A smart cable management system in support of the smart city

Abstract

With the promotion of the smart city and the development of smart distribution network, intelligent management of the vast, expensive power cable network is attached with growing significance. This paper proposes a novel, intelligent cable management system, of which the aim is to improve the operational and maintenance effectiveness and to support smart cities. Firstly, it discusses the challenges to the current power cable maintenance and management practice before the term of intelligent cable management is defined. Secondly, the framework of the intelligent cable management system is presented along with the supporting information platform based on Geographical Information System (GIS). Using cloud sharing technology, locations of the cable circuits, gas pipes, water pipes and other underground pipelines are displayed on the same GIS platform, based on which these underground pipelines can enjoy information sharing, collective planning, operation and maintenance. Thirdly, Internet of Things, Mobile Internet, Big Data and other new information technologies are used to improve condition monitoring and to evaluate remaining service life of power cables, in order to realize an orderly and optimal replacement of the power cables. Also the system can enable other utilities to plan systematically their underground pipeline network construction and replacement. Finally, taking the Chinese City of Suzhou's management system as an example, the paper illustrates the utilization of the novel, intelligent power cable management model to support smart city construction. The case study shows that with the aid of Cloud Sharing technology, Big Data and other IT technologies, power cable network maintenance and management practice is significantly improved and the cable network becomes more reliable. The mutual benefit among the different utility companies is significant because of the reduced third party damage, leading to enhanced energy supply security and public service within the smart city.