As I allegedly approach a half century on this earth, reflections on life lessons learned abound. Looking back, there is no question that the most impactful lessons I learned — those I still use every day — came on days that started in the blazing heat of summer and ended in the brisk chill of autumn spent between painted white …

Partial discharge (PD) is a poorly understood phenomenon that can cause catastrophic failure of electrical assets. It can exist at initial commissioning or occur only after decades of use. The dictionary defines partial discharge as: a flashover of part of the insulation system due to a localized electric field greater than the dielectric withstand capability of that part where the …

Most electrical equipment manufacturers provide life and performance expectancies with their equipment in the form of operation and maintenance manuals. Life expectancy is based on the premise that equipment has been professionally installed, is maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines and recommendations, and is being used per the manufacturer’s designed intent. This premise is also noted in NFPA 70 …