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INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY SERVICES
In December
of 1999, the Member Services Committee
announced a new service to be provided to MPUA members, the Infrared
Thermography Inspection Program.
The
purpose of the MPUA Thermography Program is to provide infrared
scanning technology to member municipal systems. This is a
joint cooperative program between the Missouri Public Utility
Alliance and Columbia Water & Light. The program provides a service to Alliance
members and their communities that might otherwise be unattainable
because of technical or financial reasons. Infrared
Thermography can demonstrate potential savings by reducing equipment
failure, downtime and outages by detecting problems early -- before
service or production is interrupted by failure. Not only can
the program be a benefit to the utility but can also be a valuable
public relations asset when used as a service to local customers.
Columbia Water & Light
will provide the infrared cameras,
recording equipment and vehicles for transportation as well as
trained personnel to operate the equipment and prepare
reports. MPUA will administer the program by providing
scheduling and billing, report and video copying services and by
marketing the program to Alliance members.
The
applications for infrared thermographic inspections are limitless
and the benefits are numerous. Problems can be located quickly
and without interruption of service. Costly unscheduled
outages can be reduced. Maintenance staff can be utilized to a
maximum advantage. Equipment life can be extended by locating
problem components prior to failure. The service can be used
on transmission and distribution lines, cable splices, insulators
and lightning arresters, transformers and capacitor banks,
disconnects, switches, meters and control connections, substations,
fans and motors. Thermographic inspections also apply to power
plants and industrial customers for voltage regulation
equipment, circuit breakers, relays and fuses, bus ducts and cable
trays, motor couplings, gears and gear boxes, conveyor belts and
drives, pumps and compressors, flay roof leak detection and heat
loss on building envelopes.
If you
have any interest in scheduling this service or have and questions,
please call the MPUA office at 573/ 445-3279 or email info@mpua.org.
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