Substation Residual life estimation – Risk assessment,

Retrofitting or Refurbishment options

Prasad Puthiyeduth Kuniyil, Shiraj Haridasan
Saudi Electricity Company
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract—The utility business in Saudi Arabia is more heavily constrained due to demographic congestions.
than 40 years old with 380 kV network as the backbone Thus, an efficient maintenance program has become an
and underlying distribution substations for the important part of what is often called Asset
transmission system in KSA. Since the inception of utility Management.
business, many new bulk substations are added year after
year and many among them are nearing the end of its life The purpose of maintenance is to extend the
cycle. The anticipated load growth in Saudi Arabia is as equipment lifetime or at least the meantime to the next
such that almost five New EHV level substations are breakdown whose repair may require significant
energized each year with an average investment of about expenditure and outages and temporary reinforcements.
400 MSR for each substations to meet the load growth and This may help in delaying the huge forecasted
reliability indices. This paper presents a holistic approach expenditure in the near future balancing the cash flow.
evaluating the performance of old substation in SEC Furthermore, it is expected that effective maintenance
network, performing necessary Risk Assessment and up- practices can reduce the frequency of service
gradation of various components of this substation to interruptions and many undesirable consequences like
nominal parameters by scheduled actions like up load shedding.
gradation and rehabilitations.
This paper focuses on the reliability assessment of a
A typical 380 kV S/S with 380 kV /132 switchgear , typically old 380 kV substation in the kingdom, which is
380 kV / 132 kV CTs & VTs , 380 /132 kV Surge arrestors nearing its expected penultimate age of 30 Years. In
, 380 /132 kV Power transformers / 380 kV Reactors / 132 addition, the refurbishment plans to extend the life span
kV Cable circuits / Control & protection System / of this typical substation is made thereby delaying any
Auxiliary transformer / AC & DC system / Support further huge investments to meet the load demands. This
structure System / Infrastructure and civil buildings / etc. also recommends guidelines for the maintenance to be
will be considered for the risk assessment. Certain performed to meet the aging of typically old substations
common formula will be established for the risk in the kingdom or elsewhere, than to plan for the new
assessment of all these components and schedule for investments dismantling the aged facilities.
various upgrading / overhauling will be proposed in order
to obtain an optimized life cycle of the substation.
III. TYPICAL CONFIGURATION OF PRESENT
Keywords—Refubishment, Preventive Manintenace, SUBSTATION
Reliability Centered Maintenance Many of the new 380 KV substations deployed in the
kingdom are utilizing a breaker and a half configuration
I. NOMENCLATURE with the underlying 132 kV substation configuration of
CB – Circuit Breaker breaker and half. The substation under consideration is a
DS – Disconnect Switch typically old substation with a double bus single breaker
ES – Earthing Switch configuration with two bus sections and coupler
arrangement as shown in Appendix -I with the
SA – Surge Arrester
equipment list as in Table 1:
CT – Current Transformer
VT – Voltage Transformer Table 1
Component Make Year
RCM- Reliability Centered Maintenance
O&M – Operation and Maintenance Circuit Breaker HGAB 420 1987
NKT 420
II. INTRODUCTION Disconnect Switch NKV 420 1987
The utility business in Saudi Arabia is more than 30 NAA 420
years old. Company is deploying a periodic maintenance Surge Arrester XAR 120 1987
strategy as a preventive maintenance measure. Such Power Transformer TCA 55 1987
preventive maintenance programs help improving the
Current transformer IGE 145 1987
equipment’s performance against wear and tear. The
average life span of many of the equipment’s being 30 Voltage Transformer EGFC 145 1987
years and its replacements or reinforcements being Auxillary Tranformer DOHKX 1987

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Riyadh, Granada-A6 Building, Floor 2. E-mail: [email protected]
 IV. PRESENT MAINTENANCE STRATEGY T1,T2, T3 and T4 indicates the respective years after
The company normally deploys a preventive energization typically in the rage 2.5, 5,10 and 20 as
maintenance strategy for the maintenance of main specified by the manufacturer. Similarly, N1, N2, N3
substation components and its ancillaries. It can be and N4 indicate the number of operations typically
widely classified according to four levels as detailed 2500,5000,10000, 20000 as specified by the
below. manufacturer.

Level 1: Visual Checks V. RISK ASSESSMENT OF TYPICAL SUBSTATION

Visual checks are carried out occasionally, for In this analysis a widely used empirical approach
instance whenever an operator is on site. These called reliability centered maintenance (RCM) based on
checks can be carried out just by visual O&M personnel’s experience and manufacturers’
inspection based on the experience of the recommendations are used. RCM is based on condition
personnel without interrupting the continuity of monitoring, failure cause analysis, and investigation for
supply operation needs and priorities, in order to select critical
components and prioritize maintenance steps.
Level 2: Extended Checks
Risk assessments with such approach for various
Extended Checks are normally carried out by components are based on a component X/Y plot as
trained operators from the company. During shown in fig: two depicting the condition of the
this assessment the equipment or the equipment versus importance of the equipment.
mechanism are put out of service. Maximum
intervals for these checks are envisaged by
periodic intervals or numbers of operations as
outlined in the operation manual.
Level 3: Service
This level attributes to the works carried out by
certified personnel from the manufacturer side.
Intervals of services are in accordance with the
numbers of operations or periodic intervals as
outlined in the operation manual.
Level 4: Refurbishment / Replacement
The equipment and accessories are refurbished
by the respective manufactures or replaced
based on the operating conditions or the
number of operations as insisted by the
manufacturer. Fig 2: X/Y Plot for Component Risk Evaluation

The entire maintenance strategy are summarized in The condition of the equipment is based on the
the table - 2 with category A comprises normally CT’s, application and design, environment, number of
VT’s, Surge Arrester, etc. and category B comprises operations, operational experience, maintenance
normally of the circuit breakers, earthing/disconnecting program and the availability of spares while the
switches, transformers, etc. importance of the components based on the criticality of
Table 2 loads, environmental impacts. The components
condition grades from 0-100, where 0 is the best and 100
Frequency /
Equipment A Equipment B is the poorest.
No period of
Category Category The reliability analysis of the substation enabling in
maintenance calculating the importance of the components according
to its contribution to the outage rates. Customer
1 Occasionally Level 1 Level 1
feedback is considered for the validation of components
2 T1 years - Level 2 importance. The importance is defined as a value
3 T2 years Level 2 - between 0 and 100, where 0 is the lowest and 100 is the
4 T3 years - Level 3
highest.
5 T4 years Level 3 - The portion below the green line indicates a low risk
of the equipment’s and the portion above red line
6 N1 operations - Level 2
indicates high risks and require immediate actions. The
7 N2 operations Level 2 portion within these indicates moderate risk and may
8 N3 operations Level 3 Level 3 require actions in the near future. This indicates as the
importance of the equipment goes high, risk involved
9 N4 operations Level 4 Level 4
also increases. The important components of the typical
substation including circuit breakers, disconnect and
earthing switches, current and voltage transformers,
surge arresters, protection auxiliary equipment’s are
validated in this paper for risk assessment and its
findings are indicated from fig – 3-7

Fig 4: Risk Evaluation of DS &ES 1

Fig 3: Risk Evaluation of Circuit Breakers

Here k X05 indicated the Circuit Breaker associated

with the Xth Bay. Simple interpretation of the graph
indicates that none of the breakers evaluated are at safe
level. Breakers associated with bays 1, 2, 5 and 6 are at
moderate risk while the remaining are at higher risk and
need immediate intervention. The reasons attributed to
the differential risk for the breakers could be due to the
number of operations of the breakers compared to its
counterparts i.e. the feeder breakers operates (normally
and with fault) more during its lifecycle compared to the
section breakers hence at higher risk. In addition, the
feeder’s breakers are more important to meet the
reliability indices. This is in line with the RCM Fig 5: Risk Evaluation of Power Transformer
assumptions considered.
Figure 5 indicates the risk evaluation performed for
Figure 4 depicts the risk evaluation of disconnect and the two transformers considered. From the graph, it is
earthling switches. The bay designation of components clear that the transformers are at moderate risk and does
corresponding from points A to F are shown in table 2. not require immediate attention as the company had
The plot gives an indication that the elements practiced a structured maintenance program.
corresponding to F is under high risk while the
remaining components are at moderate risk seeking
immediate intervention.
Table 3

Points Disconnect Switch ID's

K101Y,K104,K106,K501Y,K504,K506,K201Y,
A
K204
K103,K101X,K503,K501X,K203,K201X,K603,
B
K601X
C K101,K501,K201,K601
D K301,K303,K401,K403,K401X
E K301X,K301Y,K304,K306,K401Y,K404,K406
K131A,K131B,K134,K136,K231A,K231B,
F K234,K236,K121A,K121B,K124A,K124B,
K221A, K221B,K224A,K224B
Fig 6: Risk Evaluation of CT & VT
 Reliability”, IEEE Transactions On Power
Systems, Vol. 16, No. 4, November, 2001.
[3] Richard E. Brown and Bruce G. Humphrey,”
Asset Management for Transmission and
Distribution”, IEEE power and Energy
Magazine June 2005.
[4] Haifeng Ge ,”Maintenance Optimization for
Substations with Aging Equipment”, PhD
thesis work available in internet.
[5] Saudi Electricity Company Substation
Maintenance Manual.

BIOGRAPHY
Prasad P K is a Lead engineer at Engineering and
Fig 7: Risk Evaluation of SA
Design Department at Saudi Electricity Company. He is
in charge of the Design Review of EHV substations in
Figure 7 indicates the risk evaluation performed for the Central Operating Area of the Company. He
Surge arresters considered. The evaluation shows surge graduated and holds a Bachelor degree in Electrical
arresters considered are of lower risk and does not need Engineering from Calicut University. He is having a
any immediate intervention. more than 25 years’ experience in Electrical Engineering
Design, Project Management, Construction, Operation &
VI. PROPOSED MAINTENANCE STRATEGY Maintenance of Substations.
Based on the analysis of the components presented in Shiraj Haridasan is a planning Engineer at EHV
this paper, a sequential procedure is proposed which Network Planning Department of Saudi Electricity
could be adopted for all the substations, which are Company. He holds a Bachelor degree in Electrical
typically applicable to the substations in the utility. This Engineering from Mahatma Gandhi University and
is shown in Appendix –II. This contains the proposal of Masters in Power Systems from Kerala University. He is
routine periodic assessments and intermittent having a more than 13 years’ experience in Electrical
performance check, than the prevailing practice of Engineering Design, Power System Studies.
condition based monitoring deployed in the company.

VII. CONCLUSION
Effective maintenance strategy is an essential tool in
any utility industry. With growing importance of
reliability of power supply requirements, it is necessary
to adopt an effective maintenance strategy like RCM
than the primitive periodic maintenance strategy. An
effective maintenance strategy can extend the life span
of the entire substation itself, which may help in
delaying or cancelling new projects.

VIII.ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Author would like to acknowledge the valuable
support of the EHV Engineering and Design Department
for the extended support in preparing this paper.

REFERENCES
[1] J.Endrenyi ,G.J Anders , “Probabilistic
Evaluation of the Effect of Maintenance
Reliability - An Application”, IEEE
Transaction on Power Systems Vol.13
No.2,May 1998.
[2] J. Endrenyi, S. Aboresheid, R. N. Allan, G. J.
Anders, “The Present Status of Maintenance
Strategies and the Impact of Maintenance on
Appendix –I
 Appendix –II
Evaluate the substation based on the physical
conditions and the outage rates and aging.

Is age more than

Manufacturer’s
No Recommendation

Yes

Is physical
No
condition
satisfactory

Yes

Yes No. of operations >

Manufacturers
Recommendation

No

Estimate the electrical parameters of the components

eg
contact resistance for CB’s, DS and ES
insulation level for TF’s , CT’s and VT’s

No Electrical parameters Yes

are satisfactory

Rank the components as per the

importance Continue with the normal operations

Decide on the appropriate maintenance

strategy like retrofit, overall, refurbishment

Perform the Economic Evaluation with the

selected Strategy

Decommission and Replace with Yes Economically viable

New Substation compared to new
substation

No

Implement the selected

Maintenance Strategy