Ahmed Abdelwahab, Engineering services, OMICRON Bahrain Ahmed Abdelwahab: “Burning ring main units in the medium-voltage level are a common problem for many distribution utilities worldwide. One of the main reasons for this is incorrectly parametrized protection relays. When the circuit breaker doesn’t trip during a fault, the fatal consequences can be cable fires or burning power transformers due to overload and oil overheating. Therefore, testing the protection equipment is essential. This can be challenging when self-powered relays are supplied by the current transformer, especially when an electrical power supply is unavailable on site. With COMPANO 100, Saudi Electric Company (SEC) in Saudi Arabia found a convenient solution for overcoming these problems and reducing the associated risks. The battery-operated device allows them to test the proper function of their various self-powered protection relays on site. SEC was already working with COMPANO 100 to evaluate its performance. We contacted them about the possibility of testing self-powered relays in ring main units. With the compact test set, the test engineers could perform this test for the first time. Thanks to its intuitive interface, a demonstration wasn’t even necessary. Aside from that, the evaluation at SEC showed that the versatile test set could fulfill all of their daily basic testing requirements. That’s how the overwhelming success of COMPANO 100 in Saudi Arabia began. We’re pleased that we could improve the test engineers’ routines with many more devices that have since been delivered throughout the kingdom.” CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT We are striving to implement your feedback quickly to constantly improve both the functionality and usability of COMPANO 100. The new software version 2.31 contains several improvements based on feedback from customers in 13 countries around the world. It’s available free-of-charge in our Customer Portal. Download it now: my.omicronenergy.com One of the main reasons for burning ring main units in the medium-voltage level is incorrectly parametrized protection relays. AN EXPLOSION OF SUCCESS – HOW IT ALL STARTED 17
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