Application of Infrared Thermography in Power Distribution System

Electricity sector of Pakistan is facing daunting energy crisis. Generation deficit results in long duration of load shedding throughout the country. Old aged distribution system, lack of maintenance and equipment failure cause long unplanned outages and frequent supply interruptions. HESCO (Hyderabad Electric Supply Company) is facing high technical losses, supply interruption and financial loss due to transformer damages. Infrared Thermography is non-contact, safe and fast measure for distribution system inspection. In this paper, thermographic inspection for different distribution system equipment is carried out to identify possible developed faults. It is observed that IR (Infrared) thermography is effective measure for detecting developed faulty conditions at the initial stages to avoid unplanned outages.