In-House Developed Automated Fault Analysis with Multi-Collaboration of Asset Information System

Historically, fault analysis relied on fault recorders (DFRs) and protective relays, with the distance to the fault calculated manually from a single end of the line. This process, which was slow and heavily reliant on human expertise, was often inaccurate, particularly in the case of high-resistance faults (e.g., vegetation). AFA automates this work and introduces “two-end” fault location (TEFL) using COMTRADE files from both ends of the line, which significantly improves accuracy, including for arc faults and high-resistance faults. Beyond fault location, AFA delivers a range of diagnostic outputs that are essential for effective OHL maintenance planning, including:

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• Lightning induced fault validation – identify if a fault is associated with any lighting strike

Phase identification – identifies which conductor (R, Y, B) was involved in the fault.

Total fault current calculation – supports system stress evaluation.

Fault clearance time – measures the interval between fault initiation and circuit breaker operation.

Relay and circuit breaker performance analysis – facilitates post-event review and condition-based maintenance. A key enabler of this capability is the integration with a Grid Digital Intelligent Infrastructure

(GDII). This digital infrastructure collects and delivers real-time substation and grid asset data to a centralized operational platform. The system architecture employs ETL (Extract,

Transform, Load) processes to merge and normalize data from various systems including lightning detection feeds, line parameter databases, and geographical information systems. This integration ensures that AFA has access to both spatial and electrical data relevant to each fault event. The analytical core of AFA is built upon algorithms conforming to the IEEE C37.114-2004

Impedance-Based Fault Location Guidelines. It supports single-ended, double-ended, and three-terminal fault location methods. AFA fault location has shown high reliability, often locating faults to the exact transmission tower or within one span, drastically reducing the need for extensive site inspections.

While AFA does not directly contribute to refurbishment planning or the extension of OHL asset lifespan, it significantly reduces operational and diagnostic time. It supports faster decision-making, reduces restoration time, and enables utility engineers to focus on higherlevel system reliability strategies.

This paper presents the system’s architecture, integration approach, and practical deployment experience, highlighting its impact on operational workflows and fault response efficiency. The implementation of AFA demonstrates a scalable and effective solution for modernizing postfault analysis in transmission networks with high penetration of intelligent devices and digital infrastructure.