A guide to digital fault recording event analysis

Proper interpretation of fault and disturbance data is critical for the reliability and continuous operation of the power system. A correct interpretation gives you valuable insight into the conditions and performance of various power system protective equipment. Analyzing records is not an intuitive process and requires system protection knowledge and experience. Having an understanding of the fundamental guidelines for the event analysis process is imperative for new power engineers to properly evaluate faults. As senior power engineers retire, knowledge of how to decipher fault records could be lost with them. This paper addresses aspects of power system fault analysis and provides the new event analyst with a basic foundation of the requirements and steps to analyze and interpret fault disturbances.