Overview & Events
Background and Objectives
An important question related to the reliable and cost-effective supply of electricity is the prevention of failure of substation assets such as transformers and breakers. Performance of substation assets is very important. Previous EPRI research has shown that there are commercially available substation robotics solutions that could be deployed in the substation and collect data from the assets either on-demand or 24/7. However, the open research question is what analytical tool could be deployed on a mobile autonomous substation robotic technology and how well could they predict possible asset condition changes to prevent unscheduled outages and unexpected failure. The results will be of direct public benefit through improved reliability of electricity supply and provide online inspection for real-time assessment without personnel onsite.
The approach may be to research and evaluate on commercially available analytical platforms that could be deployed on any mobile autonomous robotic solutions. The analytical software packages will be evaluated by integrating the data obtained from a mobile robotic solution 24/7 deployed in the EPRI 138 kV research substation in Lenox MA. The evaluation will be performed by introducing different asset degradation modes in the 138 kV research substation
New Learnings
The proposed activity generates substantial new learning on the feasibility of continuous substation asset inspection utilizing technologies such as mobile robotic platform. The project will also provide new learning on what sensor technology are feasible and relevant for 24-7 inspection, what the required hardware and software maintenance and associated cost would be to maintain such technology in an unmanned substation environment.
Estimated Peried of Performance
This is a estimated 2 year project from time of Kick-off
Engagement Opportunities
| Activity Name | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Demo at Lenox | Vendor Test - V2 | 5th - 7th March 2024 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | Analytics Platform Testing Results | 18th March 2024 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | End of the year - Recap | 30th November 2023 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | Vendor Presentation - V2 | 26th October 2023 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | Analytics Platform Testing Results | 28th September 2023 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | Vendor Presentation - V3 | 31st August 2023 |
| Demo at Lenox | Vendor Test - V1 | 21st - 23rd August 2023 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | Vendor Presentation - V1 | 27th July 2023 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | Vendor Shortlist | 29th June 2023 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | Summary of Analytics categorization | 25th May 2023 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | Update on member response | 1st May 2023 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | Discussion of analytical features | 30th Mar. 2023 |
| WebEx Project Meeting | Project Kick off meeting | 9th Feb. 2023 |