Survey of Australian power transformer failures and retirements

The utilities in Australia are currently operating in an economically constrained environment, and are therefore interested in optimizing expenditure on asset replacement. In response, the universities are working with the utilities to improve modeling of the economic life cycle of power transformers. Information on failure modes of transformers and reasons for their retirement from service are of great assistance to utilities in planning their asset management strategy. The last major failure survey of power transformers in Australia (and New Zealand) was published in 1996 [1]. Since 20 years have passed since then, it is timely to revisit failure of the transformer fleet.