• • • CABLE & CONNECTORS • • •
Saudi Electricity Company minimises power outages and slashes maintenance costs using Fluke imaging cameras
The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), whose slogan is “we power the Kingdom that energises the world”, has improved service levels for customers and reduced its year-on-year operational costs by 20% after upgrading its maintenance capabilities with inspection equipment from Fluke
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ased in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and with a turnover in 2020 of $18.3bn, The Saudi Electricity Company is the only utility company in the Kingdom to manage the generation, transmission and distribution of electric energy via 45 power generation plants across the country.
In 2012, the company introduced a predictive maintenance strategy to its distribution engineering department and moved away from a policy of periodic maintenance. To achieve this, the company chose to purchase thermography equipment from Fluke.
Key performance indicators The goal was to make a conscious shift away from carrying out maintenance exercises at set periods rather than when upgrades, replacements and repairs were needed. While looking to cut costs by eliminating the need to carry out unnecessary
16 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • APRIL 2023
maintenance – sometimes replacing perfectly working parts – SEC was especially keen to reduce the amount of power that was being lost across its networks and further reduce any outages. The Fluke equipment would enable it to achieve this by improving efficiency through key performance indicators (KPIs), which would enable it to secure internal investment which would, in turn, lead to further test and measurement equipment being bought. SEC’s predictive maintenance programme began in 2012 and was implemented in 2014. Initially, the company bought 150 Fluke Ti32 definition thermal imaging cameras followed by around 300 Ti400/Ti450 portable infrared cameras. The thermal cameras are used to carry out inspections on overhead networks as well as on underground networks where they will come to be supplemented by partial discharge detection units. The thermal cameras have proved their value in
transforming maintenance routines, the team are now looking to further enhance maintenance routines with partial discharge detection. SEC was originally using old technology based on parabolic sensor dish for measuring PD but it got into discussions with Fluke about using its ii910 precision acoustic imagers for corona discharge detection.
The company currently has 13 Fluke ii910s, although partial discharge is not yet part of the full predictive maintenance programme. The full roll- out of the Fluke ii910 cameras to technicians for corona discharge detection will begin in 2023 and SEC is currently building up its KPIs relating to partial discharge.
The company is planning to purchase more corona cameras in the coming years and is already putting department specialists through a level 3 thermal camera course (around 250 technicians and engineers have taken around 16 courses at
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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