Underground Power Cables

Sensa is the leader in the field for the worldwide application of fiber optic temperature monitoring systems for power cable monitoring. Our systems are extensively used to monitor underground power cables at voltages from a few kV to voltages in excess of 400kV.

Sensa’s fiber optic temperature monitoring systems enable the power cable assets to be continuously monitored and supervised. Emerging temperature problems are identified and alerted to the asset owner or operator via local or remote communication interfaces. Our systems are connected to communication and SCADA networks helping to provide a reliable electricity network. Maintenance crews can be directed to the exact location of a trouble spot and remedial action taken before a failure in the network can occur.

Sensa’s systems are used to validate that a specified cable rating has been supplied on a project with no thermal constraints. The temperature monitoring system will provide validation of design and demonstrate the installation is of good quality. The monitoring system will identify heat sources which are often not known about and may be due to third party activities.

By continuously supervising the power cables, the operator may be able to exploit hidden capability in the continuous or short term ratings of the underground cables. Rating capability of power cables are closely linked to the moisture content in the surrounding soil. and this can vary from season to season. A continuous monitoring system sees these changes slowly develop and can be used to incrementally change the cable ratings.

Our systems can be interfaced to dynamic cable rating software to help the network operator plan and operate the electricity network in the most cost effective manner. By using such tools, the operator may be able to get more out of an existing asset, saving money in the short term but also by deferring capital investment when it is not needed, saving money over the longer term.