Role of Online PD Monitoring of GIS in Enhancing Reliability & Avoiding Catastrophic Damage: A Utility Experience and Perspectiv

Gas insulated switchgears (GIS) forms one of the most critical assets across the global power system network. However, insulation degradation due to partial discharges (PD) within the insulation poses a severe risk, potentially escalating to arc flashes, equipment failures, and widespread outages if not addressed promptly. In the Indian context, NHPC's internal analysis reveals that GIS failure rates are higher than the global failure rate documented in CIGRE surveys/report[9]. The higher failure rates may be attributed to umpteen number of reasons ranging from manufacturing variances, transportation/preservation/installation challenges in diverse terrains to operational stresses. This disparity underlines the imperative for robust diagnostic strategies for early defect identification…