HV Testing Guides

Practical guides to the tests Megavar engineers run on high voltage plant: what each test measures, which standards apply, how the test is set up and what the results mean. Every guide has a PDF version to download.

Battery testing shows whether a stationary standby battery can carry its DC load when the AC supply fails.

Cable fault location finds the point where a power cable has failed so it can be repaired in one excavation.

CT testing proves that a current transformer has the ratio and polarity on its nameplate, a healthy magnetic core and sound secondary insulation.

Ductor testing measures the resistance of circuit breaker contacts, busbar joints, cable lugs and earth bonds in micro-ohms.

Earth resistance testing shows whether an earth electrode or substation earth grid will carry fault current safely into the ground.

Hipot testing applies a voltage well above the operating voltage to insulation for a set time to prove it withstands it.

Circuit breaker testing confirms a breaker opens and closes on command, fast enough and with its poles together.

An insulation resistance test applies a steady DC voltage across insulation and measures the small current that flows.

Partial discharge testing finds insulation defects in HV cables, switchgear and transformers before they fail.

Power quality testing logs voltage and current at a point of connection for days and analyses the record for voltage, unbalance, harmonics, flicker, dips, swells, interruptions and transients.

Protection relay testing proves that the relays guarding a substation, feeder or generator will trip when they should and stay stable when they should not.

Secondary isolation separates the protection, control and metering circuits under test from the circuits that stay in service.

SFRA testing sweeps a low-voltage signal from 20 Hz to 2 MHz through a transformer winding and records a trace that is a fingerprint of the core and winding geometry.

Electrical thermal imaging finds connections, contacts and components running hotter than they should, on energised plant, without touching it.

Transformer testing covers a defined set of electrical, dielectric and oil tests that together prove a power transformer is fit to energise and track its condition in service.

VLF testing applies AC at 0.1 Hz to an MV or HV cable to prove its insulation, joints and terminations.

VT testing proves that a voltage transformer delivers a true, correctly phased image of the primary voltage and that its insulation and secondary circuit are fit for service.

Cable test voltage reference

Look up the published field test voltage for a shielded power cable after installation, at acceptance, or during maintenance. Values come straight from the tables in IEEE Std 400.2-2024 (VLF) and IEC 60840:2020 (AC 20 Hz to 300 Hz). The test specification for your job is set by the asset owner or network, so check it against their standard.

    Australian standard: AS/NZS 1429.1:2006 (polymeric cables 1.9/3.3 kV to 19/33 kV) treats testing after installation as informative only (Appendix F). It recommends against DC testing of the primary insulation, suggests a 24 h AC soak at normal operating voltage, allows higher voltage AC tests below power frequency by agreement between purchaser and installer, and sets no VLF levels.

    Sources: IEEE Std 400.2-2024, Table 3 and clause 5.1.1. IEC 60840:2020, clause 16.3 and Table 4 column 10 (the Australian adoption AS/NZS IEC 60840:2020 was withdrawn in June 2025 pending revision). AS/NZS 1429.1:2006, Appendix F. Values are reproduced for reference; the current edition of each standard governs.