Abstract :
One aspect of the operation of a transformer that may be of particular interest to the owner is the upper loading limit or the amount of Power (in MVA) the transformer can supply within safe operation limits (in terms of aging rate or risk of failure). If new load is being proposed there may be situations where the firm capacity of the substation is reached when the load on the substation equals the combined capacity of the transformers when one is out of service. If the capacity of the transformers can be shown to be above the nameplate rating or the rating given by loading guides then it may be possible to defer substation reinforcement. Also, it would be advantageous to be able to generate reliable data regarding the upper loading limits of transformers to support everyday network management decisions, both in terms of short-term outages and planning for future load growth.
