IPEC High Voltage Announces Name Change to High Voltage Partial Discharge Limited (HVPD)

Manchester, UK - 21st May 2009 - IPEC High Voltage Ltd, a leading global on-line partial discharge testing and monitoring company, has officially changed its name to High Voltage Partial Discharge Ltd (HVPD).

HVPD Ltd has highly focussed expertise in the specialist high voltage partial discharge technology market. The name change is part of an international strategy and philosophy to pass on as much of HVPD's contained knowledge as possible of on-line PD testing and condition-based asset management of mv and hv networks to utility and industrial customers.

The new HVPD name is launched to differentiate the brand name in the market place, and HVPD's unique range of on-line PD test and monitoring technology, whilst still recognising the IPR generated from Research and Development work spanning 11 years since the first, pioneering on-line PD tests on in-service MV cables were carried out by the HVPD Directors for London Electricity in 1998.

The recent recruitment of a number of HVPD's development engineers and associate design consultants has increased the company's PD-testing knowledge-base of HVPD to over 150 years of combined experience in the application of on-line and off-line PD detection technology.

The long-term philosophy of the HVPD Directors, Dr Lee Renforth and Dr Ross Mackinlay, has been to pass on as much of the contained knowledge of on-line PD testing and condition-based asset management of HV networks to their customers. The knowledge-transfer process was essential during the early years of the application of the technology (1998-2003), initially simply in order to convince what was then a sceptical industry that insulation condition tests could be carried out at all!

"It is our aim to continue to demystify the issues relating to on-line PD detection in MV and HV cables and plant by communicating clear, direct and simple messages to our customers on how the PD data can be utilised to manage their MV and HV networks more cost-effectively. These messages will be made accessible to our audience or market whether they are a layperson or expert. Our rationale is to educate new adoptees, not to alienate them", said Dr Lee Renforth, Managing Director of HVPD.

HVPD is launched with a new tagline, 'Our Knowledge is Your Power', which captures the essence of the company's ethos, philosophy and understanding clients' business needs. HVPD's ongoing Research and Development programme continues to focus on tailoring the company's technology to meet application-specific and customer-specific requirements.

To complement HVPD's new name and corporate philosophy, the new High Voltage Partial Discharge (HVPD) logo is intrinsic to the brand's core message; to educate and raise awareness of the potential dangers of PD in MV and HV plant and cables.

The HVPD Pulse specifically is a symbolic representation derived from the wave shape (the 'sharks fin') typically seen when a partial discharge pulse passes through HV plant and cables. Its simple form and red colour denotes a clear warning message of danger and risk of failure.

Dr Lee Renforth concluded, "Our Mission Statement is to educate the power industry in how to manage the potential risks of failure caused by partial discharge (PD) activity in medium voltage and high voltage networks through inspiring and leading the effective implementation of PD test and monitoring technology and cost-effective asset management solutions. Much of our accumulated knowledge has been included in the Application Notes and Technical Papers available for download from our new website (www.hvpd.co.uk). This is in keeping with our long-term commitment to technical transparency and technology improvements through peer review and debate in the industry."

Notes to Editors

HVPD Ltd is a leading global on-line Partial Discharge (PD) testing and monitoring company. Established in 2006, HVPD has 150 years of combined experience in the application of on-line and off-line PD detection technology. HVPD provides PD testing products, monitoring services, training and asset management to an international client base. HVPD's customers include: EDF Energy, Scottish Power, BP, Siemens, Areva, Samsung, Saudi Electric Company and Schneider Electric.