Use Case

Improving Underground Fault Location

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Faults occur less frequently on underground feeders than on overhead feeders. But when faults do happen underground, they are more difficult to locate, and restoration takes significantly longer. This drives up CAIDI and SAIDI metrics for underground feeders.

Sentient Energy Line Sensors

Sentient Energy’s UM3+TM underground intelligent line sensors can be installed in switch cabinets to create more granular fault detection systems. Line powered UM3+ sensors wirelessly report faults and periodic data to the Ample® Analytics Platform as well as SCADA/OMS/DMS systems. Ample records sensor data, analyzes it over time, and provides utility engineers with system-wide insights. Accurate fault data from more locations improves distance-to-fault calculations and enables dispatchers to direct crews more effectively.
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How It Works

With Sentient Energy’s UM3+ underground utilities can better isolate fault locations and reduce patrol areas significantly. The UM3+ sensors offer:

  1. Accurate measurements – UM3+ line sensors accurately capture continuous load data as well as fault magnitude up to 10kA within +/-2% accuracy.
  2. High-resolution waveforms – High-fidelity fault waveform data is captured at 256 samples per cycle and made available via the Ample Analytics Platform for enhanced fault analysis.
  3. No maintenance power supply – UM3+ sensors are fully line-powered with only 12A or more on just one phase, eliminating the need for any external power source.

Results

Sentient Energy’s UM3+ underground line sensors are field proven to improve the precision of underground fault location, helping utility crews find faults more quickly, saving costs, and enabling faster outage restoration.

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