Available Service Life Analysis of Surge Arrester Based on Cross-Provincial Decommission Records

Surge arrester play an indispensable and crucial role in protecting the power grid from lightning and overvoltage threats. This study performs a statistical analysis on the available service life(ASL) of Surge arrester based on provincial-level decommission records in China. Key findings reveal a significant discrepancy between actual service life (9.5-25 years) and theoretical technical lifespan (12.4-30 years), with voltage-level-specific variations observed. The ASL distribution demonstrates a significant right-skewed pattern, peaking between 13-20 years. Manufacturing quality emerges as the primary contributor to premature retirement, reducing average lifespan to 7.15 years in affected units. The analysis identifies concurrent occurrence of clustered retirement events and premature failures, with regions and voltage levels exhibiting impacts on the ASL. The established ASL distribution models offer a heuristic references for remain usefullife prediction and infrastructure life cycle analysis in power transmission systems.