Detection of Incipient Faults Using Waveform Analytics

Utility companies operate distribution feeders in a reactive mode, waiting for failures to occur and then reacting to make repairs and restore service. This has been necessary largely because utility companies historically have lacked means to provide ?visibility? regarding feeder health and operation. Electrical waveforms contain substantial important information regarding feeder faults, incipient equipment failures, and other events, but that ?important? information must be extracted from the underlying, mundane data. Extracting appropriate information provides visibility of system health and operation, thereby enabling condition-based maintenance, improvements in reliability, and better operational efficiency. This panel will discuss methods and share actual experiences on incipient fault detection using waveform analytics. Improved visibility of feeder health and operation is an important feature of the future smart grid.