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Distribution Protection


ArmorBuiltTM Wildfire Shield Proven Protection for Utility Poles

IntroductionIn November of 2018, the deadliest, most destructive wildfire in California history burned a total of 240 square miles, destroyed 18,804 structures and resulted in 85 civilian fatalities. Known as the Camp Fire, it devastated several communities including the towns of Paradise and...

Vegetation Management


The Vegetation Management Program

How to mitigate risk and ensure reliability BY SARA SANKOWICH, Unitil For most North American electric utilities, vegetation management (VM) is a critical part of system maintenance. Utilities strive to maintain normal conditions and ensure the system can withstand normal weather events. Even on a...

Overhead Distribution


Building a better world of smart structures on the smart grid

It is a truth universally acknowledged that billions of people around the world live in poverty. But does it have to be that way? Today’s technological progress means that tomorrow we will be able to produce more, more efficiently – lifting people above the breadline with accelerated...

Conductors & Materials


Pole Line Hardware


Roping Electrical Equipment

How synthetic ropes show results for heavy lifts BY BILL PUTNAM, Yale Cordage Years ago in Oklahoma, an investigation ensued after a pole-mounted transformer dropped thirty feet off a wire winch line and onto the foot of a line worker during a routine maintenance operation. Initially thought to...

Disaster & Recovery


Evolution of Outage Management Systems

Examining the evolution of outage management systems BY GERALD GRAY & JOHN SIMMINS, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Once again, a major storm event, in this case Hurricane Sandy, has brought increased attention to a utility’s capability to respond to and mitigate damage to its...

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"Smart" Insulator

Transmission Line Resiliency

Resiliency is a term used more and more by transmission line stakeholders including designers, operators, and owners. Resilience is simply defined as toughness or the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. It can be used to describe a system, an object or even a person. Dr. Ginsburg, child pediatrician and human development expert, proposes 7 C’s that make up being resilient – competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping and control. Although some of these words may...

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