Electrical Performance of a Compact Arrangement of Conductors for 138kV Overhead Transmission Lines

The need to supply the demand for electricity of large urban centers and large industrial customers has challenged the planning and design of 69kV and 138kV transmission lines. Typically, such voltage levels require conventional infrastructure, with support towers, insulators and cables, sometimes incompatible with the surroundings or with insufficient space for the right of way implementation, considering urban areas. This study aims to accomplish an electrical performance analysis of a proposed design for the compact conductor arrangement aimed to 138kV overhead transmission lines, with reduced distance between phases when compared to conventional 138 kV transmission lines. The proposed arrangement is evaluated under the aspects of lightning performance, switching surges and electric and magnetic field, establishing a comparison with a conventional 138kV overhead transmission line. The proposed compact design permits a reduction of the area occupied by the support structures and transmission line itself, allowing a reduction in the right of way. This provides an alternative solution to conventional overhead transmission lines, which require more space, and to underground transmission lines, whose high investments costs usually hinder their deployment.