Hotline of power engineering specialists:
In 2013, IDGC of Centre — Belgorodenergo is to spend over 220 million rubles on the repair program implementation, which exceeds that of last year by 3%. Power engineers will repair 2023 km of lines, 110 high voltage and 533 package transformer substations, clear and extend 978 hectares ROWs along power lines.
60% of the funds will be used to repair equipment of distribution networks — power transformers, transformer substations, overhead and cable lines of 0.4-10 kV. For example, power engineers will only repair almost 1727 km of lines of 0.4-10 kV. It is 367 km more than it was renovated last year.
About 30% of the money the branch is to spend on repairing high voltage substation equipment and power lines. 20 35-110 kV substations will be repaired more than in the past, and work on overhead lines will increase by 29 km.
In making the electrical equipment repair program they took into account not only the normative schedules of equipment operation, but also the results of diagnostics of more than 1 million pieces of equipment stored in a single electronic database of the branch. Timely analysis of power transformers, surge arresters, lightning protectors, disconnectors, circuit breakers of all voltage classes and types, etc. can significantly reduce the fault rate in the networks and undersupply of electricity to consumers.
Power engineers will perform repairs in a complex way to reduce the duration and number of planned outages. A distinctive feature of this method is rapid and full implementation of the scheduled amount of work needed to restore operating characteristics of a specific section distribution networks.
To minimize unplanned outages, the branch this year will clear 671 hectares of ROWs along power lines from tree and shrub seedlings, and will widen about 307 hectares to the standard values. Borders of exclusion zones are specified in Resolution of the Russian Government dated 24 February 2009 # 160. For conductors up to 1 kV it is 2 m on either side, for conductors from 1 to 20 kV — 10 m, for conductors of 35 kV — 15 m, for conductors of 110 kV — 20 m.
This year for the first time, power engineers plan to use progressive, environmentally and fire safe mulchers to clear ROWs. It allows not only to cut the vegetation, but then to chop it, partly mixing wood chips with soil. With the mulcher the branch will facilitate the solution of the problem of disposing of waste wood.