Application of RTV silicone coatings to porcelain and glass insulators in order to increase their pollution performance has been available for decades. Yet not everyone in the industry still appreciates how this coating technology operates and what factors will determine performance and effective service life.

Malaysia’s power system operates in a region of intense lightning activity that adversely impacts performance of certain lines, such as 132 kV Kuala Krai to Gua Musang line located in the northeast and the 500 kV Ayer Tawar to Bukit Tarek line which runs along the western coast of the Malay peninsula.

Since inception, IEC standards 60815-1 to -3 have helped guide engineers charged with specifying insulation for overhead lines and substations operating in polluted service environments. Recently, efforts have been underway to revise this standard to make it easier to implement and a Working Group within CIGRE is being set up with this specific goal.

Two types of fault currents can appear on power systems: ground and phase-to-phase. The more important when it comes to surge arresters is the first, which is basically the current that flows through the circuit when there is a short to ground.

American Transmission Company (ATC) own and operates transmission lines in the States of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. The system originally belonged to local utilities that had different standards and this resulted in a variety of different line surge arrester installations at 69 kV and 138 kV.

Integration of renewable energy sources into the electrical system in Germany has required adapting and expanding the existing grid. At the same time, public opposition to added infrastructure has meant that system operators face lengthy approval processes for new overhead lines.