On-line Partial Discharge Assessment and Monitoring of MV to EHV Cables

To effectively manage their electricity networks, owners and operators around the world have a very real need to understand the condition of their often ageing Transmission and Distribution assets. Of all the major asset classes, underground cables often have the least available condition data but at the same time have a significant impact on network performance. One of the predominant causes of cable failure is partial discharge (PD) and collection of PD data can help fill this information gap. This paper discusses the practicalities and application of on-line partial discharge testing and monitoring of cables from MV to EHV.