7th Workshop on Forest Fire Management - EARSeL, European ...

REAL-TIME MONITORING OF THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM:
WATCHING OUT FOR FIRES
Abstract: Fires beneath the transmission lines on Eskom’s transmission system
account for some 20% of all line faults. Transient faults on the transmission
system are of extremely short duration measured in milliseconds,
but their effect and cost to the utility and its customers can be considerable.
Studies in South Africa studies show that the cost is highly variable
with the estimated cost of damage experienced by customers varying
between ZAR 5,000 and ZAR150, 000 per voltage dip. Eskom have now
introduced an Active Fire Information System (AFIS) to monitor fires under
the transmission lines in real-time and convey this information to field
staff. The system also improves the management of fires by providing the
opportunity to collate historical data and identify burn scar areas on an ongoing
basis.
1 - Introduction
Quality of supply on the Transmission system is an important matter.
Studies show that great economic benefits may be reaped where voltage
dips on Transmission lines are curtailed. Fires under Transmission lines of
the Eskom Transmission system accounts for about 20% of all line faults.
The management of this source of line faults requires of the asset manager
to not only monitor fires in real-time and convey this information to field
staff, but also to take cognisance of trends and map the history of fires and
burn scar areas on an ongoing basis. This paper discusses the Advanced Fire
Information System (AFIS) utilised by Eskom in the management of fires
under Transmission lines.
2 - Eskom and the space age
P. Frost
CSIR, Meraka Institute RSRU, Pretoria, South Africa
pfrost@csir.co.za
H. Vosloo, A. Momberg & I.T. Josephine
Eskom, Johannesburg, South Africa
hfvosloo@eskom.co.za
The launching of the Aqua and Terra satellites with the Moderate Resolution
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