts demand for T&M
With the introduction of the Green Energy Corridor project, which includes evacuation of renewable energy from generation points to the load centres, it has become very much essential to monitor and control the generation cycle to effectively balance the supply and demand gap. Also, it is necessary to check the uptime of all the equipment and electrical assets that contribute to the entire chain of generation, transmission, and distribution of power. Without testing and measurement, it is not possible to achieve maximum availability of such equipment dedicated in generation, transmission, and distribution. There are two main sources of green energy, i.e., solar and wind power, which contribute maximum to renewable energy generation in India. In both these sectors, condition monitoring of the electrical assets, inspection of mechanical components and other troubleshooting tasks have prime importance.

Parag Yelegaonkar, Business Development Manager, Testo India Pvt. Ltd. said, “Testo’s electrical instruments are used for checking electrical components. Testo Thermal Imagers are used for predictive and preventive maintenance of solar panels and balance of plant. Right from performance and condition assessment to man and machine safety, T&M products are a mandatory solution. Hence, the demand of testing and measurement will boost year on year as we will have to keep on adding the capacities in green energy which is the need of the hour.”

The Green Energy Corridor Project aims at synchronising electricity produced from renewable sources such as solar and wind with conventional power stations in the grid. The project includes transmission lines and substations. Manoj Sharma, Partner, Cambridge Instruments and Engg. Co elaborates, “The purpose is to evacuate large-scale renewable power and improvement of the grid in the implementing states. To achieve this efficiently, there will be high demand of various T&M products to check safety, quality, and proper operation with better integrations.”

Increasing thrust on clean energy and renewable energy for filling the demand-supply gap is throwing newer challenges to designers and engineers. This also calls for newer technology products to meet the testing and measurement needs both in the laboratory and on the field. Prabhakaran PV, Head – Product Management, Fluke India explains, “Fluke as a leader in testing and measurement and calibration has already launched an array of test instruments for testing the integrity of the renewal energy sources and its power quality. The PMU calibration system introduced by Fluke a few years ago is still a unique solution to calibrate the PMUs used in such projects.”

T&M for enhancing the efficiency of transmission lines
Asset maintenance is also critical for transmission lines and substation equipment for efficient and prolonged operation. When T&D losses increasingly leak the profit of power generation and transmission companies, it is imperative that appropriate testing and measurement technologies are put in place to avoid such unwanted loses. PV stated, “T&M products like earth testers, insulation testers, thermal imagers, and corona detectors are generally used to ensure trouble-free and efficient operation of the transmission assets.”

Power sector plays a very crucial role in the industry. Transmission utility is the core pillar between the entire energy generation points and the end users, and one cannot afford to experience a shutdown or higher lead time of power plants. Many a time maintenance engineers encounter problems like power losses, system failures, grid collapse and at worse even accidents, which are uninvited and unforeseen. Hence, without testing and measuring the necessary parameters, one cannot imagine 100 percent uptime and maximum efficiencies of the T&D system.

Thermal imagers are very important for the enhancement of life of any power plant. Right from the beginning, i.e., installation phase, thermal imagers can be used for setting up benchmark parameters and for all kinds of troubleshooting jobs. Most importantly, in the T&D segment like the electrical connection points and insulators for overhead power lines in substations or the overhead power lines in high-voltage systems, switch yards and transmission lines (up to point of coupling) must be regularly checked for routine maintenance for thermal anomalies detection purposes. For inaccessible locations, testing can be done by thermal inspection as a predictive maintenance tool from a safe distance, without endangering the user or needing to shut down the entire power transmission network.

T&M plays a considerable role in the power sector. It helps certify, calibrate and assess the quality and reliability of power equipment. T&M products help in enhancing the efficiency of the transmission line business. During the installation phase of any power plant, T&M is very much required and is used in setting up the most important parameters for various process tags. Sharma adds, “Equipment like current and potential transformers, circuit breakers, isolators, surge arrestors, insulators, relays, contractors, busbar, joints, etc. are checked and maintained in running conditions by using suitable testing, measuring, monitoring and diagnostic instruments like HV breakdown testers, micro ohm meter (offline as well as online, i.e., dynamic contact resistance meter), relay test set, primary and secondary current injection test set, insulation tester, earth resistance tester, power analyser, harmonic analyser, clamp meter, etc. One can assess the ongoing health, losses or leakages, and correctness of operational performances. T&M helps in early detection of defects or deviations, enables corrective actions, avoids possible breakdowns, and maintains efficiency of transmission lines.”

Business opportunities with emerging smart cities
The smart city project in India envisages better infrastructure and a clean and sustainable environment for a better quality of life for its citizens through economic growth by applying smart solutions. Once implemented correctly, the entire institutional, social and economic infrastructure in these cities are going to be more than what it is today. Sharma explains, “There are immense business opportunities with emerging smart cities. Smart solutions like waste management, energy management, water management, mobility, and connectivity are going to be implemented in such cities. All these modern cities will throw open larger opportunities for all kind of businesses including T&M and instrumentation without a doubt.” This will be a great opportunity for many start-up companies to come, address, and give effective solutions for urban management, waste management, and analytics.

The main objectives of smart cities are to essentially have efficient supply of water, power, transport, and medical facilities and to provide green and clean environment to the society. Yelegaonkar said, “In order to provide such essential services effectively with the highest level of safety, performance, automation and sophistication, we need to introduce the test and measuring instruments, either portable in nature or the stationary one, at every step.” Hence, the business opportunities and research and development scope are immense in this sector of functionality.

Challenges in the T&M business
In spite of the considerable benefits in the use of T&M instruments, there are still some bottlenecks for producers and distributors of T&M instruments in India. It is true that we have a very competitive market; therefore, the purchasing process should consider a lot of important factors such as product quality, longevity, performance, and serviceability. Yelegaonkar says, “In majority of the procurement policies, cost is the top criteria while making any decision and not the safety of human and equipment. Equal importance to both cost and quality should be the prime focus. This has largely impacted the T&M business in the last couple of years.”

There is huge competition due to Chinese products. Indian manufacturers are suffering heavily due to T&M products that are imported from China. We are lagging far behind our Chinese counterparts due to the lack of component industries in India. Almost all components for advanced level instruments are from China and our finished products become costlier than the Chinese finished products. In light of this, Sharma said, “There are very limited incentives available from the Indian government. There is a lack of government infrastructure for research and development to back up small and medium industries. The government should come up with component industries with latest technology. More research and development departments should be set up with knowledgeable personnel having the latest technology to provide backup to small and medium enterprises to produce cost-efficient products.” The government should also come up with institutes to train technicians with the latest world-class technology. Both financial and technological help is required from the Indian government to boost the T&M business.

Latest technologies in T&M
Technological innovations such as Industrial Communication Technique, IoT, wireless and Bluetooth-based instruments, artificial intelligence, microprocessor- and micro controller-based, PC interfaced instruments are the latest in T&M. Sharma said, “IoT is a platform where regular devices are connected to the Internet, so that they can interact, collaborate and exchange data with each other, reducing human intervention in a machine cycle.“ IoT has got immense application in industrial automation by overcoming problems such as inconsistency in data entry, time consumption in production and reporting, labour and staff training cost, and lack of security.

PV claims, “Newer technologies and solutions call for new technology measurements too. To meet measurement challenges in clean and renewable technologies, electric vehicles and Industry 4.0 requirements, T&M too is innovating on a much faster pace by implementing IIoT and new technology measurement solutions for high-voltage and complex power electronics applications like inverters and EV chargers, etc. Fluke as a market leader has launched its connected devices way back in 2013 to meet the Industry 4.0 requirements and is currently one of the very few players in the spectrum of test tools who meets such requirements. Many products of Fluke like the portable oscilloscopes, power analysers, etc. come with highest isolation of the channels and ensure that these instruments can be used effectively and without compromising user safety. The engineers and designers are looking for accurate, reliable and safe instruments for their new measurement challenges and we strive to meet such challenges with every new product we launch.”

In the current scenario when we are witnessing a great development prospect in all the industrial areas, the development and growth in the T&M sector is happening in the areas of modernisation of the network, digitisation of existing systems, and instruments getting intuitive. Additionally, adaptation of smart technology and wireless operation, coupled with the ease of saving and transferring data over networks, has made test and measuring instruments more user-friendly, interactive and cost-effective.

Right from performance and condition assessment to man and machine safety, T&M products are a mandatory solution.
Parag Yelegaonkar, Business Development Manager, Testo India Pvt. Ltd.

There will be high demand of various T&M products to check safety, quality, and proper operation with better integrations.
Manoj Sharma, Partner, Cambridge Instruments and Engg. Co

T&M products like earth testers, insulation testers, thermal imagers, and corona detectors are generally used to ensure trouble-free and efficient operation of the transmission assets.
Prabhakaran PV, Head – Product Management, Fluke India