Smart grid condition assessment: concepts, benefits and developments

Power delivery infrastructures are overstrained and suffer from overaged conditions, not only in the developed, but also in the more industrialized countries. The aim of the smart grid is to provide a more reliable and efficient electric power grid. Condition assessment is an essential and effective part of the reliability for electric grid components; also, it reflects the physical state of the electricity asset in a generation, transmission, distribution, and consumers sides. In this paper, condition assessment of electric grid assets will be discussed and illustrated within the context of smart grid principle. In addition, the proposed condition assessment architecture and the objective of condition assessment for smart grid equipment will be explored and analyzed. Moreover, the potential benefits of such smart system as compared to the traditional power system will be presented. This paper aims to add significant contribution to a smart grid theory.