Development of a Universal Bushing

Completed

Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electricity transmission and distribution)

Applied Research and Development

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Project Contact
National Grid Electricity Transmission

Network Innovation Allowance

Ofgem

01 January 2017

01 February 2018

13 months

£90,000

Power

London

Network Innovation Allowance

Project Contact, National Grid Electricity Transmission

The aim of this project is to design and trial a prototype universal bushing that is suitable for installation on British Electricity Boards Specification for Transformers and Reactors (BEBS T2) specified transformers. The successful delivery of this project includes the development of a novel universal bushing. The new design prototype will be trialled on a live network and the findings will be shared with all LNOs in the final project report.

License Network Operators (LNOs) use hundreds of bushings across the GB electricity network. There is no standard design for bushings across the different voltage levels, the variety of design and sourcing constraints of bushing introduces several issues. For example, the use of multiple types of bushings can pose a problem when carrying out maintenance, because it is not always apparent which design is in use until an engineer attends site to view the top of the transformer and take measurements. When sourcing replacements, the lead time for ordering bushings is 3 to 4 months. In the event bushings are not immediately available by the manufacturer there is a risk that a transformer will be out of service. Network Operators must then mitigate risk that a delay in receipt of a replacement bushing does not impact on security of supply or lengthen planned outages. LNOs hold stocks of bushings of multiple designs to ensure replacement of bushings like for like is possible across their networks. This practice, while necessary, leads to increased costs for storage and for the bushings themselves. Even with the practice of stocking a variety of bushings, there still remains a risk that there is not a bushing that is fit for purpose upon failure. The project aims to design and complete a trial installation of a universal bushing suitable for installation on British Electricity Boards Specification for Transformers and Reactors (BEBS T2) specified transformers initially at 33kV. The development of a universal bushing suitable for higher voltages will be considered for follow on phases is successful at 33kV. There is currently no universal bushing available that can be installed on multiple transformers at 33kV or above. The design will therefore be unique, because the development of a universal bushing would be first of its kind in GB, and there has never been a trail of fitting a 33kV universal bushing onto a transformer that it is not specifically designed for.Note : Project Documents may be available via the ENA Smarter Networks Portal using the Website link above

09/08/18