Instrumentation and data acquisition techniques for development of predictive maintenance of load tap changers

As the electric utility industry moves closer to deregulation and competition, the pressure to reduce maintenance costs becomes more and more imperative. One such maintenance cost is the labor and material intensive overhaul procedures often used in the preventive maintenance of power transformer load tap changers (LTCs). This paper outlines an invasive instrumentation scheme to monitor the operation of LTCs, detecting imminent failures and eliminating unnecessary preventive maintenance expenditures