Auto Transformer Switch Boosts Reliability for FPL Customers
Florida Power & Light (FPL) is deploying new technology designed to boost reliability for its electric customers. One particular type of technology the company is touting is something called an “auto transformer switch,” and it sounds promising.
Overview of an Auto Transformer Switch
An auto transformer switch is designed to replace the standard fuse on a transformer, and its purpose is to automatically reset the transformer on which it is affixed when needed. This means that a branch falling on a transformer would not interrupt service – rather, the transformer will automatically reset and will continue to operate until a technician fixes it.
FPL installed the switches on 1,000 transformer poles in 2018, and the results of the pilot were encouraging. According to the company, the presence of the switches enabled a “significant reduction in temporary power outages.”
Even with the positive pilot results, FPL plans to rollout the technology in a very slow and deliberate manner, continuing to test, learn and tweak along the way. The first post-pilot installations are currently planned for May 2019, beginning with at-risk areas thick with vegetation and similar problems. And as an added bonus, the devices are relatively inexpensive, so customers will not have to foot the bill. The switches are manufactured by S&C Electric Co.
The deployment of auto transformer switch technology is the latest in a series of ‘smart’ enhancements – including automatic feeder and lateral switches – the company has made to its grid over the last decade or so. Overall, the new technologies have resulted in a near 50% reduction in outages. In fact, FPL claims that the smart switches prevented 546k outages during Hurricane Irma.
I love the thought behind the auto transformer switch technology. Not only should it reduce outages, it should also reduce the frequency of dispatching line personnel, as they would no longer need to be deployed for simple resets that do not involve a repair. If it’s true that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, the deployment of outage-reducing technologies like the auto transformer switch is a great step forward for emergency preparedness in the utility industry.
