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Infrastructure & Technologies


Q&A: Transmission Line Inspection Using Robotics

A: Hydro-Québec’s power transmission system, the most extensive in North America, covers close to 34,000 km. Similar to many power utilities, we need thorough infrastructure inspections to ensure system reliability, availability, and performance.Therefore, we have, developed robotic...

Conductors & Materials


Aging Cable Infrastructure

The 2014 Annual Energy Outlook Report compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that total electricity demand will grow by 29 percent (0.9 percent per year) by 2040. While growth has slowed in every decade since the 1950s, due in part to efficiency gains in appliance...

Overhead Distribution


Outage Management: Restore Power in Less Time

Improving power grid reliability is a major goal of the electric power industry and can reduce economic losses, lost productivity, and customer inconvenience from power disruptions. For several utilities, Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) funding accelerated the application of fault location,...

Outage Management & Restoration


Vegetation Management


Advanced Survey Technologies Deliver Clear View of Geologic Hazards

Electric utilities commonly use trained foresters, traversing thousands of miles, to manually identify vegetation or other geographic hazards posing risks to transmission infrastructure. For one utility in the Western United States, the challenging terrain and accuracy limitations of laser range...

Case Study


FirstEnergy Explores Alternatives to PJM Capacity Market

In a strategic move aimed at enhancing its power supply reliability, FirstEnergy is actively exploring alternatives to the PJM capacity market. This development reflects the company’s proactive approach to addressing challenges within the existing market structure and ensuring a more robust...

Overhead T&D

The Evolution / Revolution of Overhead Conductors… and why it matters

Brief Background:

In the early 1900's Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR) conductor was developed to replace copper wires, due to the war effort when copper was needed for munitions. In the 1970's growing demand for electricity inspired the development of higher capacity Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSS) conductor. The ACSS conductor became known as the first "High-Temperature, Low-Sag" (HTLS) conductor. The design used the same steel core as ACSR (with improved galvanized coatings) and fully annealed...

Overhead T&D Articles