The Sokol-M meteorological station helps power engineers
to monitor the situation on power lines and to respond quickly
to changes in weather conditions
Country: Russian Federation
Regions: Sakhalin island, Republic of Bashkortostan
Industry: electric power industry
Year: 2020
Customers: JSFC «Sistema», JSC «RusHydro»
Equipment: meteorological station «Sokol-M»
Customer tasks
Our clients' subsidiaries were interested in additional reliable equipment to obtain accurate and timely information about weather conditions in the service areas of the power grid (ambient temperature, rainfall, wind gusts). However, power engineers often face the problem of the lack of objective weather reports at their facilities.
The Roshydromet posts may be located hundreds of kilometers from power lines. And in the event of a wire break, it is not easy to prove that the emergency occurred due to weather reasons, and not due to poor maintenance. A logical solution would be to agree with the Roshydromet to increase the density of meteorological stations. But this is hindered by difficulties in land law, expensive rental sites and long bureaucratic procedures. Therefore, energy companies need their own local weather stations to have a solid evidence base in case of disputes.
At the same time, reliable weather data is required in daily activities to make decisions about the operating modes of power lines, forklifts and personnel.
In our harsh environment, there is always a high risk of wire breakage. We must have the most reliable data on the weather in specific areas in order to carry out competent maintenance, prevent emergency situations and be able to objectively understand everything while finding out the causes of emergencies
- the task explanation of the customer from Yuzhno – Sakhalinsk.
«Accurate weather data is essential to maintain the proper functioning of the power grid. For example, when the ambient temperature jumps sharply, it is needed to switch the heating quickly to maintain the pressure of the equipment. At a temperature of -15°C, it is needed to turn on the first degree of heating, at a temperature of -25°C – the second degree of additional heating.
In case of unstable fluctuations of temperature around 0°C (in the morning -5°C, in the afternoon +5 °C), it is also needed to switch operating modes on time. Without proper control there is a high probability of breakage of insulators and other equipment defects.
It is also important to get accurate information about wind loads in order to adjust operating modes and take operational measures»
- comments a representative of the company from the Republic of Bashkortostan.
Decision
Company managers were offered the option of installing professional Sokol-M meteorological stations on power transmission poles.
This advanced development of Escort Group of Companies allows continuous monitoring of weather events at installation points, receiving weather data in real time and analyzing information for previous periods.
The information transmitted by the weather station:
- air temperature
- air humidity
- air flow speed and direction
- atmospheric pressure
- amount and intensity of rainfall
- snow depth
The weather station can be also used to get weather forecasts for several days with the accuracy of 95%.
Sokol-M is a compact device (290x320x323 mm), which combines data recording and processing units, weather parameters meters and a battery. The meteorological station is additionally equipped with a photofixation camera for visual monitoring of the situation on objects.
The station communicates with GLONASS/GPS satellite systems and transmits information to the monitoring system via the GSM channel during the main time. Users can see the data recorded by the equipment in many popular satellite monitoring programs and in the cloud interface of a single server sokolmeteo.com.
The legitimacy of the weather data provided by Sokol-M confirms that this weather station is an approved measurement tool (OS.S.28.001.A No. 75166). Therefore, all the information collected by the station can be used as an evidence base in the analysis of disputed cases.
Implementation
The company operating on Sakhalin island, at the first stage of cooperation, purchased and installed 4 Sokol-M stations on its overhead power lines, which transmit weather data to the enterprise's satellite monitoring system. Their installation allows to solve the main tasks of tracking weather conditions in hard-to-reach places and in extreme natural and climatic conditions of Sakhalin island.
The company operating on the territory of Bashkortostan is currently undergoing a test period of operation of Sokol-M. At the end of the year, the company will evaluate the efficiency of using weather stations and decide on further installation of equipment on its power lines.
Result
Comments from the company's managers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk:
- Evaluating the first results of the Sokol-M operation, we can say that the weather station helps us to solve our problems. Moreover, the Roshydromet addresses us for up-to-date weather reports. And for them it is easier, faster and cheaper than dealing with issues of land lease registration and lengthy procedures for approving the installation of their own weather stations.
Comments of the company's managers from Bashkortostan:
- Our own meteorological station helps to analyze and forecast risks much better, to identify technological violations and prevent power outages.