Failure analysis of power transformer for effective maintenance planning in electric utilities

•Power transformer failure data have been analyzed.•Voltage level, geographical zone and power transformer component based failures are analyzed.•Significant root causes for power transformer component failures are identified.•Condition based maintenance planning has been proposed for preventing power transformer failures.

In this paper, power transformer failures are analyzed and their root causes are systematically investigated in Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited (TANTRANSCO)/Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) electric utilities, based on 196 failure cases from the year 2009–2013. Failure analysis is conducted in two phases. Initially, voltage level, geographical zone and power transformer components based failure analysis are performed through statistical analysis. Secondly, the most significant factors that cause power transformer failures are identified by using root cause analysis (RCA). Finally, current maintenance practice is reviewed and an effective maintenance planning has been proposed for implementation in order to prevent these failures and to maintain the power transformers in good operating condition during their life cycle. This study provides a practical guidance to help maintenance personnel for the best utilization of the power transformer in electric utilities.