INVESTIGATING TREE-CAUSED FAULTS
THE CHALLENGE TREES POSE TO THE RELIABILITY OF OVERHEAD DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS is well recognized, as vegetation is a dominant cause of service interruptions...
LINEMEN RAISE THE BAR AT 22ND ANNUAL RODEO
IT WAS THE LINEMEN'S TURN TO SHINE at this year's International Lineman's Rodeo, held Sept. 15-17, 2005. And shine they did with impressive timed finishes...
IREA Installs 13 Unguyed Structures
Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA; Sedalia, Colorado, U.S.) recently installed 13 E-LAM unguyed angle distribution poles along the Castle...
Expanded Coverage of Katrina and Rita
The editors of T&D World are putting together expanded coverage of our industry's response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Please consider submitting...
Sumitomo Electric Produces HTS Cables for National Grid's New York System
Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) has completed production of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable that will be installed on National...
Is Distribution Planning Dead?
I've changed my mind on the complexity of the distribution business. Having spent my early career in generation, I expected that my latest assignment...
Flashover Characteristics of Fiberglass Standoff Brackets
The use of fiberglass standoffs has grown in popularity as an alternative to standard wood crossarm construction in distribution systems. As the number...
Supply Chain Links Up When Hurricane Dennis Hits Florida
When a major storm like Hurricane Dennis hits an electric utility, small armies of restoration crews begin caravanning to the region, some even before...
Do Your Homework When Interconnecting Generation
Every day, utilities face challenges that affect the safe and reliable operation of the distribution system. High-density loads create the need to provide...
Texas Rodeo Champions Put System Improvements First
Electric utilities, and especially their field operations personnel who are in the trenches on a daily basis, are well aware of the weak links in their...
Hurricane Restoration at Its Finest
Covering 20,000 sq miles (51,800 sq km) in central Florida, Progress Energy is no stranger to storms. However, the 2004 hurricane season delivered a surprising...
Ground Clamp Adaptor Combines Safety and Ease of Installation
Linemen at the 2004 Kansas City Lineman's Rodeo were some of the first to preview a new overhead grounding clamp adaptor that can be attached without...
Making a Case for Wearing Climbing-Style Helmets
If the number of participants in climbing and rescue rope classes is any indication, the utility field is abounding with workers involved in aerial work...
Kent State Tests Rubber Gloves To Meet NASA Standards
The School of Technology at Kent State University (KSU) in Kent, Ohio, was retained by The White Rubber Corp. (Ravenna, Ohio) to conduct testing to compare...
Bare Ground is the Best Ground
While most components of Utility Vegetation Management (UVM) programs are looking up, PG&E's Vegetation Control (VC) program must look both up and down...
Ugly Poles Create Buzz
Burns & McDonnell (Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.) is announcing an ugly pole contest. This engineering and construction firm with a long history in the...
Reducing Risk: Quality Control and Quality Assurance in UVM
The California Public Utilities Commission and state regulations require that all of the state's investor-owned utilities maintain minimum-prescribed...
Ameren Embraces Reduced-Wall EPR Cables for Field Use
The predominant paper-insulated, lead-covered (PILC) cable, at sizes 350 kcm and 800 kcm copper, has served Ameren well throughout the years. Ameren is...
High-Temperature Superconductor Power Cable Successfully Demonstrated in China
American Superconductor Corp. (AMSC; Westborough, Massachusetts, U.S.) announced that a collaborative effort by four Chinese research and industrial institutions...
Dollars and Safety Mix
About six years ago, five dedicated We Energies linemen took the lead in selecting and placing battery-powered hand tools on every line crew. These linemen...
Hybrid Insulation Enables Better Transformer Design
The service life of a distribution transformer is governed by the condition of the insulating material. Deterioration of the transformer insulating material...
Hard Hit, Twice in One Week
Many Midwest utilities will not quickly forget the January 2005 ice storms. Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative (LMRE), along with many other Ohio...
Tightening Up Torque Specs
Florida Power & Light (FP&L) recently completed a study of proper torque specifications for connections on its transmission and distribution system. Pitting,...
United States: Comcast Cable to Pay PacifiCorp $3.8 Million
On Dec. 21, 2004, the Public Service Commission of Utah found that Comcast Cable Communications owes PacifiCorp US$3.8 million, consisting of a $900,000...
Incorporate Distributed Resources Into the Distribution Planning Process
Utility planning traditionally has focused on building facilities to meet load growth. Today, utilities also face non-conventional planning options such...
