The use of underground cables is essential in power distribution networks as they mitigate the issues related to space availability and minimise line breakdown and increase system reliability. However, the detection and localization of cable fault is challenging due to the limited access to the cable burned under the ground.
In addition, methods applied for cable fault localisation introduce surge current and voltage that can subsequently lead to further failure and ageing of cables.
This paper therefore addresses issues concerned with the underground cable failures through statistical analysis, which was carried out using actual data collected from a use case of the electricity distribution company in Ghana.
A predictive model was developed to estimate the quantity of the underground power cable faults in the use case. This approach led to further investigation into the impact of the methods used for cable fault localisation on the health of the cable using simulation results.
The significance of this work is to provide design engineers with the developed predictive model to perform an initial assessment on the major causes of the cable failure as well as knowledge on how to minimise the adverse impact of cable testing.