Best Practice 19 October 2021

SABP-P-026
Online Condition Monitoring System For Electrical Equipment
Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee

Previous Revision: New Next Revision: 19 October 2031

Contact: Hamad A. Tuaimi (tuaimiha) Page 1 of 15
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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
Issue Date: 19 October 2021
Next Revision: 19 October 20231 Online Condition Monitoring System For Electrical Equipment

Contents
1. SCOPE ......................................................................................................................................... 3
2. CONFLICTS AND DEVIATIONS ..................................................................................................... 3
3. REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 3
4. ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................. 5
5. DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................................................... 5
6. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ................................................................................................. 6
7. ENCLOSURES .............................................................................................................................. 6
8. POWER SUPPLY REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................... 6
9. WIRING AND CABLES .................................................................................................................. 6
10. POWER TRANSFORMER .......................................................................................................... 7
11. GAS INSULATED SWITCHGEAR (GIS).......................................................................... 9
12. MV SWITCHGEAR/CONTROLGEAR: ............................................................................. 9
13. LV SWITCHGEAR/CONTROLGEAR ............................................................................... 9
14. UPS ...................................................................................................................................... 10
15. BATTERY CHARGERS: ................................................................................................... 11
16. SUBMARINE CABLE: ....................................................................................................... 12
17. SENSORS REQUIREMENTS .......................................................................................... 12
18. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................. 12
19. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE .............................................................................................. 13
20. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENT ......................................................................................... 14
21. SYSTEM SUPPORT .......................................................................................................... 15
22. QUALIFICATION AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED............................................ 15
23. TESTING ............................................................................................................................. 15

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
Issue Date: 19 October 2021
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1. Scope
This document defines the technical requirements for the designing, engineering,
installation, testing and performance of the online condition monitoring system for
electrical equipment including not limiting to power transformer, gas insulated
switchgear, high and low voltages switchgear and controlgear, UPS, battery
charger, and submarine cable, intended for use in Saudi Aramco facilities.

2. Conflicts and Deviations

If there is a conflict between this Best Practice and any Mandatory Saudi Aramco
Engineering Requirements (MSAERs), the mandatory document shall take the
precedence. Other conflicts shall be addressed in writing to the EK&RD
Coordinator.

3. References

All referenced specifications, standards, codes, drawings, and similar material are
considered part of this Best Practice to the extent specified applying latest
revisions unless stated otherwise.

Saudi Aramco References

Saudi Aramco Engineering Standard:

SAES-P-103 UPS and DC System
SAES-P-104 Wiring Method and Material
SAES-P-121 Transformers and Reactors
SAES-P-116 Switchgear and Control Equipment
SAES-P-126 Power System Automation

Saudi Aramco Materials System Document:

14-SAMSS-531 Power Transformers
15-SAMSS-503 Submarine Power Cable 5 kV through 35 kV
15-SAMSS-504 Submarine Power Cable 69 kV through 230 kV
16-SAMSS-502 Low-Voltage Switchgear Assemblies

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
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16-SAMSS-503 Indoor Controlgear - Low Voltage

16-SAMSS-504 Indoor Metal Enclosed Switchgear: 1 to 52 kV
16-SAMSS-506 Indoor Controlgear - High Voltage
17-SAMSS-514 Rectifier/Charger
17-SAMSS-516 Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) System

Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedures:

SAEP-137 Saudi Aramco Management of Power Transformers

Industry Codes and Standards

American National Standards Institute
ANSI C57.143-2012 IEEE Guide for Application for Monitoring Equipment to
Liquid-Immersed Transformers and Components
ANSI C57.106 IEEE Guide for Acceptance and Maintenance of Insulating
Mineral Oil in Electrical Equipment
ANSI C57.104 IEEE Guide for the Interpretation of Gases Generated in Oil-
Immersed Transformers

American Society for Testing and Materials

ASTM D3612 Standard Test Method for Analysis of Gases Dissolved in
Electrical Insulating Oil by Gas Chromatography

International Electrotechnical Commission

IEC 60599 Mineral oil-filled electrical equipment in service – Guidance
on the interpretation of dissolved and free gases analysis
IEC 60567 Oil-filled electrical equipment Sampling of gases and of oil
for analysis of free and dissolved gases Guidance.
IEC 61850 Communication networks and systems in substations
IEC 60255 Common rules and requirements applicable to measuring
relays and protection equipment

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
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Other References
Saudi Electricity Company Standards
32-TMSS-02 SF6 Gas Insulated Switchgear and Hybrid SF6 Gas
Insulated Switchgear, 110 kV and above
53-TMSS-03 Online Gas Analyzer

4. Acronyms

CH4 Methane
C2H6 Ethane
C2H4 Ethylene
C2 H2 Acetylene
CCB Central Control Building
CO Carbon Monoxide
CO2 Carbon Dioxide
GSU Generator Step Up Transformer
H2 Hydrogen
IED Intelligent Electronic Device
MDU Motor Drive Unit
N2 Nitrogen
O2 Oxygen
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer
ppm Parts Per Million
PAS Photo-Acoustic Spectroscopy
PLC Programmable Logic Controller
PCB Printed Circuit Board
PSA Power System Automation
PI Saudi Aramco data transfer infrastructure from Plants to Dhahran
CCB’s, namely OSPAS, PCC, and i-Power
RF Radio Frequency

5. Definitions

Sensor: Sensors measure electrical, chemical, and physical properties and

convert the measurements to physical signals. The type of output signal needs to
be compatible with the receiving electronic hardware. Electrical noise is a
significant concern and should be considered in the design.

LDAP: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is access authorization

management tool.

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
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6. Environmental Conditions
6.1 When sensors are placed on or in equipment, they should comply with the
environment defined for the equipment.

6.2 Sensors on electrical equipment should comply with the environmental

conditions which are defined in IEC 62271-304.

6.3 Outdoor system components should comply with service conditions as

specified below:

• Operating temperature: - 25 °C to 70 °C

• Non-condensing humidity: 5 % – 95%

• The system should be Electromagnetic Compatible (EMC) as per IEC

61000 in an electrically energized environment.

7. Enclosures

All outdoor equipment enclosures/materials should be weatherproof and all metal

parts should be corrosion and abrasion resistant, and the degree of protection
should be minimum IP65 as per IEC 60529. The degree of protection for all indoor
equipment should be minimum IP41 as per IEC 60529. If used in electrical area
classification, it should be rated as per SAES-B-068.

8. Power Supply Requirements

The monitoring equipment should be provided with Universal Power Supply unit
and should be suitable to operate both from AC and DC Station Auxiliary supply.

9. Wiring and Cables

All control and instrumentation wiring should be screened.

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
Issue Date: 19 October 2021
Next Revision: 19 October 20231 Online Condition Monitoring System For Electrical Equipment

10. Power Transformer

10.1 Transformer online condition monitoring system is applicable to the

following:

2 Gas DGA analyzer 9 Gas DGA analyzer

GSU transformers where generator voltage 13.8 kV and above

Power Transformers or Reactors 50 MVA and above 100 MVA and above

10.2 Transformer online condition monitoring systems is comprised of the

following components, features and capabilities:
a. Main Tank oil moisture content

Commentary Note: At the time of writing of this Document, the following

Technologies are available:
• Thin Film Capacitive Photo
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR)

b. Hydrogen (H2), and Carbon Monoxide (CO) per IEEE C57.104 or IEC
60599.

Exception:
Transformers rated 100 MVA ONAN and above: Main tank oil moisture
content, Hydrogen (H2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO2),
Oxygen (O2), Nitrogen (N2), Ethane (C2H6), Ethylene (C2H4), Methane
(CH4), and Acetylene (C2H2) per IEEE C57.104 or IEC 60599.

Commentary Note: At the time of writing of this document, the following DGA
technologies are available:
• Photo Acoustic Spectroscopy (PAS)
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR)
• Non-Dispersive Infrared (NDIR)
• Combination of Headspace, Non-Dispersive Near-
Infrared for CO2, CO, C2H2, C2H6, CH4, C2H4,
and micro-electric for H2
• Gas chromatography

c. Bushings monitoring system capable of measuring:

i. Online Bushings C1 Capacitance
ii. Online Bushings insulation power factor
iii. Online Bushings PD

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
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iv. Online Bushings oil level

d. Top oil temperature
e. Ambient temperature
f. Motor fans currents
g. Motor Drive Unit (MDU) current
h. Direct windings temperature monitoring system capable of measuring
complete coils temperature profiles (including hot spots), through
distributed fiber optic sensors, wound adjacent with Conductor during
winding process. This include two sensors on central phase of HV
winding, two sensors on central phase of LV winding, and one sensor on
each lateral phase of HV and LV winding. Total eight sensors for two-
winding transformer.

Commentary Note: The mandatory assessment for power transformer

should be as per SAESP-137.

10.3 Transformer condition monitoring system should be micro-processor-based

system with updatable firmware and documented built-in algorithms and
should be capable of real-time analysis of all the above online monitoring
data and providing as a minimum the following:
a. System Healthy Watchdog
b. Data logging
c. Data trending
d. Transformer thermal model characterization per IEEE C57.91/IEC
60354
e. Online measurements

10.4 Transformer condition monitoring system should have programmable alarms

for all sensitive variables, with adjustable set points including but not limited
to the following:
a. High
b. High High
c. Low
d. Low Low
e. Rate of change
f. Incipient Fault
g. System malfunction
h. System calibration needed
i. Plant Workstation in CCB or Substation Building

Note: Thermal model characterization per IEEE C57.91/IEC

60354 should be based on winding temperature rises
measured during Temperature Rise test. Under no
circumstance should the guaranteed temperature rise be
used for the thermal model characterization.

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
Issue Date: 19 October 2021
Next Revision: 19 October 20231 Online Condition Monitoring System For Electrical Equipment

11. Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS)

11.1 Gas insulated switchgear (GIS) online condition monitoring systems is

comprised of the following components, features and capabilities:

a. Partial Discharge
b. SF6 Gas density
c. SF6 gas pressure
d. SF6 gas leak
e. Phase current
f. Trip and close coil current
g. Motor current
h. CB operation (includes timing, speed and travel curve)
i. Fault operation counter

12. MV Switchgear/Controlgear:

12.1 MV switchgear and controlgear online condition monitoring systems is

comprised of the following components, features and capabilities:

12.2 Cubical:
a. Temperature sensor for:
i. Ambient temperature
ii. Incoming Line Connections
iii. Switching assembly stab load connections
iv. Switching assembly stab line connections
b. Partial discharge
c. Humidity

12.3 Circuit breakers for main incomer, tie breaker, and any critical feeders
including captive motor feeders:
a. Trip and close operating coils condition (which includes timing)
b. Mechanical Operation (includes timing, speed and travel curve)
c. Charging Motor Condition (motor current)

13. LV Switchgear/Controlgear
13.1 LV switchgear and controlgear online condition monitoring systems is
comprised of the following components to monitor the equipment cubical:
a. Temperature sensor for:
v. Ambient temperature
vi. Incoming Line Connections
vii. Outgoing Load Connections
viii. Interconnect Bussing

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
Issue Date: 19 October 2021
Next Revision: 19 October 20231 Online Condition Monitoring System For Electrical Equipment

14. UPS

14.1 UPS online condition monitoring systems is comprised of the following

components, features and capabilities:
a. Input AC voltage - L-L for each phase
b. Input AC current for each phase
c. Load kVA, load power factor, load kW, load currents and %load
d. System output frequency (inverter and bypass AC line source)
e. Output AC voltage: line to line and line to neutral for each phase (3
phase); line to neutral if single phase
f. Bypass AC line voltage
g. Battery voltage
h. Battery charge/discharge current

14.2 The UPS condition monitoring system should have programmable alarms
for all sensitive variables, with adjustable set points including but not limited
to the following:
a. High/low inverter DC input voltage
b. Bypass AC line voltage not available
c. Critical load supplied power through the alternate source
d. Automatic synchronization disconnected/failure
e. Inverter failure/tripped
f. Battery discharge
g. Battery CB open
h. Over-temperature inside UPS enclosure
i. Input AC failure
j. Input voltage, or phase out of tolerance
k. Rectifier(s)/charger(s) problems:
i. Rectifier/Charger Off/failure
ii. Rectifier current limited
iii. Blown fuse or tripped breakers
iv. DC over voltage shutdown
l. DC ground fault
m. DC link high/low voltage

n. Battery problem:
i. Battery high/low voltage
ii. Battery CB open
iii. Low battery reserve
o. Inverter(s) problems:
i. Inverter Off/shutdown
ii. Inverter fuse blown
iii. AC output over-voltage/under-voltage
iv. Overload shutdown
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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
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p. Bypass line failure

q. UPS on battery power
r. UPS power output through alternate source
s. UPS output voltage, frequency, or phase out of tolerance
t. UPS over temperature
u. Static switch circuit breaker open
v. Static switch transfer inhibits “ON”
w. Bypass voltage, frequency, or phase out of tolerance or
synchronization
x. Manual (maintenance) bypass circuit breaker open.

15. Battery Chargers:

15.1 Battery charger online condition monitoring systems is comprised of the

following components, features and capabilities:
a. Input AC voltage - L-L for each phase
b. Input AC current for each phase
c. Load kVA, load power factor, load kW, load currents and %load
d. Battery voltage
e. Battery charge/discharge current

15.2 The battery charger condition monitoring system should have

programmable alarms for all sensitive variables, with adjustable set points
including but not limited to the following:
a. Automatic synchronization disconnected/failure
b. Battery discharge
c. Battery CB open
d. Input AC failure
e. Input voltage, or phase out of tolerance
f. Rectifier(s)/charger(s) problems:
i. Rectifier/Charger Off/failure
ii. Rectifier current limited
iii. Blown fuse or tripped breakers
iv. DC over voltage shutdown
g. DC ground fault
h. DC link high/low voltage
i. Battery problem:
i. Battery high/low voltage
ii. Battery CB open
iii. Low battery reserve
j. Bypass line failure
k. Static switch circuit breaker open
l. Static switch transfer inhibits “ON”

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
Issue Date: 19 October 2021
Next Revision: 19 October 20231 Online Condition Monitoring System For Electrical Equipment

16. Submarine cable:

16.1 Submarine cable online condition monitoring systems is comprised of the

following components, features and capabilities:
a. Distributed temperature sensing
b. Acoustic noise distribution.
c. Load current verses temperature.

16.2 The system should alarm the exceeded insulation temperature rating and
the acoustic threshold limit.

17. Sensors requirements

17.1 Sensor accuracy should be defined as class A, B or C as per IEC 3014.

17.2 Sensors should be self- calibrated and without maintenance. Otherwise,

maintenance cycle should be defined.

Exception:
The selection of moisture analyzer, and Dissolved Gases Analyzer (DGA)
Technologies should be self-calibration, and maintenance free and not be
consumable.
17.3 MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure), at the minimum, should be greater
than the maximum device maintenance interval in substations.

17.4 Maintenance, repair or recovery of sensors should not affect the normal
operations of substation.

18. System Requirements

18.1 Equipment to be installed in controlled room(s) such as data concentrators,

gateways, computer hardware, etc. should be designed to operate in
electrical substation control room environment.

18.2 The system should be scalable with provisions for expansion or updates.

18.3 The system should integrate all periodic off-line and on-line continuous
data/information in a common, open standardized computational
architecture.

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
Issue Date: 19 October 2021
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18.4 All required interfaces for proper functioning of the system should be
designed to exchange data/information with PSA using IEC 61850, DNP3.0
or Modbus.

18.5 The components should follow cybersecurity IEC 62443, SAEP-99 and
relevant Saudi Aramco cybersecurity requirements.

19. System Architecture

19.1 The condition monitoring system should have the architecture described in
Figure 1.

19.2 The condition monitoring data should be stored at central control room.

19.3 Condition monitoring PC should be placed in CCB.

19.4 The system consists of the following components and interfaces:

• Sensors
• Outdoor cabinet which all the sensors are connected to
• Indoor gateway
• Interface with PSA level 1 (through protocol gateway if needed)

19.5 Intelligent unit placed in the indoor gateway is preferred

19.6 The network design should comply with the network design considerations
as described in IEC TR 61850-90-4

19.7 Outdoor Cabinet should send data to the gateway through fiber optic or
industrial wireless (i.e. ISA100 or WirelessHART)

19.8 Gateway
19.8.1 It should be installed in the substation PSA cabinet
19.8.2 It should support LDAP for secure access
19.8.3 It should be of industrial type
19.8.4 It should interface with PSA at level-1 switch through fiber optic
cable
19.8.5 Time synchronization of gateway should be similar to IEDs

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
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Next Revision: 19 October 20231 Online Condition Monitoring System For Electrical Equipment

Substation PSA Cabinet

Equipment sensors;
GIS,
switchgear/controlgear,
UPS, battery charger.

Outdoor cabinet
Fiber Optic Ethernet switch
Substation PSA Level 2
Gateway

Ethernet switch
Substation PSA Level 1

Equipment sensors; power

transformer, and submarine
cable

Figure 1. Condition Monitoring System Architecture

20. Software Requirement

20.1 The system software should be able to display of substation name and
equipment identification such as equipment tag name.

20.2 The system should have provision for three (3) or more levels of user groups
namely; Administrator/Operator, System Engineer and Technician.
• Technician: should have viewing, report generation and downloading
rights.

• System Engineer: In addition to the rights of a Technician, a system

engineer should be able to configure and monitoring system. As well as
modify and deleting basic configuration data like nomenclatures,
location details, preset values, offline value/pre-commissioning values,
other setup values, one-time data inputs etc. for particular piece of
equipment/accessories.

• Administrator/Operator: In addition to the rights as a system Engineer,

the system admin/operator, should have the rights to perform
necessary software changes, operating system, software upgrades,
security patches etc. The Administrator/Operator should also be able to
create and delete users accounts as well as modify various rights.

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 Document Responsibility: Electrical Substations Equipment Standards Committee SABP-P-026
Issue Date: 19 October 2021
Next Revision: 19 October 20231 Online Condition Monitoring System For Electrical Equipment

21. System Support

The OEM should provide hardware, software and application software support;
including supply of updates and security patches as required. The complete
documentation of the system should be provided to enable proper system
maintenance.

22. Qualification and Documentation Required

Vendor should submit the following:

a. Design/type EMI/EMC test certificates
b. Bill of Materials with part numbers
c. General block diagrams, schematic drawings, and P&ID.
d. Instruction Operation Maintenance Manual
e. List of recommended spares
f. MTBF/MTTR calculations

23. Testing

The vendor should make sure that the system is fully operational. The vendor
should perform the following factory acceptance tests:
1. Hardware and software integration acceptance test.
2. System testing of software, database, function, and performance test.

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