Red Eléctrica de España and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will collaborate on an R&D+I project to develop an intelligent asset maintenance system (SIMA) for high voltage transmission grids. In the Canary Islands, this grid consists of lines, substations, transformers and electrical elements with a voltage equal to or greater than 66 kV, facilities needed for the transmission of electricity from the power generating stations to the distribution centres, where it feeds demand.

This collaboration to develop a pioneering system based on information technology came about on 26 July in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with the signing of a collaboration agreement between Red Eléctrica de España, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Fundación Universitaria de Las Palmas.

This agreement reflects the unswerving commitment of Red Eléctrica de España to innovation, technological development and continuous improvement, and falls within the framework of the Innovation and Technological Development Plan 2012 -2016.

The project will be led by the Department of Substation Maintenance of Red Eléctrica de España and will be carried out in collaboration with the Institute of Applied Microelectronics (Instituto Universitario de Microelectrónica Aplicada - IUMA) of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The project will last 19 months and has a total budget of 90,000 euros which has been put up entirely by REE.

Improving quality by reducing failures and incidents in the equipment
This new system, called SIMA, aims to deliver new possibilities for the management of electricity transmission maintenance through the use of today?s information technologies. Thus, it will provide a tool to manage, in a centralised manner, all relevant information regarding the elements of the electricity system as pertains to its optimal maintenance, providing assistance in the individualised design for service plans for each piece of equipment.

This initiative represents another step in the current trend of the leading System Operators in the global scenario towards condition-based maintenance of all the elements that make up electricity systems.

The main expected results of this project are to reduce the number of failures and incidents of in-service equipment, which will have a direct impact on the quality of service provided by REE nationwide, as well as a reduction in the costs associated with maintenance of said equipment.