INSULATION SELECTION AND MAINTENANCE PHILOSOPHIES OF AN AUSTRALIAN UTILITY OPERATING IN AN ELECTRICITY MARKET

摘要

The establishment of the Electricity Market in Australia has caused many transmission utilities to re-focus their attention. Instead of driving their older assets harder they are now more concerned with improving asset value and reducing O&M costs. Within Powerlink this has led to a commitment to condition based maintenance over routine maintenance and large-scale utilization of new technologies to support it. To combat the costly maintenance methods traditionally used for remote transmission lines helicopters are now seen as a cost effective alternative, particularly when combined with improved condition monitoring equipment. Following several years of evaluation, polymer insulation is now the preferred form of insulation for all new Powerlink projects. It is now not only less expensive than ceramic but also has reduced on-going maintenance costs, better pollution performance, and combines perfectly with the helicopter maintenance philosophy. There is a serious issue in Australia with parrots destroying the polymers during the construction period and the additional cost to negate this is considerable but not sufficient to abandon their use. Wider use in the substation arena is now being seriously considered.