OMICRON Magazine

Magazine | Issue 1 2021 Gerald Bernsteiner is the Managing Director and partner of Cteam Energietechnik GmbH, a part of the Cteam Group. Since its foundation in autumn 2019, the company has estab- lished itself as a professional service provider for operators of power stations and power grids. Gerald Bernsteiner was previously employed for more than 20 years by a number of companies in the switchgear sector. He first came into con- tact with us in 2014, when he was look- ing for a solution to measure partial dis- charge (PD) in switchgear for one of his projects. The search for a suitable voltage source to measure PD on construction sites went on and on, but eventually he found us. The outcome was an invigorat- ing and challenging joint project. Gerald, how did you first hear about us? Gerald Bernsteiner: Back then, we’d been trying to find a suitable voltage source for partial discharge measurements for almost nine months. Up to this point, we had always worked with external service providers. Some of their systems weighed as much as 660 lbs (300kg) and only de- livered a fraction of the output power of the OMICRON 70kV high-voltage source. Following several false starts, my persis- tence eventually led me to the experts: Michael Krüger and Lukas Klingenschmid of OMICRON. We had a few conversa- tions and exchanged some emails about the various options that OMICRON had to offer before they came to see us. We then looked at and tested the various voltage sources they’d brought with them, and quickly found a solution that came close to what we were looking for, but we still had requirements on our wish list. So what did you do? I wrote a letter to Santa (laughs). No, seriously, I thought about it for a while and professional. Once Michael was finished, we had some training with you in Klaus, Austria using two field measurements. That was extremely helpful. We were able to take the system with us once the safety analyses were completed and the manual was printed. I learned a lot from the way OMICRON approached the problem. We’ve just ordered the series produc- tion version for the 70 kV high-voltage source. This version further improves the quality of the signal output of the CPC 100 and includes additional safety features. Overall, I’ve come to appreciate OMICRON as a reliable partner, espe- cially when it comes to their support. I still remember the first measurements that we took by ourselves. Not every- thing worked as we would have liked. However, it was always possible to reach someone from your team who provided us with practical information and advice. Engineers are always happy when they are able to do something or receive some tips that help them broaden their knowledge base. Thank you for talking to us. and drew up specifications that outlined our requirements. I ignored everything that I already knew was on the market, or what I felt wouldn’t be possible. My wish list included a 70 kV test voltage for testing 36 kV medium-voltage switchgear that could also test voltage transformers and be used to test solid- insulated bus bars with capacitive con- trol. I also threw in some other typical bits of data from other projects, adding the relevant parameters, capacitances, and test voltages. Then Michael asked me if a resonance system might do the trick – a solution that covered all our practical requirements. There weren’t any formal objections. For example, there is nothing in the standard that says that this 1-minute voltage with- stand test for medium-voltage switch- gear systems, which is normally carried out at 50Hz, cannot be carried out at a different frequency. We also discussed the situation with customers, and they didn’t raise any objections either. This effectively gave us the green light to go ahead with this solution. How did you feel about your collaboration during the development of the prototype? It was fantastic! The collaboration with the engineers was superb – solid Energy Talks features various episodes related to power system testing. Scan the QR-Code or visit: omicronenergy.com/podcast INTERESTING TOPIC? Listen to the episode in Energy Talks – the OMICRON podcast series. 9