​ Since the second industrial revolution, the industry development has been strictly dependent from the availability of electric power and the reliability of the electric generation and distribution infrastructure.
The reliability of an electric network could be seen as the combined reliability of its power components; since many decades, third party laboratories are trusted institutions capable to verify the compliance of electric equipment’s capabilities to manufacturer’s datasheet and Standards requirements.
The lack of a national power laboratories could compromise the development of an electro-mechanical national sector and determine a degradation of the quality, reliability and safety of the electrical power installations.

MAIN EFFECTS

The lack of power testing installations could results in different kind of inefficiencies and extra-costs for all the actors of the national electrical sector:

  • Electric components’ manufacturers may be strongly limited in developing high power products (development test) in their countries and often unable to afford the investment in a high power testing laboratory or the cost of testing abroad;
  • As a consequence, electric utilities and industrial users may prefer to buy already type-tested power components from foreign manufacturers, at higher cost;
  • In case of failure of components, there may be no convenience to repair and reinstall the equipment since there’s no possibility to perform tests after reparation.
    These limitations often lead to shortcuts in national regulation, which could allow the installation of network power components which have not proved to be able to withstand all the relevant type tests; most time the most-crucial ones, concerning safety and the expected life duration of such power components (i.e. short-circuit test and internal arc test). It’s easy to imagine their effects, for example, considering the economic damages deriving from the out of service of a high voltage power transformer caused by a short-circuit event: loss of the machine, missing of power production, consumers inconvenience and dissatisfaction.

OPPORTUNITY

CESI is available to provide its over 50 years’ experience and competence in the engineering of power testing laboratories and to be subsequently involved in their management, supporting development, operation and competitiveness of national electricity sector.
High-quality testing operations could be the key for national and international success of manufacturers as well as generation, transmission and distribution utilities.