Transmission & Distribution Overhead Line Network Inspections and Maintenance Dr Willie de Beer Independent Consultant South Africa

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1 Transmission & Distribution Overhead Line Network Inspections and Maintenance Dr Willie de Beer Independent Consultant South Africa

2 Presentation Overview Transmission & Distribution Lines in Context Overhead Line Planning & Design Managing Overhead Lines Legal and Regulatory Asset Strategy Maintenance Philosophy Technology Deployment Resource Requirement Future Perspective

3 Transmission & Distribution Lines Context 1 Globally the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) experience changes & challenges. Some of the ESI challenges includes, but are not limited to: Investor requirements Shareholder expectations Customer expectations Business sustainability Capital investment requirements Operating costs Ageing assets Environmental requirements

4 Transmission & Distribution Lines Context 2 Transmission and Distribution overhead lines define the utility footprint & opportunities. Overhead lines represent a substantial portion of the utility asset value. The effective performance of the Transmission and Distribution overhead lines significantly impacts on the revenue earning capability of an electricity utility. The ESI is at risk where the focus is dominated by a generation capacity concern without a holistic ESI view. New market entrants are shaping tomorrow.

5 ESI Challenges

6 The Five Big Utility Challenges

7 Overhead Line Planning and Design

8 Transmission & Distribution Interdependency Source: Aurecon

9 Performance, Capacity & Ageing

10 Overhead Line Planning and Design 1 Resource selection Relevant experience Understanding of the environment Future perspective Current asset performance Topography Line profiling & routing Structure design Foundation design Etc.

11 Overhead Line Planning and Design 2 Infrastructure requirement New Infrastructure Planning for Renewal/Upgrading Replacement Asset life-cycle costs.

12 Overhead line indicative cost ratio While there are many factors such as the operating voltage, structure selection, foundation requirements, terrain, etc influencing the cost of an overhead line, the following reflects an indicative ratio: Foundation 25% Structure 30% Conductor 25% Hardware 10% Design, etc. 10%

13 Dominant Faults Fault Transmission Distribution Lightning related Insulator related Veld fires Vegetation Conductor clashing Connections Pollution Vandalism Wildlife Related Willie de Beer & Associates

14 Managing Overhead Lines 1 Overhead lines form an integral part of the utility asset base and must be managed as such. Procurement errors, ineffective line design and bad construction cannot be corrected through maintenance. Critical indicators: Line availability Line reliability Capacity/load transfer capability Technical losses Customer satisfaction Technical support Operating cost

15 Managing Overhead Lines 2 Legal & Regulatory compliance Regulated business Health, Safety & Environmental compliance Asset management strategy Asset life cycle Design Specification Procurement Construction Commission Operate Retire Maintenance philosophy Frequency based vs predictive reliability/ performance based/etc.

16 Managing Overhead Lines 3 Line working procedures. Performance monitoring, benchmarking & reporting.

17 Basic Inspection Requirements Defined line inspection plan. Sound knowledge of the relevant overhead lines, structures, components and route. Correct equipment to: Access Inspect Evaluate/Assess Communicate Record Knowledge of the relevant servitude/way leave conditions.

18 Basic Maintenance Requirements 1 Asset register. Network/plant location. Defined asset management strategy. Supporting line management & maintenance plan. Emergency/restoration plan. Supporting budget. Pre-job assessment. Critical task assessment and procedures.

19 Basic Maintenance Requirements 2 Line/structure specific task breakdown. Defined specialist tasks. Material, equipment, tools and skilled resources to maintain what was constructed. Sound understanding of the application of project management principles.

20 Basic Maintenance Requirements 3 Maintenance planning & execution must be informed by: Legal, regulatory, health, safety and environmental requirements Network performance statistics/reports Line inspection reports Selection of maintenance execution approach Effective recording.

21 Maintenance Prioritisation Legal and regulatory non-compliance. Probability of failure. Consequences of failure. Environmental, health and safety. Worst served customers/section/plant. Interruptions/100 customers. Faults/100 km. Customer hours lost.

22 Maintenance Recording It is essential to record factors such as: Reliability. Failure rates. Specific problems. Generic problems. Design issues. Environmental factors etc. Recommended next steps/corrective action. Date of maintenance. Maintenance executed.

23 Managing Overhead Lines through Technology Deployment In most jurisdictions the demand for electricity is creating an expansion of the transmission and distribution footprint. Considering the complexity and cost to manage the lines, technology deployment becomes a logic choice. The benefits to be derived through technology deployment includes: Real time information Ability to facilitate proactive asset management Optimised resource deployment Higher network availability

24 Source: CSIR Subsidence Monitoring

25 Drone Inspection

26 Source: SANEDI Return on Asset

27 Future Perspective 1 Overhead Lines are here to stay. The assets are ageing and this aspect must be taken into account in defining the asset management strategy. Advanced technology deployment is required to manage the overhead lines effectively. It is essential that overhead networks must provide open access to IPP s and prosumers. The future will dictate the need for unbundling of the wires and energy component of the tariffs.

28 Future Perspective 2 Considering the network loading, customer expectations and revenue requirements; it is to be expected that live/hot work will become the name of the game. Advanced training and development of resources will be required to satisfy the future skill set requirements. Acquiring servitudes and way leaves will become even more challenging.

29 Future Perspective 3 The historic approach to the management of transmission and distribution entities is at risk. Opportunity to leverage the overhead line footprint to generate alternative revenue streams. Leverage your overhead line knowledge in the rate cases submission.

30 THANK YOU

31 Acknowledgement Aurecon Africoast Hawk 62 CSIR SANEDI Willie de Beer and Associates