To help stabilize electricity supply in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, 36 transformers were installed throughout the city, managing director of the provincial power company said.
"The equipment cost $700,000 and were synchronized with the national grid," ISNA also quoted Abdolhamid Abbas Shiyari as saying.
The new transformers increased the city’s power network capacity by 15,000 kilovolt amperes, he added.
The transformers were indigenized by domestic engineers of Iran Transfo Zanjan Company, a subsidiary of Iran Transfo Industrial Group.
A power transformer is a passive electromagnetic device that transfers energy from one circuit to another by means of inductive coupling. Power transformers differ from other types in that they are designed to comply with regulatory requirements for mains power interfacing, working with mains voltages and relatively high currents.
The official noted that these systems have been designed to resist extreme weather that rises to 55 degrees Celsius.
Power outages in Khuzestan have become a near permanent feature in recent years. The province is battered by irregular but long blackouts, as some power and water infrastructures are hit by sand and dust storms originating largely from Iraq.
Rate of Error
According to Arash Aqaeifar, the executive secretary of Iran Transformer Magazine, the rate of error in the transformer network of Iran is 2.5 times more than the world average.
“While the error rate in the global transformer network is 0.5%, it is over 1.5% in our country. We must work harder to raise our efficiency,” he added.
He referred to the aging machines as another challenge for the transformer industry.
“There are 725 distribution transformers and 5,000 power transformers in the network, which are aging rapidly,” he warned.
The cost of installing new transformers has risen dramatically and resulted in an aging fleet because funding is scarce due to the difficult economic conditions.
“Appropriate solutions have been developed in many countries to improve the life expectancy of transformers, and we are working to find ways to do likewise with the help of academia and industry stakeholders,” he added.
Normal or average life expectancy of a transformer is about 20-30 years, though some in Japan have been operating for more than 50 years.
As the world’s population swells, the need for power is increasing rapidly. According to the International Energy Agency, global energy demand will grow by 30% between now and 2040, with electricity consumption accounting for 40% of the total increase.
But continued reliability of this flow of electricity into businesses and homes depends on the stability of the system supporting it. This includes all links in the electrical power train—circuit breakers, wiring and transformers.
