TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION

High voltage disconnect switches:

critical to smart grid deployment
by Patrick Lalong and William Morse, EHT International

With the massive investments globally in smart grid architecture projects as part of the economic stimulus packages injected in the world
economies, we are witnessing new strategies in the high voltage industry internationally.

The challenge is serious; to build

architectures capable of integrating
multiple innovations developed to
improve overall practices in the electrical
production, transport and distribution
cycle. Technologies such as wind or solar
devices, specialised monitoring devices
for high voltage equipment and household
energy management devices will all speak
the same language and rely on smart grid
architecture to communicate.
Utilities are in the process of determining
the strategies to optimise their operation Fig. 1: Pantograph disconnect switches.
and maintenance practices. In short,
they are determining the equipment they
will monitor, the parameters that will be
recorded. It has become apparent that
utilities all agree to monitor high value
equipment such as power transformers,
circuit breakers, alternators and turbines.
But we notice the strategies for monitoring
high voltage (HV) disconnect switches
is far from being unanimous. This article
discusses the reasons why many utilities
are not integrating or simply ignoring HV
disconnect switches in their smart grid
monitoring strategies. It also demonstrates
the technical and economical value of
monitoring this equipment. Finally, it takes
a look at the progress that has been
made in the field of monitoring disconnect
switches.
The main reason utilities are reluctant to
integrate the HV disconnect switches in
their smart grid strategies is that disconnect
switches are relatively inexpensive
compared to other HV equipment and do Fig. 2: Vertical break disconnect switch.
not attract the attention of management.
There has been no development in HV the grid operators. Every time a blackout HV disconnect switches can be
disconnect switches technology in the past occurs, utilities and their customers lose monitored primarily from the motor
30 years. Surprisingly, disconnect switch millions of dollars in transit loss penalties, operating mechanism. To do so, the old
controls are still electromechanical and and operational losses. This statement electromechanical technology is replaced
have not yet been converted to electronic shows the immediate relation between by an intelligent electronic controller
controls. Therefore, when utility decision outages and HV disconnect switches. and an optical positioning system is
makers set their priorities for monitoring However, economic costs caused by incorporated for precise position control
devices, HV disconnect switches are disconnect switch failures are not limited to and measurement of the arm of the
generally at the bottom of the list. But is these isolated events. We have determined disconnect. Ironically, this technology can
this attitude justifiable? that between 10 and 20% of the total be installed in most existing disconnect
annual maintenance costs in substations switch housings at more or less the
In a document titled the Smart Grid:
is allocated to HV disconnect switches. same cost as utilities pay for refurbishing
an introduction, prepared for the US
Considering the human resources, and the the electromechanical technology of
Department of Energy by Litos Strategic
economic costs related to the equipment their old motor operating mechanisms.
Communication, we learn: More
Electronic controls allow for variable speed
blackouts and brownouts are occurring breakages, we determined that hundreds
control and monitoring of the following
[in United States] due to the slow response of millions of dollars in maintenance is
parameters:
times of mechanical switches, a lack of allocated to HV disconnect switches every
automated analytics, and poor visibility a year. Therefore ignoring disconnect switch Disconnect mechanism position
lack of situational awareness on the part of monitoring does not make sense. Motor current, voltage and torque

energize - November 2011 - Page 26


Fig. 3: Disconnect contacts.
Fig. 4: Conventional cabinet with cam switches.
Fig. 5: Optical positioning system.
Monitoring of the controller
Temperature
Humidity
Operation time
Benefits
Based on the recorded data, the
operator benefits from real time alarm
generation and various time and
position based analysis allowing for
just-in-time maintenance. As well ageing,
maintenance, and mechanical studies
can be performed to increase life of the
equipment. On an economic perspective,
electronically monitored controllers
decrease the HV disconnect switch
operational costs thanks to the following
aspects.
Preventive maintenance time reduction
The monitoring of the disconnect motor
operation allows for the substantial
reduction of the preventive maintenance
TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
time, energy and labour. The preventive
maintenance is replaced by just-in-time
maintenance. Therefore, maintenance
is performed only when required prior to
failures saving time and money.
Energy loss reduction
Re a l t i m e m o n i t o r i n g a l l o w s f o r t h e
detection of failures before they occur such
that energy losses caused by substation
equipment failure are significantly reduced.
Energy losses can be reduced by ensuring
better contact pressure by monitoring the
position of the blade in the jaw of the switch.
Mechanical failure rate reduction
Electronic monitoring has the ability to
detect a significant change in the motor
torque, according to predefined values,
and adjusts the operational speed to
avoid mechanical failures. Motor current
is continuously monitored such that
overcurrent situations can be prevented
thus increasing motor life.
Detection and intervention time
significantly reduced
Intelligent controllers generate alarms
to notify operators when a problem
occurs or when motor torque exceeds
predetermined parameters. Error codes
are displayed to help diagnose the
problem source. Operational data is stored
within the controller for diagnosis when an
alarm is raised.
Equipment and grid life time increase due
to reduction of harmful harmonics
Electronically controlled HV disconnect
switches with the variable speed motors
can decrease the duration of the electric
arc reducing the harmful harmonics
injected in the grid. Decreasing the
harmonics, which damage the insulating
paper of current and power transformers
will, therefore, increase the operational life
of the transformers.
The development of a motorised control
cabinet with smart grid capabilities
Five years of research and development
have culminated in iCOD (intelligent
control operation disconnect) and iMCC
(intelligent motorised control cabinet).
Designed to provide utilities and heavy
industrials a level of security for their
substations and grids not previously
available. Disconnect switches by their
ver y nature are used in part to isolate
areas within substations in order that
maintenance can be performed, thus
they are an integral part in the security and
safety of substation personnel. However,
conventional designs have elements that
cannot be relied upon should connection
to a smart grid be required. One main
component that requires much attention
of substation personnel is the cam switches
found in conventional motorised control
cabinets (Fig. 4).
The cam switches are used to signal
energize - November 2011 - Page 27
Fig. 6: Intelligent motorised control cabinet.
the utility and other devices within the
substation on the proper opening and
closing of the disconnect switch. Over time
the cams become loose and they can
no longer be trusted. Also, since they can
lose their positioning with time, they may
not maintain the proper closed position
of the disconnect switch itself over time.
If the blade is not properly seated within
the jaw of the switch, there will be losses
and the switch will overheat. iCOD ensures
that the proper position of the blade in
the jaw occurs at each closing. If not, an
alarm is raised. This positioning system has
eliminated the need for cam switches
completely. The optical positioning system
(Fig. 5) provides the added smart grid
abilities whereby the user can now trust
the signals sent by the controller. Since
the unit now knows where the arm of the
disconnect is, at all times throughout
manoeuvres, the devise can now be truly
operated remotely. In many cases, with the
conventional technology, crews must be
sent to witness openings and closings of
disconnects. This can now be eliminated.
All monitored parameters can be
communicated to substation control
rooms via many popular communication
protocols. Alarms can be trigger remotely
or simply by the local display. As more than
a year's worth of operations are stored
in the unit, stored data can be used to
diagnose incipient faults in the disconnect.
Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that
including HV disconnect switches in smart
grid deployment would benefit utilities by
optimizing their maintenance practices
and increasing their grid reliability. It is
not justifiable that utility decision makers
ignore this piece of equipment in their
smart grid strategies. The last major piece
of equipment found in substations now
has the ability to be controlled more
efficiently, monitored in real time, predict
failures and alarm when required. Proper
monitoring of the lowly disconnect switch in
the end will save millions of revenue dollars.
The savings will come in the form of less
maintenance required, less load losses due
to overheating, predictive maintenance
instead of preventive maintenance,
catastrophic failure prevention and less
human intervention.
Contact Mario Kuisis, Martec,
Tel 011 485-2717, mario@martec.co.za