New Industry Products

Controlled Switching Device for HV Circuit Breakers

April 29, 2020 by Paul Shepard

The SynchroTeq Lite sets up a landmark for controlled switching devices (CSDs) that help transmission system operators (TSOs) streamline the maintenance of multi-vendor HV circuit breaker (CB) fleets.

HV CBs for shunt reactors and capacitor banks are prone to ever-increasing stress in today's power networks. SynchroTeq Lite plays a key role to ensure optimal switching operations, thus preserving the grid reliability and security.

Closely linked to CBs' conditions, SynchroTeq Lite achieves a low-cost, efficient monitoring of behaviours, drifts and stress accumulation: electrical/mechanical wear, dissipated energy/I2t, etc. Multichannel 3,000ms snapshots and rich monitoring data then help TSOs prompt preventive maintenance tasks.

SynchroTeq Lite connects to the station bus via IEC61850-MMS for control, operation, monitoring and maintenance purposes - and to OPC-UA servers.

Maintenance centers process data using either corporate software or the CB Angel, Vizimax's analytics suite for predictive maintenance, asset health management, CB ranking and reporting.

(click on image to enlarge)

"SynchroTeq Lite fulfils customers' expectations for compact, all-in-one units providing actionable monitoring data right out of the box" said Jean-Guy Lacombe, Vizimax's President and CEO. "Vizimax and local partners have worked on exciting challenges with Spain's TSO, Red Eléctrica de España (REE). "We delivered state-of-the-art value and devices suitable for any CB makes, without compromising on quality and features" added Lacombe.

At REE, SynchroTeq Lite supplements the versatile SynchroTeq Plus which boasts market-leading switching strategies for power transformers, reactive loads and transmission lines.

"Having implemented SynchroTeq Plus for power transformers and submarine cables, we were impressed by Vizimax's technology and responsiveness" said Javier Figuera Pozuelo - REE's Design Department (Construction and Engineering Direction).

"Based on REE's inputs, Vizimax swiftly followed suit with the much anticipated SynchroTeq Lite and a comprehensive IEC61850-MMS interface. This fits with REE's digital substation vision and helps overcome the last obstacles for completing our fleet-wide monitoring and predictive maintenance initiatives" added Figuera Pozuelo.