CHENNAI: Electrical repair work of high voltage power stations and substations can now be attended to without any interruption in power supply, thanks to Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation (TANTRANSCO). The power transmission operator has come up with specialised suits and personal protection equipment for its power plant workers which can reportedly withstand a whopping 400 kV of electricity.
According to an official of TANTRANSCO, 160 workers were trained in Hotline Training Centre, an institution under the national power training institute (NPTI) at Bangalore for around six months. Referred to as the “Hotline maintenance crew”, these workers are now stationed at several locations in the state, including Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tiruchy, and Tiruvalam.
The crew has been provided with specially designed suits, vehicles, tools as well as personal protective equipment including shoes, goggles, and helmets all of which are current proof. Ladders made of epoxy class resin fiber (an excellent electric insulator) and polycron ropes are the other tools the crew is equipped with.
In addition to this, drones are also being employed to aid the repair work of transmission lines and substations. Based on the requirement, digital, video or thermal imaging cameras can be installed onto the drone and live or close up images or videos of each component can be studied. Not only would this technique save manpower, but also provide accurate information on various aspects of the feeder such as insulator condition, tower condition, jumper hotspots, conductor condition, earth wire condition and presence of bird nests in the transmission lines.
Using drone surveillance, TANTRANSCO also plans to carry out precautionary preventive maintenance, thereby reducing revenue loss to the board.
The crew has also carried out 'Hot live line washing' in power stations in North Chennai and Ramnad.
In this technique, demineralised water is used to wash the dust accumulated on these lines, without the risk of an electric shock.
