Smart Grid Projects - DNV Kema

19KEMA Smart Cable Guard ®Continuously monitoring the ‘heartbeat’ of an MV cable connectionWe take the energy supply for granted, but how reliable is it? Blackouts show us howvulnerable we are if the energy is not there. For affected businesses, power failures can haveserious economic consequences. If the IT systems go down, for example, the cost can easilyrun into millions. In recent years, major failures have hit places such as New York, Londonand Italy, bringing daily life to a complete standstill.Medium-voltage networks are crucial to the energy supply. However, many of the MVnetworkscurrently in use are aging and/or have weak spots, such as joints and terminations,which increase the blackout risk. To address this risk, network operators can performpreventive checks in the form of periodic off-line snapshots. Such precautions are valuable,but a problem affecting a joint or cable can build up to a critical level within just days orweeks. So the only way to assure prompt intervention is through continuous monitoring.