WHITEPAPER: On-Line DGA Monitoring

The purpose of this white paper is to provide insight and guidance on the selection of on-line dissolved gas analysis (DGA) monitoring and diagnostic tools for utility transformers. We’ll examine transformers as utility asset classes in the context of their impact on revenue, grid stability, and service reliability.

Transformer Fleet Reliability
Reliable energy flow is paramount and power transformers are critical, and costly, assets in the grid. As an asset class, transformers constitute one of the largest investments in a utility’s system. For this reason transformer condition assessment and management is a high priority. Each utility’s grid is unique and investment levels in asset condition and assessment tools varies according to risk level and investment return models. While the models are different for each utility, the common element in them is that transformer fleets are stratified according to the criticality of individual transformers. The variability and uniqueness lies in where the prioritization lines are drawn and the investment amounts allocated for asset condition and management tools for each level. Typically this approach has the most critical transformers receiving the highest investment of condition assessment and management tools and decreases for each less critical level identified.