Development of a Plant Health Index for Eskom Distribution Substations

Substation refurbishment planning was traditionally initiated by deteriorated network performance indices and the physical observed state of the network. However, it can also be too late, resulting in deteriorated customer service and unnecessary company risk. A Plant Health Index is developed, to understand and assess the condition of equipment during its life cycle. The plant health index will also be the input required when modeling failure prediction. Distribution networks constitute the majority of installed electrical equipment when compared to transmission and generation networks. Increased failure of aging systems is likely, as equipment which has traditionally been “idling”, is suddenly expected to operate close to 100% capacity.