Diagnosis of defects on medium voltage electric energy distribution networks: The case of rural zone’s supply

An analysis carried out on the High Voltage A (HVA) electricity power distribution network run by Cameroon’s AES-SONEL company shows that losses are very high due to energy which is produced but not distributed and that the duration of power interruptions as a result of the defects is long due to the time used in searching for these defects, particularly in rural zone’s supply. Given that quick detection of defects is a sure means of improving availability and productivity in any company, we hereby propose a system of real-time diagnosis of the defects on a rural network’s supply of AES-SONEL’s electric power distribution network, the case of. After an inventory of typical defects on electric power networks and the proposal of a tool for their identification, we propose a system for the detection and localization of these various failures. The implementation of the system on a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) enables the performance of the system to be assessed.

► Manual management has high rate of interruption in the AES-SONEL network. ► Loos-of-phase in the network is signalled by consumers. ► Circuit breaker D31 tripped 54 times; this led to 398 h of power cuts. ► A system for the detection and localization of the various defects is proposed. ► An algorithm of real-time monitoring of Monatélé’s supply network is proposed.