ELECTRICAL GRID RELIABILITY & RESILIENCY CATALOG
■ Our aging energy infrastructure is seeing stress like never before. large portion of our electrical transmission and distribution grid was built in the 1950s and 1960s. Many things were different then. The Korean War was raging, rock-n-roll was in its infancy, and John F. Kennedy was just beginning his political career. The population was smaller and the demand on the grid wasn’t as high, superstorms were predicted to hit only every century or so, and the Baby Boomer population was just entering the workforce.
■ A lot has changed since the 1950s and 1960s. The population of the United States has nearly doubled from 160,000,000 to 331,000,000. Superstorms are occurring more frequently and with more severity, and the Baby Boomer population is retiring causing the workforce to drastically reduce. But, one thing hasn’t changed, the majority of the same power lines that were installed 60 years ago are still in service today. The problem? These lines were not designed for the requirements of the world today.
■ These changes are putting a toll on the existing infrastructure. More people means more demand for electricity. As the load increases on an aging power grid, systems often fail leading to blackouts. For a society that depends on electricity, even short blackouts can prove deadly. To increase the reliability of the aging power grid, utilities must reconductor existing lines or install new lines that can carry more electrical load.
■ As storms increase in frequency and severity, transmission lines are more likely to fail in a significant weather event. Lines from the 1950s and 1960s were not designed for the types of winds and ice that are occurring in the current environment. To increase the resiliency of power lines, many utilities are assessing the feasibility of moving their transmission and distribution lines underground. While this may be an ideal solution against ice and wind, the cost of burying lines is often excessive. An alternative to burying lines is reconductoring existing overhead lines with stronger, more resilient products meant to withstand the storms.
■ Utilities are also facing the challenge of vandalism. As the price of copper increases, substations are being attacked by copper thieves. According to one study by the Electrical Safety Foundation International, U.S. utilities incur 450,000 minutes of outages and $60 million in losses annually as the result of copper theft. Criminals steal copper wires to sell on the scrap-metal market, often vandalizing substations, transformers, poles, and other equipment. Besides triggering outages and necessitating equipment replacement and repair, these thefts endanger public safety by disrupting power delivery to hospitals and traffic lights.
■ These challenges can seem daunting, but Southwire is here to help with a variety of products and services designed to help utilities face each challenge head on. The following pages provide an overview of our Electrical System Reliability and Resiliency Solutions.
■ To learn more about how Southwire can help with your unique situation, contact your local Southwire sale representative today.
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2022/4/8 |
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