Capacitor bank
This is relevant to only Induction generators. There are two types of defects which can occur in the
capacitor banks.
1. Reduction of the capacity of the capacitor. The Capacity of the Capacitor will reduce with usage.
This will result in the system frequency increasing. This can be overcome by simply adding extra
capacitors according to the same connections.
2. Physical damage of the capacitors may occur due to poor quality or end of lifetime. However this can be
pre-identified by just touching the capacitor. If there are defective capacitors their temperature will
be higher than that of the others. So it is best that the capacitor bank should be properly observed
once a month.
Control Panel & Distribution Board
Both the control panel and distribution board arrangement depend on the manufacturer. So you should
get advice from the supplier if there are user repairable items. (Table 3 explains the common troubles,
reasons and remedy.
Electrical distribution system
Most of the repairs of the electrical distribution lines can be attended to by the community members
themselves. Generally, the community based micro-hydro village electrification schemes may be designed
with more safety precautions than those for the national grid. This is due to the fact that these schemes
are not attended to by very skilled technicians all the time, which is not the case of the national grid.
That is why RCCBs and MCBs are used in the power house in addition to them being used at each of
the load centres (houses). With this protection, even if a tree or vine touches the distribution lines or a
bird gets electrocuted, the system would get switched off automatically. It is therefore vital to test the
RCCB at least monthly.
First Aid for Electrocution
• Turn off the power immediately from panel board or valve
• The victim should not be touched until he / she has been separated from the current. Such a person
should be removed from the electric contact using a dry board or stick. No one must touch any
grounded objects while working on electrical equipment.
• Water should not be used to extinguish fire due to electricity.
• Artificial respiration must be administered if the victim is not breathing
• Working on ” live” circuits2 must be avoided as much as possible
2“Live” circuit is a circuit which is on and has current flowing through it.
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