Energy Talks

In this episode, Professor Michael Hartje, an expert for digital measurement and automation technology in power systems at the Bremen University of Applied Science in Germany, describes the connection between the digital twin and the monitoring, diagnosis and control of electrical equipment. He also highlights how the digital twin can be used as a single source of data about power equipment throug...

In this episode, we talk about a new measurement to detect coupling in cable shields, which can cause overheating and damage to parallel medium-voltage power cables. Our guests from OMICRON include Florian Fink, Application Expert for Industrial & Distribution Grid Testing, and Moritz Pikisch, Application Expert for Line and Ground Testing. They describe how the new coupling measurement performed...

Our guest in this episode is Wilfried Breuer, Managing Director of Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen and Chairman of the German CIGRE committee. He describes the growing use and impact of renewable energy and the challenges with handling the future energy demand. Wilfried also explains the increasing need for smart power grids and how the integrated use of the latest offline and online diagnostic solutio...

This is the third episode of our Energy Talks mini-series, called “Circuit Breaker Testing Around the World.” OMICRON Circuit Breaker Testing Expert Stefan Achberger is your host, and he speaks with other experts around the globe about the types of equipment used and which tests are commonly performed. In this episode, Stefan speaks with OMICRON experts Florian Predl and Tibor Congo about circuit...

In this episode of Energy Talks, we take you on an audio tour of the new OMICRON Customer Care Center (OCC) in Klaus, Austria. During our audio tour, we speak with OCC Project Leader Friedrich Almer, OMICRON Application Engineer Bernhard Engstler and OCC Training Administrator Julia Schneider. They tell us about how the idea for an expansive showroom for power system testing originated and how the...

In this Energy Talks episode, OMICRON Partial Discharge (PD) Testing & Monitoring Experts Bogdan Gorgan and Patrick Zander remind us that PD is one of the best indicators of whether electrical insulation is in good or bad condition. To reduce risk of failures, Bogdan and Patrick discuss how asset managers have achieved more peace of mind after having implemented permanent PD monitoring for continu...

In this episode, we discuss OMICRON’s upcoming 2023 Protection Testing Online Series with the organizers, Eugenio Carvalheira and Parisa Jalalipour. They discuss the importance of keeping protection testing knowledge and skills up to date, and how they developed the concept for the online training series to help attendees add value to their daily work with the latest knowledge, practical examples...

In this episode of Energy Talks, Mateus Nicoladelli de Oliveira, Digital Business Developer at WEG in Brazil, and Guilherme Pernariol, Regional Application Sales Manager at OMICRON in Brazil, discuss the significance of Industry 4.0 and its impact on the electrical power industry. They highlight the new technologies used, the opportunities and challenges Industry 4.0 presents to organizations in t...

This is the second episode of our new Energy Talks mini-series, called “Circuit Breaker Testing Around the World.” OMICRON Circuit Breaker Testing Expert Stefan Achberger is your host, and he speaks with other experts around the globe about the types of equipment used and which tests are commonly performed. In this episode, Stefan speaks with Westnetz expert Bastian Wölke about circuit breaker tes...

This is the first episode of our new Energy Talks mini-series, called “Circuit Breaker Testing Around the World.” OMICRON Circuit Breaker Testing Expert Stefan Achberger is your host, and he speaks with other experts around the globe about the types of equipment used and which tests are commonly performed. In this episode, Stefan speaks with OMICRON expert Charles Sweetser about circuit breaker te...

In this episode of Energy Talks, OMICRON Field Testing Experts Mohamed Ali, Fadi Zatari and Ahmed Abdelwahab highlight the specific power system testing challenges in Middle East countries. They also offer examples of how portable, battery-powered and multi-functional testing solutions, such as OMICRON’s COMPANO 100, are helping field engineers to greatly simplify power system testing in the regio...

In this episode of Energy Talks, OMICRON Power Grid Cybersecurity Expert Andreas Klien explains how vulnerability management can lead to more effective cybersecurity in power grids, including the advantages of enhanced system visibility, a comprehensive asset inventory, intrusion detection and proper risk prioritization. Andreas also describes the challenges of vulnerability management and how eff...

In this episode of Energy Talks, OMICRON field testing experts Bernhard Engstler and Marcus Stenner talk about their practical experience with the onsite commissioning of power transformers. They also offer best practice tips, including how the use of multi-functional testing devices and following a defined testing workflow improve efficiency as well as ensure safety and reliable measurement resul...

The optimal quality of power system measurement data is essential for making reliable condition assessments of electrical equipment and predicting asset lifetime. In this episode, David Gopp, Data Scientist and Digital Transformation Expert at OMICRON, discusses how artificial intelligence is effectively used to perform pattern recognition on measurement data to identify irregularities and to help...

In this episode, Florian Fink, OMICRON expert for the testing of industrial and distribution grid applications, describes a new automated, close-looped testing approach that has been developed to speed up and enhance the safety and quality of component testing in intelligent secondary distribution substations (ISDS). He also discusses how this new automated testing method ensures more efficient ma...

In Part 2 of our special coverage about the 2022 CIGRE conference and exhibition, OMICRON event specialist Aby-Gael Meyet and Iris Fischer from the Energy Talks podcast team speak with OMICRON application experts about important areas of focus and new solutions for power system testing and gather impressions from CIGRE 2022 visitors.

For those who were not able to attend the CIGRE 2022 conference and exhibition in Paris, France, we are devoting two episodes of Energy Talks to share various impressions of this leading power systems industry event with you. In Part 1, OMICRON exhibition specialist Aby-Gael Meyet interviews Philippe Adam, Secretary General at CIGRE, to find out more about CIGRE as an organization, the significanc...

In this episode, OMICRON partial discharge experts Bogdan Gorgan and Patrick Zander discuss the advantages of using temporary online monitoring to trend PD activity and track developing insulation defects between diagnostic measurements. Specifically, they describe the importance of observing PD activity when electrical equipment is in operation. They also highlight the differences between PD moni...

In this episode, guest experts Renny Vandewege, Vice President of Weather Operations at DTN, and Denton McGregor, Senior Reliability Center Manager at Black Hills Energy, discuss how fire-weather forecasting supported with advanced data intelligence is helping electrical utilities effectively plan their response before wildfires start and spread. They also offer practical tips for implementing fir...

There is an increased need for protection testing at electrical utilities, but there are fewer staff members and less time to do it. In this episode, OMICRON protection testing expert Michael Albert discusses the advantages of standardizing and automating protection testing practices. He describes how standardization and automation can improve protection testing quality and decrease testing time....

Energy Talks is a regular podcast series that features discussions with OMICRON experts and industry peers about topics related to optimizing the reliability, safety and security of power systems worldwide. Currently, we are celebrating four years of knowledge sharing with over 100 timely episodes for you to listen to. We would really like to hear your feedback about our podcast series. Simply sen...

Growing organizations in the power industry are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain talented employees. In this episode, OMICRON human resources experts Cordula Böhmer and Ruben Fuentes share their experiences and insights. They also describe how OMICRON endeavors to expand its talent pool by offering inspiring working conditions based on core values that keep the company focus...

Regular tests of inductive voltage transformers (VTs) and capacitive voltage transformers (CVTs) ensure reliable operation for both protection and metering purposes. In this episode, OMICRON instrument transformer testing experts Thomas Bischof and Felix Feustel talk about how automated workflows and a new method for determining CVT capacitances with the same testing device help to make voltage tr...

In this episode, OMICRON data transformation experts David Gopp and Lukas Klingenschmid talk about the importance of measurement data validation and how it is used to check different factors that can influence the consistency and quality of measurement data. They also emphasize the necessity to validate measurement data before it is processed, distributed and used for asset condition assessments a...

In this episode of Energy Talks, OMICRON field testing expert Marcus Stenner shares his many years of practical experience in instrument transformer testing at power substations all over the world. Marcus describes the various tests performed on current and voltage transformers, how they are set up in the field, and which testing solutions apply. He also offers best practice tips for ensuring safe...