Earlier today I read an article entitled, "Most of US faces elevated risk of blackouts in extreme heat this summer, NERC warns." The article was written by Robert Walton and was published on May 17 in Dive Brief.
Within this article, the following points are expressed (excerpted from Mr. Walton's article):
Let's please focus on the third item regarding "Recovery times following hurricanes or severe storms". Note that we are once again being cautioned about low inventories of replacement distribution transformers. Note that we are also seeing mention about supply chain constraints.
Why are these points being expressed once again by yet another author? Because the transformer shortage is a REAL issue, and so too are supply chain constraints. This problem has been unfolding in the background for at least a year, or possibly longer. And it still is gaining momentum in a bad way.
Thankfully, there is time-proven, field-proven technology available that can substantially help to remedy this transformer shortage reality. Advanced Transformer Infrastructure (ATI) allows operators to EMPIRICALLY identify: a) overloaded transformers that are in need of proactive attention to prevent premature failure of these assets, and b) underloaded/under-utilized transformers that can be available for repurposing within an operators' grid, if needed.
What is the value of EMPIRICALLY knowing this information about a transformer fleet? By factually knowing what assets are overloaded, we can proactively take action to avert premature transformer failures. And, by knowing which assets are under-utilized, we then know which transformers in our fleet can either be re-purposed, OR, we can EMPIRICALLY know which transformers do NOT have to be changed-out simply because of their age; commonly there is an annual transformer change-out program that serves to remove the oldest assets from the fleet. Albeit the present-day transformer shortage may have curtailed this historical annual approach by many operators.
Realistically, AMI data cannot typically be relied upon to accurately advise operators of overloaded or under-utilized transformers. This reality is based upon the fact that many GIS mapping resources are not 100% accurate with regard to proper alignment of endpoint meters and their upstream assets. Whether a utility has AMI or not, the commonly flawed GIS mapping issue is real, and therefore meter data cannot be relied upon for this important task. Due to labor constraints and costs, many operators simply cannot continue to update their GIS mapping. Therefore, the asset mapping resource becomes antiquated and ineffective which erodes that reliability of AMI data being used to accurately predict upstream transformer conditions.
Conversely, Advanced Transformer Infrastructure (ATI) EMPIRICALLY reveals the actual transformer condition ---specifically at the source--- so that operators can confidently determine which assets require proactive attention, and which assets can be re-purposed or allowed to remain in service given their underload condition. This is how we maximize the effectiveness of our existing transformer fleet. This is how we can effectively preserve the use of our finite transformer stockpiles. And this is how we reduce the risk of today's transformer shortage creating a serious problem.
We cannot stop hurricanes and severe storms from occurring. When they hit, the finite stockpile of transformers will be needed. However, outside of the hurricane and storm impacts, we CAN empirically maximize the use of our existing transformers to avoid unnecessarily dipping into the finite stockpiles.
Time-proven, field-proven Advanced Transformer Infrastructure (ATI) is available to assist operators to accurately and effectively deal with our present-day transformer shortage reality. ATI installs on overhead transformers in less than 10 TOTAL minutes, including the bucket ride up and down; typically 3-5 TOTAL minutes for pad mount installation. All safely done on live transformers with no need for downstream customer service interruptions. ATI is fast and simple by design, due to welcomed linemen input to create the ATI sensor solution well over a decade ago.