US Patent 7400150 Remote fault monitoring in power lines

Systems and methods for remotely monitoring and detecting faults in power distribution systems. In one embodiment, a remote fault monitoring system comprises a plurality of remote fault detection devices distributed on a power distribution network, and a monitoring station. Each remote detect device includes a first electrical parameter measurement circuit electrically or electromagnetically coupled to a neutral power distribution circuit conductor, and a second electrical parameter measurement circuit electrically or electromagnetically coupled to a power distribution circuit ground conductor. The monitoring station receives measurements transmitted by the remote fault detection devices and determines from the measurements whether a fault intermediate a pair of adjacent remote fault detection devices has occurred.