PGCIL takes tally of remotely managed substations to 238
Power Grid Corporation of India added three substations to its collection of remotely managed substations under NTAMC/RTAMC, taking the total tally to 238.
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India, Gurugram: During the second quarter of FY21, Power Grid Corporation of India added three substations to its collection of remotely managed substations under NTAMC/RTAMC, taking the total tally to 238.
According to information compiled by the source, based on annual reports and investor presentations of PGCIL, in the first quarter of current fiscal year FY21, only one substation was added to the NTAMC (National Transmission Asset Management Centre)/RTAMC (Regional Transmission Asset Management Centres) architecture. The total achievement in the first half (1 April to 30 September) was four substations.
In FY20, a total of 24 substations were integrated for remote monitoring, whereas in FY19, the performance was even better with 38 substations integrated.
NTAMC was established for remote operation of the system and monitoring of various parameters at the national level. Similarly, Regional Transmission Asset Management Centres were put up for similar function at the regional level.
NTAMC and the various RTAMCs are manned 24/7 by experts, providing real-time and continuous monitoring of PGCIL’s assets and systems. It has been learnt that PGCIL has successfully developed software tool completely in-house for centralized real-time monitoring of transformers and reactors by integrating the sensors installed in the transformers and reactors for Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA).
Online monitoring of transformers / reactors is aimed at detecting early stages of faults and hence reducing sudden catastrophic failures of the same.
The need for setting up a remote monitoring mechanism for substations arose from the simple fact that it would have been economically unviable to monitor substations on site. The number of substations of PGCIL nearly doubled during the period from 2005 (100 substations) to 2012 (192 substations).
PGCIL has 252 substations with an aggregate transformation capacity in excess of 419,800 MVA. The transmission company also had over 1,275 transmission lines with an aggregate length of 168,140 ckm.
Source: T&D India