Transformers and Substations Handbook 2014

Foreword by Ian Jandrell

Once upon a time, the substation was ‘the building over there’, or the ‘room in the basement’; and the transformer the ‘thing with the tubes that hums’. This has changed and ‘Transformers + Substations Handbook: 2014’ allows you to reacquaint yourself with one of the most important parts of any system, the substation and its content, and the transformer as the key device. This change relates as much to a utility, a building or a plant. The change has been profound. The cynics amongst us may argue that the transformer is the device that drips oil all the time and the substation the building that had the explosion. This view is not far-fetched as the issue of maintenance has a specific poignancy in South Africa at the present time. ‘Transformers + Substations Handbook: 2014’ is a collection of targeted articles written by authors willing to share their knowledge. It combines some of the best think- ing in terms of tutorial-type and experience-based material; it covers some of the latest thinking and it reviews important background theory. Transformers are required to be more efficient than they ever were, and to operate reliably over increasingly long life spans. This implies attention to detail at the design and manu­ facturing stage, as well as consideration of the protection and monitoring schemes that will assist in ensuring longevity of the asset. A further issue relates to the inclusion of the substation into the communications network, where information for the energy supply system is important not only for that system, but as part of the overall plant data system. Data used in energy control and protection has specific associated challenges and supportive network and technologies.

This handbook comes at a critical time in the development of the South and southern African economies. It comes at a time when the supply of energy has without doubt impacted on the potential growth of the economy. This speaks to the need to plan carefully when developing strategic objectives – but it also speaks to a fundamental failing at a number of levels. Whereas this can be understood, it is a lesson that must be learned and remembered. The second issue that emerges is the tendency to suspect that, in attempting to solve this problem, we are biting off more than we can chew. However, that is not the case. The fact of the matter is that when you need to eat an elephant, you need a plan, you need the resources, and you need the structures … but you still do it bite by bite. Some would say carefully. So energy has become the number one commodity on our plants. We need to revisit transformers and substations; and we need to integrate all the data from those systems into plant information systems. I am sure this handbook will allow you to pause and consider where you own system is, and where, perhaps, it should be.

Ian Jandrell Pr Eng, BSc (Eng) GDE PhD, FSAIEE SMIEEE

Transformers + Substations Handbook: 2014

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