On-line partial discharge monitoring in medium voltage underground cables

For many years incipient partial discharge (PD) faults in power cables have been identified through off-line investigation techniques. More recently, in an effort to allow pro-active asset management of the medium-voltage (MV) cable network to be carried out, continuous on-line monitoring systems are being installed with the aim of reducing unexpected failures. This study presents work on the analysis and handling of acquired data, from the point of view of asset management and the PD activities observed in an on-line cable monitoring systems. Initially, a review of on-line against off-line cable PD monitoring is presented, in terms of their setups and their respective advantages and disadvantages.