SF6 – What’s everybody gassing about?

John Pringle, Technical Manager - Pringle Beleski and Associates Limited

Andy McMahon, Asset Engineering Stations Manager - Transpower New Zealand Limited

EEA Conference & Exhibition 2015, 24 - 26 June, Wellington

ABSTRACT
Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) has been used as an insulating medium in the high voltage
industry for many decades. While very reliable and stable, if handled and maintained
correctly, SF6 is easily contaminated and its negative impacts on the environment are well
researched. Most asset owners currently have an installed base of SF6, however there are key
knowledge gaps in the requirements faced by these organisations and common
misconceptions.

With the increased awareness of greenhouse gases on the environment, SF6 (as one of the 6
key greenhouse gasses identified under the Kyoto Protocol) has become a regulated gas to
reduce its impact on the environment. New Zealand legislation has a number of obligations
that must be adhered to, requiring emissions to be measured and reported accurately and for
‘best practice’ to be used when handling SF6.

As the largest user of SF6 in New Zealand, Transpower recognised these issues and have put
in place a number of solutions and are making efforts to continually improve. These include
detailed reporting, centralised gas storage sites, specialised gas handling equipment and
specialist organisations to manage the SF6 stocks. Transpower continue to make advances in
this area including the purification of contaminated gas back to IEC standards for use in new
equipment. Transpower’s response provides a best practice case study of how SF6 is
currently being managed within the New Zealand context and provides further comment on
development in this area.

This paper outlines Transpower’s SF6 Solutions and covers current issues facing asset owners
such as leak control, stock management, reporting and the skills and knowledge currently in
the industry. SF6 equipment has previously been referred to as ‘maintenance free’ however
time has proven conclusively that this is not the case, especially given New Zealand’s
environment. As legacy SF6 equipment in the electricity network is replaced with new SF6
equipment, it is important to ensure the end of life disposal of the equipment and its gas is
managed correctly.

This paper also covers relevant New Zealand legislation applicable to SF6 gas, and the
equipment requirements for handling it. A number of acts and regulations have an impact on
how SF6 should be stored, transported and handled. Finally we discuss the technology
advances made by New Zealand’s specialist high voltage contractor, Pringle Beleski and
Associates (PBA), in the areas of equipment and systems used to handle and manage SF6 gas,
as well as the future for gas insulation in circuit breakers.

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THE HISTORY OF SF6
SF6 was first realized in 1900 in the laboratories of the Faculte de Pharmacie de, in Paris and
in 1937 General Electrical Company first realized that SF6 gas can be used as an effective
electrical insulating material1. After the Second World War the popularity of Sulphur
Hexafluoride gas as an electrical insulating medium in switching equipment began to rise.
Allied Chemical Corporation and Pennsalt were the first American organisations to begin
producing this gas commercially in 1948. During 1960, use of Sulphur Hexafluoride gas in
high voltage systems began to come toward the forefront of innovation efforts in this area.
As the demand for SF6 increased many manufacturers in Europe and America started
producing SF6 gas on progressively larger scales further reflecting the beginning of a general
uptake of associated switchgear technologies.

At the outset of this phase of commercialisation Sulphur Hexafluoride gas was only used for
passive insulating purposes in electrical systems. In the mid to late 1960s however, it was
realised that this gas has tremendous arc quenching properties. This led to increased research
and the uptake of SF6 in circuit breakers as an arc quenching medium. The world’s first SF6
insulated substation was established in Paris 1966 (where, 66 years earlier, SF6 was first
discovered). SF6 medium Voltage circuit breakers were launched into commercial markets
from 1971. Roughly a decade later, high Voltage circuit breakers using SF6 appeared in New
Zealand. There has since been a prolific uptake of SF6 circuit breakers throughout the
generation, transmission and distribution networks in New Zealand. During this period the
New Zealand industry also underwent privatisation.

The consequences of this rapid and widespread uptake coupled with privatisation of the
industry include:

 A large number of SF6 asset owners

 Nationally, a widespread and aged fleet of SF6 assets
 The introduction of progressively more stringent legislation and practices for
monitoring compliance
 A broad range of manufacturers, technologies and voltages
 Specifically through privatisation; a reduced capacity for the industry to share;
o Innovations in the SF6 / circuit breaker space
o Best practice techniques for SF6 handling and management
o Asset management strategies specific to New Zealand’s SF6 circuit breaker
fleets and legislation

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SF6 properties, and use in MV and HV switchgear (D. KOCH, 2003)

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TRANSPOWER’S MANAGEMENT OF SF6
Transpower has approximately 452 Tonne of SF6 gas contained in indoor medium-voltage
switchboards (44 installations2), outdoor circuit breakers (1,233 installations2), and indoor
high-voltage gas insulated switchgear (9 installations) at our various sites across New
Zealand. SF6 gas is also stored in bottles used for top ups and equipment maintenance.

SF6 circuit breakers are still the internationally preferred solution for outdoor high-voltage
circuit breakers and indoor high-voltage gas insulated switchgear. SF6 is a potent greenhouse
gas with around 23,000 times the effect of carbon dioxide, and care must be taken to
minimise emissions and reduce the contribution to climate change. Transpower plans for 35
service years from standard duty SF6 circuit breakers, and 50 years for our indoor high-
voltage gas insulated switchgear. The implication is that SF6 gas is going to be required for a
significant time to come.

SF6 free technology is in development stages with limited commercial availability at the
voltages applicable to Transpower’s asset base. Transpower continue to monitor the
development of this technology and, at the right time, will introduce it to the network. Even
when SF6 free technology becomes more established, Transpower will have a fleet of SF6
assets to manage for at least another 30 years.

Although SF6 circuit breakers generally require little maintenance, the overall operational
performance of particular models of Transpower’s SF6 circuit breaker do not meet
expectations. Certain models have proven to be highly vulnerable to New Zealand’s
corrosive environment which has resulted in leaks of SF6 gas. SF6 gas handling operations
introduce a further risk of SF6 emissions, so it is essential that SF6 handling equipment is
designed to minimise emissions and the processes be carried out by competent people.

The following sections describe;

 Drivers and challenges faced by Transpower in the quest to minimise SF6 emissions
 Initiatives Transpower has put in place to achieve reductions in gas loss
 Ongoing innovation in partnership with an expert high voltage contracting
organisation

1 SF6 LEAK IMPLICATIONS

Circuit breakers, essential to safe operation of the transmission network, are used to rapidly
isolate electrical equipment. Their correct operation is vitally important for managing risk to
employees and members of the public. Occasionally a circuit breaker may be removed from
service at short notice to top up gas. This has an impact on the operational performance of
the transmission network and increases risk for customers. If a circuit breaker gas leak is
severe it may reach the gas lockout condition rendering the circuit breaker inoperable. This
can require other equipment to be taken out of service to safely isolate the circuit breaker
which can cause further network disruption.

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data as of June 2014 for annual SF6 reporting requirements

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No manufacturer guarantees a 100% leak proof SF6 outdoor circuit breaker, although the rate
quoted for ‘normal’ service is commonly claimed to be less than 0.5% of nameplate mass
each year. Based on this, even the best SF6 circuit breakers will require topping-up to retain
SF6 working pressure.

International benchmarking studies3 reveal the reliability of Transpower’s circuit breakers is

well below international norms, particularly at 110 kV. The number of forced and fault
outages would need to be halved to then reach the average performance, in international
terms. Poor network performance and the costs of responding to gas leaks are the main
drivers to minimise our SF6 emissions.

2 TRANSPOWER SF6 EMISSIONS PERFORMANCE

In 2004 Transpower signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the NZ Government to
limit our SF6 emissions to 2% of total installed equipment nameplate weight. This agreement
ended on 31 December 2012, and was superseded by the New Zealand Emissions Trading
Scheme (NZ ETS) requirements. Transpower is committed to minimising emissions of SF6,
and ensuring that annual emissions are kept to less than 1% of our total SF6 inventory.

Transpower’s SF6 emissions have declined substantially since 2004 after a number of badly
leaking assets were either repaired or replaced. Additionally, SF6 awareness training was
carried out in 2004 to reinforce best practice in SF6 gas handling and management.

Chart 1 - Total Annual SF6 Emissions from All Sources

700
600
500
kg SF6 emitted

400
300
200
100
0

Not only have emissions reduced in terms of the percentage of inventory, but the absolute
weight of gas lost to the atmosphere over 2013/14 was also an all-time low of just 214 kg.

For some models of equipment, a gas loss of just 0.5 kg (~10 %) is sufficient to raise a “low”
alarm, demanding a top up. Whilst the actual amount of gas leaked is important from an
environmental perspective, it is the number of assets that needed to be topped up that is more
important, as this has the biggest implications on network performance.

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The International Transmission Operations & Maintenance Study (ITOMS) is a long running (since 1994), global consortium dedicated to
advancing performance and best practices across the electric transmission industry

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3 NEW ZEALAND’S SF6 REPORTING REQUIREMEMTS
Regulations for reporting synthetic greenhouse gas (SGG) emissions under the New Zealand
Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) came into force from 1 January 2011.
Persons who use SF6 in operating electrical equipment, and who are above the prescribed
threshold, are required to participate in the NZ ETS. These participants are required to collect
certain data to calculate and report on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with certain
activities from 1 January 2013. If an organisation has less than 1 tonne of SF6 contained in
all their operating electrical equipment, reporting obligations under the NZ ETS are
voluntary. Effectively this means only large users of SF6 are legally required to report and
surrender units for SF6 emissions relating to the operation of electrical equipment.

Participants must retain sufficient records to enable the Environmental Protection Authority
(EPA) to verify the emissions reported in their emissions return. Records must be retained
for a period of at least seven years after the end of the year to which they relate including any
records related to removal activities. Transpower’s SF6 reporting is currently reliant on
weighing cylinders before and after each use, and recording cylinder serial numbers, weight
of gas used and the asset they were used on. Paper records are then entered into a bespoke
spreadsheet and monthly reports are produced. Annual stocktaking of all cylinders is
undertaken by PBA.

4 2009 – AN SF6 ASSET OWNER’S CHALLENGES

In 2009 a plan was developed to identify further opportunities to reduce SF6 emissions:

 Review SF6 handling, testing and leak detection equipment

 Increase awareness of the need to minimise SF6 emissions
 Improve SF6 leak management through early leak identification and repairs
 Investigate models for inherent design problems that result in leaks
 Review SF6 gas inventory management practices
 Accelerate replacement of older leaking circuit breakers
 Increase spares availability (circuit breakers, poles, seal kits, pressure gauges etc.)
 Evaluate training requirements and minimum competencies for SF6 work

Transpower’s timing was apt in this respect – a specialist high voltage contracting business
with unrivalled knowledge and expertise in SF6 was founded in 2009 – Pringle Beleski and
Associates (PBA).

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4.1 Stage 1 – SF6 Handling and testing equipment improvements
A review was carried out of Transpower’s incumbent maintenance contractors’ SF6 handling
and testing equipment; some of the key findings were:

 Leak detectors had no sensor failure indication and many were prone to false alarming
 Filling equipment lacked non-return valves to minimise gas release on hose de-
coupling
 Various sizes and types of threads and couplings to be assembled on site using PTFE
tape leading to risk of leaks due to assembly errors
 Various sizes of analogue SF6 pressure gauges being used to fill equipment, and lack
of calibration leading to accuracy errors (over or under filling)
 Filling equipment that needed to be purged with SF6 before use
 SF6 testing equipment that emitted the gas sample to atmosphere after testing
 SF6 cylinder weighing scales not always used at site due to portability issues leading
to SF6 recording errors against individual assets
 No routine testing/inspection of SF6 handling and testing equipment
 Some contractors had invested in good equipment, others had not
 All contractors advised that they would benefit from SF6 training
It was concluded that significant reductions could be made in actual SF6 emissions and also
the risk of emissions, through implementing equipment, process, and training improvements.
Additionally new leak detection tools find leaks quicker. New infrared leak detectors (or
“sniffers”) were purchased and issued to the incumbent maintenance contractors.
Transpower commenced worked with PBA to develop new sets of SF6 filling equipment
using high quality components, digital pressure gauges, and all connections incorporated self-
sealing couplings. A best practice SF6 filling guide was also developed and included with the
filling kits. Robust cylinder weighing trollies were also developed to ensure that gas
cylinders could be accurately weighed on site during SF6 filling. The new equipment was
issued out to Transpower’s incumbent maintenance contractors by PBA who then delivered
training courses on the new, standardised, equipment.

SF6 Leak Detector SF6 Filling Kit SF6 Cylinder

weighing trolley

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4.2 Stage 2 – SF6 Camera implementation
Transpower purchased an infrared SF6 gas detection camera in January 2010. It was trialled
on a number of outdoor circuit breakers and indoor gas insulated switchgear that had known
leaks that had previously not been found using older leak detectors. It quickly became evident
that the camera was going to prove exceptionally useful in reducing SF6 emissions. In 2012,
PBA were made custodian of the SF6 camera and were charged with operating the camera on
Transpower’s behalf.
The main benefits of having an SF6 camera are:

 Scanning for leaks with equipment in service (reduces outages and costs)
 Pinpointing the exact source of leak and target repairs (particularly useful on circuit
breakers with one common gas zone and one pressure gauge)
 Small leaks detected with a leak detector can be visualised
 It enables an asset owner to have more robust discussions with manufacturers on leaks

The images above show the SF6 camera scanning a 110 kV circuit breaker. The leak image
(top right) shows SF6 gas leaking from the top of the circuit breaker pole. Engaging PBA’s
circuit breaker experts to strip the pole down in their clean workshop identified that moisture
had tracked down the fixing studs creating corrosion across the gasket and leading to the leak.
This was a design weakness that affected 161 identical circuit breakers.

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4.3 Stage 3 – Leak profiling
With Transpower now able to identify a leak’s location using the SF6 camera, it soon became
apparent that certain models of circuit breaker were usually leaking from the same locations.
Circuit breaker top up records were also analysed to look for leak patterns which could be
due to a common mode failure. The following summarises the main issues found;

Example 1: CB has been in service for 10 years, and has required a consistent top up every 2
years since it was commissioned with no apparent worsening of the leak. This is consistent
with a site installation defect, or manufacturing defect. Transpower has experienced site
installation defects on a number of circuit breaker models, where the SF6 manifold pipework
to circuit breaker pole O-rings were damaged during installation.

Example 2: CB has required its first top up after 10 years in service, a second after 12 years,
a third after 13 years, and a fourth top up after 13 ½ years in service. This is consistent with
flange corrosion developing on the sealing surfaces which results in leaks that steadily get
worse. Transpower has many models affected by this due to a combination of sealing system
design weaknesses, inadequate grease applied in the factory, or inadequate materials
utilisation by the manufacturer. Options are typically pole replacement or CB replacement.

Example 3: CB has required its first top up after 20 years in service, and a further top up 3
months after. This is consistent with the filling point O-ring being damaged during the top up
which has introduced a leak. All 136 affected circuit breakers have had a modification,
designed by PBA, installed to eliminate the risk.

Example 4: A recent issue that Transpower has encountered is badly corroded SF6 gas
pipework resulting in pipe work being replaced on 232 circuit breakers.

Example 5: CB has been in service for less than six months and required a top up. This is
consistent with a manufacturing defect, or a site installation defect. Examples of
manufacturing defects include leaking soldered pipework joints, porous castings, and missing
O-rings.

Example 6: CB has required a top up after several open/close operations. This is consistent
with a drive shaft seal leak, with the rotational movement during operation causing gas to be
released through ageing seals.

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The images above are various types of leak modes that have been identified. Through leak
profiling and building up asset knowledge, Transpower have eliminated some leak sources
through repairs and modifications, and can also react quicker to fix leaks.

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4.4 Stage 4 – SF6 Gas management improvements
Despite Transpower having a main supplier of SF6 gas in 2009, assets were being filled with
SF6 gas from multiple sources. Incumbent maintenance contractors were buying gas directly
from NZ stockists, and some circuit breakers were being supplied by manufacturers with
bottles of gas. This lead to difficulties in tracking the volume of “Transpower” gas in the
country, where cylinders were located, end of year compliance reporting, and Transpower
had insufficient control over the purchase cost of the SF6 gas. This is an issue many other SF6
asset owners may be facing currently.

In 2011, Transpower awarded an SF6 gas management contract to PBA to address a number
of the issues identified around handling and management of SF6. Transpower also started to
purchase SF6 gas directly from a gas manufacturer at competitive bulk prices and, with
PBA’s assistance, built three dedicated SF6 gas cylinder stores complete with leak
monitoring. All existing Transpower SF6 cylinders were returned to PBA, catalogued,
weighed, and tested for dew-point and impurities. The gas in partially-full cylinders was
consolidated where possible by PBA.

Due to the large amount of (air/moisture) contaminated gas returned by Transpower’s

incumbent maintenance contractors, further checks on some of the maintenance contractor
gas carts using the SF6 camera. Several leaks were identified on the hoses and fittings being
used, and some gas cart moisture filters were found to be fully saturated. These leaks and
filtration deficiencies will have had led to contamination of gas.

Transpower worked with PBA to develop new gas cart hose and filter kits and these have
recently been issued out to the incumbent maintenance contractors for use with their gas
carts. The kits include a digital vacuum gauge for improved accuracy of reporting over the
actual level of SF6 recovered from equipment. These new hoses and filters should
significantly reduce the potential for SF6 contamination when using gas carts.

PBA have also developed a bespoke web based cylinder tracking database to track the
location of gas cylinders, the serial numbers, cylinder weights, and any relevant cylinder re-
certification dates.

New SF6 storage container Old SF6 cylinders returned during the amnesty

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4.5 Stage 5 – SF6 Training and competency
Transpower and PBA, working collaboratively, are developing new training and
competency requirements for staff involved with handling SF6 gas. Three levels of
competency will be defined to ensure only competent staff can carry out certain
activities.
Level 1 Instruction on the basics of SF6 gas, Transpower supplied SF6 equipment, and
how to top-up a circuit breaker (Approved Filler competency not required).
Level 2 Instructions on filling circuit breakers and evacuating to transport pressure
(0.5 bar) using a gas cart and require the Approved Filler competency to
evacuate gas into a bottle. This will allow contractors with gas carts to fill
new breakers, carry out pole changes and re-fill circuit breakers.
Level 3 Instructions on evacuating gas down to 50 mbar and carrying out invasive
work on SF6 circuit breakers, gas reclamation and refurbishments.

4.6 Stage 6 – SF6 Gas handling and management; developments and improvements
PBA has recently developed the EcoGas 600 series of economic and environmentally sound
SF6 handling products which bring about an integration of best practice SF6 tools and
applications. EcoGas handling equipment (gas cart 600G and fittings kit 600F) is specifically
designed to provide economic solutions for SF6 gas handling in the field. With the
introduction of the EcoGas mass-flow meter and database (600M & 600D), fully integrated
and accurate reporting is achieved; this helps eliminate user error. Through accurate data
capture, the 600D provides extremely useful asset management data such as user handling
emissions, CB type and geographical leak trends and leak rates. Reporting and data
management demands are also greatly reduced with all data able to be uploaded into asset
management systems (i.e. Maximo) seamlessly. PBA have further developed this with the
production of a mobile web-app (EcoGas 600A) to allow remote access to the 600D from site
via a smartphone.

PBA’s EcoGas 600 Series

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5 Conclusions
Both PBA and Transpower have made significant progress over the last four years to
develop best practice equipment and processes for minimising SF6 emissions. The
knowledge gained on how and why circuit breakers leak has been used to improve
maintenance practices and evaluation and selection criteria of new circuit breaker
models.
Over the next five years Transpower will install approximately 100 new outdoor SF6
circuit breakers, complete the replacement of 50 leak prone SF6 circuit breakers, and
commence proactive pole replacements on 140 leak prone SF6 circuit breakers. We will
also carry out a mid-life overhaul on our 220 kV gas insulated switchgear installation at
Clyde which will require us to evacuate and refill approximately 6000 kg of SF6 gas in
stages. All of this work carries a risk of SF6 emissions.
With the EcoGas 600 Series, PBA have recently designed and built their own SF6 gas
recovery carts (EcoGas 600G) compliant to New Zealand legislation and Transpower’s
stringent gas handling specifications. These are significantly lighter and smaller than
other commercially available gas carts, fitting comfortably in the side door of a standard
van. PBA have also developed the SF6 mass flow measuring device (EcoGas 600M)
capable of delivering further benefits in SF6 gas management and reporting. The mass
flow meters produce downloadable data in a format which is compatible for immediate
upload to PBA’s bespoke SF6 asset database system (EcoGas 600D). Transpower will
be evaluating these to determine the costs and benefits of deploying them in the field.
Transpower is currently establishing an SF6 Advisory Group to provide expert advice,
recommendations and implement programmes to reduce SF6 emissions to achieve
corporate targets and strategies.
PBA have played a major role in working with Transpower to develop new SF6 gas
handling equipment, SF6 gas cylinder management, refurbishing leaking circuit breaker
poles, developing circuit breaker upgrade solutions to minimise emissions, and
promoting best practice in SF6.
What is required now is for us to sustain all of the improvements made, and build on
them to drive further improvements.

6 References
Ministry for the Environment. 2013. A guide to synthetic greenhouse gas activities in the
New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme: 2013. Wellington: Ministry for the
Environment.
SF6 properties, and use in MV and HV switchgear (D. Koch, 2003)
Transpower data for annual SF6 reporting requirements (June 2014)
The International Transmission Operations & Maintenance Study (ITOMS) (1994)
Transpower Outdoor Circuit Breaker Fleet Strategy TP.FS 51.01
Transpower Indoor Switchgear Fleet Strategy TP.FS 17.01

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