Transelec applies an exacting maintenance program in order to ensure optimal quality of service in the extended geographical area covered by its facilities. All the procedures used to carry out maintenance activities adhere strictly to the electricity and environmental legislation in force in the country, in addition to rigorous and permanently updated internal regulations that ensure the safety of persons, service and installations.
The experience gained through keeping a record of the functioning of the equipment during their service life has allowed Transelec – through the widely experienced professionals who make up the Technical Support area – to optimize the maintenance frequencies of the different equipment and the scope of the work that should be carried out on each occasion. In this sense, Transelec is permanently incorporating new maintenance systems that make it possible to detect equipment or installations that are likely to fail.
Transelec is responsible for preparing the maintenance plans and associated work programmes, that is to say, it exercises full control over the definition of the works in terms of both their scope and timeliness. In turn, the execution of maintenance work on the transmission lines and primary equipment of the substations, carried out by two highly experienced and prestigious specialized contracting companies, is inspected and evaluated by the company’s technical team. This makes it possible for Transelec to focus its attention on activities that provide greater added value, as well as to incorporate the best existing maintenance practices.
At Transelec, outsourcing of maintenance work on the transmission lines and primary equipment of the substations began in the first quarter of year 2000. The idea of outsourcing maintenance work arose from the fact that Transelec visualized a way of achieving better management and control of the resources used to carry out maintenance work without the outsourcing altering the requirements of safety and quality of service.
In this process, it was clearly distinguished that maintenance activities related to the control systems, protections and measures, such as operations at the control centres, were critical for the results required by the company and that they should therefore not be outsourced. Thus, the company continues to invest and build unique capacities in these activities.