Schneider Electric South Africa, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has launched its EcoStruxure Service Plan (ESP) in the Anglophone African region for Medium Voltage (MV) Switchgear.

Nontu Mkhize, Offer Marketing Manager: Power Services and Industry - Anglophone Africa at Schneider Electric, says the ESP was designed in response to customer demand for partial discharge monitoring. A Partial Discharge (PD) refers to an electrical discharge (or ‘leakage’) that bridges only a small portion of the insulation - between phase conductors or a phase conductor and earth. Partial discharge can happen due to insulation breakdown due to premature aging or poor environmental conditions. Partial Discharge lead​
to flashover.

“We recognised that many of our customers were experiencing issues with Partial Discharge in their networks and sites. To address this, we developed a real-time Partial Discharge monitoring solution that is packaged with our MV switchgear,” says Mkhize.

“This offering is not sold individually but rather comes as a bundled package with our medium voltage switchgears.”

A Partial Discharge sensor named PowerLogic PD100 is installed on new (green field) Medium Voltage Switchgears wired to the coupling capacitor and the new Voltage Detecting and Indicating System (VDIS). It has 24/7 monitoring capabilities and detects all types of partial discharge (such as Corona, Surfacic, Internal), as well as on nearby products such as cable connections and transformers. The PD100 captures Partial Discharge measurements and sends these wirelessly through the Panel Server (PAS) cloud gateway to Asset Advisor cloud-based software so that data can be processed and analysed.

Various contact options

Mkhize explains that the ESP offering is similar to an extended warranty, as it comes with contract options of one, three or five years. It forms part of Schneider Electric's recurring services business model, allowing customers to choose the contract duration that works best for them.

The ESP provides a dashboard that gives customers visibility into the status of their assets and allows them to make informed decisions when there are partial discharge issues detected in their panels. The real-time monitoring capability helps them stay ahead of potential problems.

Mkhize says that the customer will receive alarm notifications via SMS if there is an issue detected with their MV switchgear, such as a problem in a specific panel or zone. They can then take action to address the issue that has been flagged since they know exactly where the problem has occurred. Schneider Electric will provide notifications, predictive analytics and insights so that its customers can optimise site operations, reduce unplanned downtime and improve safety.

Enabling immediate response

“Real-time notifications enable the customer to respond and sort out the problem immediately, rather than having to wait to discover what the issue is. This reflects how the ESP’s monitoring and alerting capabilities provide value to customers by giving them the ability to quickly address any partial discharge problems in their MV switchgear,” she says.

The ESP is exclusively available with Schneider Electric’s medium voltage switchgear, which is larger and more complex than low voltage equipment, so the risks of something going wrong are higher.

“Customers thus need to be able to proactively monitor their MV assets to prevent escalating issues or potential equipment failures that could lead to fires. These are critical assets, and unplanned downtime can be very costly, with long lead times for replacement,” Mkhize concludes.