Based in Brighton, CO, United Power Inc. is the 2nd largest electric cooperative in Colorado. With over 5,000 miles of power lines and nearly 83,000 meters, they serve over 200,000 customers along the north central range of the Colorado Rockies. A section of the United Power service area also heads up into the mountains, providing power to some 5,500 remote homes in and around the 12,000 acres of Golden Gate Canyon State Park.
Rugged terrain...
This project won EEI Transmission Project of the Year – 2016 Description: 240 circuit miles, 345 kV line, double bundleProject: Replace 1,440 miles of ACSR conductor with ACCC Objectives Improve reliability (reduced sag and corrosion) Increased capacity to serve growth (2X...
To support decarbonization mandates in the U.S., many utilities and transco's have proposed new transmission lines to link load centers with new renewable generation assets and move power from one region to another over vast distances. While the U.S. government continues to struggle to find ways to...
The 25 kV Class 200 Ampere loadbreak separable insulated connector system didn't always have today's reputation for safety and reliability. As 25 kV Class loadbreak connectors increased in popularity in the 1980's and 1990's, utilities reported unacceptably high numbers of flashovers...
Reflections: Nearly twenty years ago when I got into the energy business, reliability was a second-tier design objective for most transmission engineers. Safety factors had already been established and the materials we used for structures and powerline wires (conductors) were well known. While...
A coalition of large energy consumers and ratepayer advocates has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging the agency to prohibit transmission owners from independently planning "local" transmission projects exceeding 100 kilovolts (kV). The coalition argues...
In a significant move that underscores the growing demand for reliable and sustainable energy to power the expanding digital infrastructure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved an interconnection agreement between Talen Energy, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Exelon. This...
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...
Essentially, cable cleats are devices designed to secure cables and to ensure the retention and support of them, reducing the load that the cable may be exposed to under its own weight. They are also designed to contain the cables under fault conditions, protecting the cables and the cable...
To support decarbonization mandates in the U.S., many utilities and transco's have proposed new transmission lines to link load centers with new renewable generation assets and move power from one region to another over vast distances. While the U.S. government continues to struggle to find ways to...
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...
