How are Innovations in Line Arrester Technology Helping Power Distribution Companies Deal with Overvoltage and Short Circuits?

Highlights:

• Introduction
• Different innovations and developments in the landscape
• The rise of the industry in Asia-Pacific

Power distribution systems are some of the most important elements of energy generation and transmission mechanisms. These systems ensure the smooth delivery of power even to the remotest areas in a region. Naturally, the pressure on these systems is very high which may sometimes cause failure of equipment due to overloading, switching problems, and natural events like lightning strikes and incessant rains. Since these systems are too important to fail, technologies like line arresters have been developed to protect these electrical systems. Line arresters are specialized electrical devices designed to protect electrical power distribution and transmission systems from transient overvoltage and prevent ground faults and short circuits caused by this overvoltage.

Increasing the use of line arresters to protect urban power distribution setups

In the post-globalization era, the pace of urbanization and industrialization has increased exponentially. In the past few decades, many new types of industries have been set up in different tier-1 and tier-2 cities as a result of which the rate of migration to these cities has surged. The demand for electrical power has naturally increased in these cities which has directly amplified the demand for robust and resilient power distribution systems and line arresters.

Over the years, two types of line surge arresters have been developed for power line upgradation and compaction, along with providing switching surge control. Non-gapped line arrester (NGLA) is one such type directly installed on the towers or insulators. These surge arresters protect the installation by keeping the overvoltage values below which insulators work smoothly. The primary reason why non-gapped line arresters are widely used in urban power distribution systems is the flexibility offered by these systems.

Additionally, these line surge arresters have high absorption capacity as a result of which small or medium lightning strikes are easily dissipated without harming the system in any way. Moreover, since these arresters are joined to the disconnectors in series, any instance of thermal overload directly cuts off the system from the disconnector and arrester, thereby aiding in protecting the entire system.

The second type of line arresters that have become widely popular in modern power distribution setups are the externally gapped line arresters. In this type, a spark plug is externally attached to the line surge arrester so that the ground fault current, which is generally in the range of 2-3 kA, comes down to a few amperes that can be easily dissipated. Furthermore, since the external plug directly isolates the line arrester from the voltage, no special disconnectors or ground leads are required which brings down the cost of installation.

Understanding the rise of the industry in the Asia-Pacific region

The line arresters industry has flourished immensely in the past few years due to the modernization and upgradation of electrical grids that are taking place globally to meet the increasing energy demands. This has surged the sale of line arresters as they are one of the most advanced solutions to protect power distribution systems from overvoltage and short circuits. The industry has been quite successful in the Asia-Pacific region and is predicted to have the fastest growth rate from 2023 to 2032.

Asia-Pacific, in recent times, has seen a huge growth in the adoption of different renewable energy sources including wind and solar power. As a result, the rate of establishment of power distribution systems has surged ahead, thus augmenting the demand for different types of line arresters. At the same time, the rapid pace of industrialization has increased the usage of electricity in urban areas which has positively impacted the industry in this province. In fact, a study by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has shown that in 2023 alone, electricity usage grew by 6.4% in China. This has directly improved the revenue share of the landscape in the Asia-Pacific region.

To conclude, the line arrester industry has experienced massive growth in the recent past, owing to the growing popularity of these solutions in urban power distribution setups. The development of two innovative types of line surge arresters has helped power companies deal with the problem of overvoltage and short circuits effectively. Additionally, the increasing pace of industrialization is expected to augment the growth of the landscape in the coming period. 

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