Powerlink Queensland is an Australian government owned network service provider whose extensive transmission network operates at 110 kV, 132 kV, 275 kV and 330 kV.

As surge protective devices, arresters mitigate the impact of events that might otherwise trigger outages and monitoring them has become part of an industry-wide trend toward greater condition assessment of key network components.

This article, from a paper presented at a past INMR WORLD CONGRESS by R.A. Bernstorf, then Principal Engineer, Insulators at Hubbell Power Systems (now retired) offered an overview of key considerations when it comes to loading and application of braced line post assemblies.

As service environments become cleaner, more wildlife and in particular birds return and play a proportionately greater role in what can adversely affect overhead networks. In particular, flashover outages attributed to birds, often included under the category of ‘unexplained outages’, have been a growing problem.

The advent of composite insulators began first in the U.S. and soon after in Germany and France. User acceptance was slow at the start and these products went through the ‘teething’ problems common to most innovations. Moreover, their initial pricing made them too costly for widespread application.

Application of extruded XLPE cables in underground transmission systems has increased to the point that they now account for the vast majority of all new installations. This near total shift from oil and paper insulation has made it necessary to look for improved methodologies for type testing as well as commissioning testing of transmission class cables.