FACTORY AND FIELD TESTING OF CONTROLLED SWITCHING SYSTEMS AND THEIR SERVICE EXPERIENCE

SUMMARY Controlled switching systems (CSS) with 145kV, 245kV, 362kV and 550kV independentpole-operated gas circuit breakers and controller have demonstrated their performance. The circuit breaker, sensor and controller, and integrated system were verified according to CIGRE recommendations for routine and type tests. The CSS applied to a capacitor bank and a reactor bank was tested in the field. The characteristics of circuit breakers such as the rate of decrease of dielectric strength, the mechanical scatter of the operating times and the idle time dependence are essential to the success of a CSS. Any drift in operating times associated with past operations and delay caused by the idle time of the mechanism should be included in the compensation algorithm along with the variations due to the operating conditions. This paper presents typical results of factory and field verifications required for the components and the integrated system according to CIGRE recommendation.