FOCUS Oil hazards Case study – CESC, Delhi
ACCORDING TO the UN, nearly two thirds of the global population are set to live in cities by 20502
. Coupled with environmental
concerns that are pushing trends such as digitalisation and electric vehicle uptake, energy infrastructure operators are faced with a double sided coin. On one side is smarter, more efficient infrastructure; on the other are higher loads and increased pressure on existing power infrastructure. As urban intensity increases and users demand more from the grid, it’s no surprise that The MIDEL Transformer Risk Report3
found
that over 80% of professionals surveyed were concerned about transformer failure. Given that safety will always be a top priority, what more can we do to protect highly populated urban environments from the risk of fires at substations?
A case in point is India’s most populous city – Delhi – which has an estimated population growth trend of 67.6% to 20354
.
Transformers are being put to the test by an influx of people, and power companies must continue to operate safely under these testing conditions. Take also the example of the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC)5
– India’s
oldest utility based in the Kolkata region. Serving approximately 3 million consumers including domestic, industrial and commercial users, CESC operates a wide range of assets
in power generation and distribution. There are more than 8,000 distribution transformers in its system, the majority of which are rated between 315 and 500 KVA. In previous decades, CESC needed to install
dry type transformers in densely populated areas in order to mitigate the risk of fire. However, dry types are much more expensive than oil filled transformers, and no longer represent the most cost effective solution for managing public safety in built up areas. As a result, CESC has opted to trial highly
fire resistant fluids in some of its transformers: esters. With a fire point of >300°C in comparison to mineral oil’s 170°C, esters provide a greater level of fire safety to protect against the trend of ‘popping’ (exploding transformers), which can cause catastrophic consequences (such as pool fires) in such a highly populated environment. Mithun Roy, assistant manager at CESC
Limited, commented: ‘At CESC we are working towards the future of India’s energy infrastructure – so using a synthetic ester fluid such as MIDEL 7131 is much more than just selecting a transformer coolant. MIDEL’s fire safety and biodegradability properties actively facilitate our mission to protect people, the environment and the transformer assets themselves.’ Trial locations include a manufacturing workshop near a school and a plastics factory
24 OCTOBER 2019
www.frmjournal.com
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