High voltage testing of electrical equipment is of utmost importance to ensure safe operation over their lifetime. Accurate measurements of test high voltages are needed by manufacturers of equipment such as transformers, insulators, and cables to verify whether the device is capable of withstanding the conditions that can be met in service, making use of measurement systems calibrated against a reference. Users, such as grid operators, also need to verify the withstand capabilities of their equipment along their lifetime, e.g. after occurrence of potentially harmful events.

Past and ongoing activity within the Smart Electricity Grids projects is contributing to the update of the standards being developed by IEC TC 42 ‘High-voltage and high-current test techniques’, with focus on the IEC 60060-series on measurement methods and traceability of laboratory measurement systems.