CIGRE Paris 2022 – Interview with Jong Geon Lee, KEPCO
Transformers Magazine brings a new interview from CIGRE Paris 2022, with Jong Geon Lee from Korean Electric Power Corporation.
On the photo: Jong Geon Lee, KEPCO
Transformers Magazine brings a new interview from CIGRE Paris 2022, with Jong Geon Lee from Korean Electric Power Corporation.
Mr. Lee, I would like you to tell us about KEPCO, which is the major Korean utility, especially relating to transformers, as well as something about yourself.
Korea Electric Power Corporation, better known as KEPCO or Hanjeon, is the largest electric utility in South Korea, responsible for the transmission and distribution of electricity and the development of electric power projects including those in nuclear power, wind power, and coal.
Out of the number of transformers that we operate, more than 80 % of oil-filled transformers, and we also use GIT (gas-insulated transformer).
About myself, well, I received my BSc degree from Hanyang University, Ansan, Korea, in 2012, and following that I got a master’s degree in engineering, precisely, my master’s thesis was on insulation and high voltage systems. After that did a PhD thesis on the transient analysis of HVAC and HVDC systems, from the same university.
My current research interests mainly include condition monitoring and diagnosis of HVAC and HVDC power equipment structures and transient phenomena analysis.
Your responsibility at KEPCO is to implement overall monitoring systems for transformers and substations. Can you tell us about this? In which phase are these projects and when will they be completed?
Well, one project is almost finished. It is currently in the on-site testing phase. So, my following project is working on a bushing monitoring system. Since conventional bushing monitoring systems produce reports mainly on offline data, such as power factor monitoring, leakage current monitoring, and tan delta. Partial discharge monitoring is also performed, but on a very low frequency, under 30 MHz, because it uses C3 in the bushing tap. Therefore, this method is extremely sensitive to noise because there is a lot of noise under 3 MHz, known as radiofrequency. So, we have developed a new type of sensor that includes HF and VHF. It enables us to gather signals from bushings on a single VHF frequency band, so it is resistant to the influence of noise. We have developed a new analysis, which will be able to separate the defect signal from the noise signal.
You also said that sustainability is a rather important topic at KEPCO and that you are responsible for that part, too. Can you tell us what you see as opportunities to improve the sustainability of transformers? Could it be through transformer monitoring or more efficient transformers, or something else?
Increasing the efficiency of transformers is not within my responsibility, others deal with that. In my case, I am responsible for increasing the sustainability of transformers by performing monitoring and diagnosis, i.e., through asset management.
I would like to highlight our efforts in increasing the sustainability of transformers. Therefore, we plan to achieve that by improving surveillance and diagnostic systems.
#CIGRE Paris 2022#interview#Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)