China deploys transformer fault-prevention technology at ultra-high-voltage substation

(ECNS) - China has put its first active transformer fault-prevention system into operation at the Tianjin South ultra-high-voltage substation, marking a significant step toward improving power-grid safety.

State Grid said the system is designed to pick up abnormal electrical discharge signals inside transformers and shut down the equipment automatically before a fire or explosion can occur.

Tang Yunpeng, a senior engineer at State Grid's North China Branch, said the technology shifts transformer protection from reacting after an accident to heading it off beforehand.

The technology was developed over five years by a research team drawn from 31 organizations, according to State Grid. The company said 33 trial systems had run for three years without a single false activation, despite more than 1.8 million interference tests.

The system has been adapted for transformers operating at 110 kilovolts and above, and State Grid expects to roll it out in more provinces as part of a wider push to modernize the power grid.

(By Zhang Jiahao)