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 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.

Transmission lines the world over often have to traverse mountain ranges or plateaus situated at least 1000 m above sea level. In China, for example, it is estimated that some 60% of the country lies at this altitude or higher.

Energias de Portugal-Distribuição, the main Portuguese DSO, has worked on best practice to restore power in emergency situations and to minimize duration of resulting outages.