Application of optical fibres in power systems

Optical fibres offer important advantages for power systems: they are cheap, of low weight, dielectric, insulating and immune from the effects of electromagnetic interference. With these features, high bandwidth secure communications along power transmission systems is an attractive option. In addition, fibres may be used for shorter path telemetry and for specialised diagnostic monitoring. Optical-fibre sensors may be used conveniently to measure power system parameters such as current, voltage, temperature, strain and displacement. These measurements may be either discrete or distributed. This paper discusses the above applications and indicates some future possibilities