Power Cable Monitoring
Buried and subsea cables form an integral and critical part of the transmission system. We cannot see them and tools available to assess their condition continuously, in real-time, are limited.
Alternative generation (distributed, renewable) and evolving patterns of energy consumption mean that a power cable may be subjected to fluctuating loads, flow reversal or other changes in its operation and environment. The effect these changes have on the power cable can be seen in its temperature.
Fiber Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) uses optical fiber to provide invaluable insight into power cable behavior.
Decisions about increasing the current or deferring cable replacement are made, safe in the knowledge that the cable is operating within safe temperature limits.