A Review of Current Protection Testing Practices

J. Scott Cooper, OMICRON EnergySpring 2024 Cover Story, Cover Story

Current protection testing practice is the result of history, custom, and seemingly conflicting motivations. Despite dramatic advances in protection system technology, protection testing philosophy and practice have not kept pace. This article reviews past and present protection testing practices and explores ways the industry could evolve to meet current and future challenges. As it was in the very beginning, the …

From Should to Shall: NFPA 70B Becomes a Standard

Mose Ramieh, CBS Field ServicesCover Story, Winter 2023 Cover Story

In today’s rapidly evolving industrial landscape, ensuring the reliable operation and safety of electrical systems is crucial. More than ever, facility managers and businesses must prioritize regular maintenance, testing, and repairs to prevent hazards to equipment and personnel as well as costly downtime.  Over the years, convincing clients of the importance of these electrical maintenance services has met various challenges, …

Relay Testing in the Digital Substation

Eugenio Carvalheira, OMICRON electronicsCover Story, Fall 2023 Cover Story

IEC 61850-based protection, automation, and control (PAC) brings a lot of advantages. Therefore, the adoption of the standard has been consistently increasing. IEC 61850 defines much more than just protocols; it defines a data model to represent information in the power grid. It also defines services for communicating data and a system configuration language (SCL) that allows configuration data to …

Substation Communications — A Primer

William G. Higinbotham, EA Technology, LLCCover Story, Summer 2023 Cover Story

In the early days of protective relaying, it was recognized that communications between substations could improve relaying performance. Schemes such as power line telephony (1920s) and pilot wire relaying (1930s) evolved into digital time division multiplexers (TDMs) (invented in 1960s and used for power system communications in 1970s). TDM allowed audio teleprotection, audio-based relaying, SCADA, and telephony to share a single link …

Insulation Assessment Using Non-Invasive Techniques

Abel González Gómez and Swapnil Marathe, MeggerCover Story, Spring 2023 Cover Story

The status of the insulation in a rotating machine can be evaluated using various testing techniques. Static tests are performed while the motor is disconnected from the system, typically during manufacturing, commissioning, maintenance, or repairs. The goal of a static test is to provide an accurate picture of the machine’s electrical characteristics. Static tests can often be performed from the …

Measuring Partial Discharge on Medium-Voltage Cables

Jason Aaron and Joseph Aguirre, MeggerCover Story, Winter 2022 Cover Story

Partial discharge (PD) testing is a form of diagnostic testing for power cable systems. PD testing of medium- and high-voltage cable applications is beneficial when paired with other cable tests including very-low frequency (VLF) and tan delta (TD) tests. Partial discharge testing is another way to judge a cable’s insulation vitality or ability to endure electrical stress. Utilizing PD as …

EV Chargers: Power Grid Impact and Maintenance Requirements

Ahmed El-Rasheed, PhD, and Jason Aaron, MeggerCover Story, Fall 2022 Cover Story

Electric vehicle adoption as a viable means of transportation is a mega-trend across the globe. One driver pushing this trend is the environmental benefit of reduced air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Government incentives working to increase consumer affordability of these vehicles is another factor promoting EV adoption. Additionally, rising fuel prices and reduced overall maintenance costs for EVs contribute to …

Impact of Changes to IEEE Std. 1584, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations — Part 2

Steve Park, PE, VertivCover Story, Summer 2022 Cover Story

In the Spring 2022 edition of NETA World, Part 1 of this article provided a brief history and evolution of electrical safety over the past 50 years. It was during this period that OSHA was formed and NFPA began developing the 70E standard. We also reviewed some of the key changes from the original 2002 edition of IEEE 1584 to …

Impact of Changes to IEEE Std. 1584, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations – Part 1

Steve Park, PE, VertivCover Story, Spring 2022 Cover Story

In 2018, major changes were made to the calculations and procedures for determining arc-flash incident energy levels from the original 2002 edition of the IEEE Std. 1584, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations[1]. Now, three years since its release, facility owners and arc-flash service providers still debate how, when, and where to apply the new calculation methods. While the …

NERC PRC-027-1 Overview and Implementation

Maysam Radvar, PEng, PE, and Casey Whitt, Ready Technologies, a division of ShermcoCover Story, Winter 2021 Cover Story

As generation is connected to the grid, the available short-circuit current is evolving, increasing in areas where synchronous resources are installed and decreasing in areas where inverter-based resources, such as solar and wind power, are installed. With the U.S. Department of Energy’s recent plan to drastically increase the amount of solar connected to the grid over the coming decades, one …