High-temperature conductors: a solution in the uprating of overhead transmission lines

The legislation currently in force that affects the construction of overhead electricity transmission or distribution lines establishes an extensive number of conditioning factors as regards licences, public exposition of projects, rights regarding the presentation of allegations, etc. For that reason, the period that can elapse between the time the need for the installation of a new line is detected and its coming into service amply exceeds the time regarded as permissible by the utility. In upgrading the capacity of a line, the possible options include installing a larger conductor on existing structures, increasing the operating voltage, increasing operating temperature, etc. Also, uprating process using high-temperature conductors is another possible solution. This paper presents the most important results of the COALPRET research project, whose dual aim has been to carry out a general study of the characteristics of electrical conductors with high temperature performance and low sag, and apply these studies to the specific overhead transmission line.