Internet-of-Things and smart sensing system for continuous monitoring of powerline network assets

Wildfire from powerlines has cost hundreds of lives in North America and Australia. Research shows earth-fault current of half an amp can start fires. Measures to limit earth fault current to this level have been developed for three and two-wire polyphase networks, but these do not address fire risk from Single-Wire-Earth-Return (SWER) networks where load current returns via the earth. In this paper, a patented Early Fault Detection (EFD) system for SWER networks based on Internet-of-Things (IoT) and smart sensing is presented, together with field trial results obtained from rural networks in Victoria, Australia. Distributed EFD sensors on power poles measured high-frequency signals on the overhead conductor from partial discharge and other sources. Pre-processed data was uploaded to a secure cloud server for post-processing data matching and analysis. The trial validated the system sensitivity and ten-metre accuracy of signal source location. Three high fire-risk problems were located and remedied before the risk was realized.