DEWA digitises asset condition assessment approach

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has developed a digital-first approach to assess the condition of critical assets including power transformers and overhead lines.

The approach, which DEWA’s R&D centre has developed, draws on data on the assets and their geographical locations, rather than on-site sensors or other hardware installation, and is based on the ISO 9223:2012 standard, which provides guidelines for assessing atmospheric corrosivity and estimating conductor corrosion rates for overhead power lines.

The model uses the IEC 60067-7 standard for power transformers, considering the ambient external temperature as a predicting factor.

To maximise the user experience, a user-friendly interface also has been developed to provide insights and enable data-driven decision-making that can lead to cost savings and operational and planning efficiencies.

Have you read?
The path to grid resilience: Coupling asset fragility and weather
Energy Transitions Podcast: The value of circular asset management

The approach also is expected to increase collaboration by breaking the silos between the engaged business units with the use of a digital platform ecosystem.

“We implement the latest digital innovative strategies to enhance the efficiency and reliability of our electricity and water networks,” says HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA.

“We are proud of the advanced and innovative scientific research conducted by DEWA’s R&D centre. Our researchers play a key role in developing and testing solutions to address the needs of utilities and enrich the local and international scientific community.”

In developing the approach the R&D centre used its weather modelling capabilities to generate historic data for the past 5 years and then digitally combine the impact of the weather on certain metrics of the assets.

The plan is that the insights can be used by the maintenance and inspection teams to compare their maintenance schedules and to prioritise their activities and to inform the operational and investment planning businesses to plan their operation or replacements if needed.

Furthermore, the remaining useful life of these assets can be estimated to maximise their utilisation.