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E L S E VI E R Electric Power Systems Research 35 (1995) 109-118
Overview of the transmission line design process
Robert D. Castro
Transmission Systems Engineering and Research Design and Construction Division, Los Angeles Department o[" Water and Power,
111 North Hope Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012-2694, USA
Received 27 March 1995
Abstract
An overview is presented for the design of overhead high-voltage transmission lines. Since most lines constructed by Los
Angeles Department of Water and Power in recent years have been extra-high-voltage AC, this paper emphasizes the design of
500 kV AC transmission lines built in the southwest United States. Empirically developed practices are presented throughout the
paper.
Keywords: Transmission lines
1. Introduction
Los Angeles Depar t ment of Wat er and Power
( LADWP) has t ransmi ssi on lines dat i ng f r om 1915
until t he present , and new lines are al most always bei ng
pl anned. For t he AC t ransmi ssi on lines, the vol t ages
range f r om 115 t o 500 kV wi t h t he number of circuits
rangi ng f r om one t o six per t ower.
The design process used by LADWP in const r uct i ng
hi gh-vol t age AC t ransmi ssi on lines is pr esent ed in this
paper. The design process begins wi t h t he r equi r ed
engi neeri ng dat a, t hen cont i nues wi t h sections on con-
duct or selection, wi nd and ice l oadi ng, maxi mum ten-
sion det er mi nat i on, t ransmi ssi on towers, i nsul at ors,
ruling span det er mi nat i on, spot t i ng t owers, magnet i c
field effects and envi r onment al criteria.
2. Engineering data
The engi neeri ng dat a are obt ai ned f r om t he Tr ans-
mi ssi on Design, Tr ansmi ssi on Pl anni ng, Resour ce Pl an-
ni ng and Envi r onment al and Gover nment al Affairs
sections of LADWP. Typi cal design dat a are out l i ned
below:
t ransmi ssi on vol t age,
levelized cur r ent value,
amor t i zed life (typically 40 - 5 0 years),
l ocat i on of t ransmi ssi on line cor r i dor ,
envi r onment al const rai nt s.
0378-7796/95/$09.50 1995 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved
S S DI 0378- 7796( 95) 00996- U
3. Conductors
3.1. Conductor selection
Hi st ori cal l y, LADWP has used st andar d r ound- r od
steel r ei nfor ced al umi num conduct or (ACSR). The rea-
son f or ACSR' s popul ar i t y is its low relative cost and
its high wei ght -t o-st rengt h rat i o as compar ed wi t h ot her
conduct or mat eri al . In addi t i on, ACSR is commerci al l y
avai l abl e in wide ranges of mechani cal st rengt h and
electric cur r ent capaci t y ratings.
The most economi cal conduct or size is det er mi ned
usi ng Kel vi n' s law, which states: " The most economi cal
area of a conduct or is t hat f or whi ch t he annual cost of
t he energy losses is equal t o t he interest on t hat por t i on
of the capi t al out l ay whi ch may be consi dered as pro-
por t i onal t o the wei ght of t he conduct or ".
The most efficient conduct or size is achi eved by a
bal ance bet ween costs f r om I2R losses, whi ch decrease
as conduct or size increases, and installed costs. Thi s is
demons t r at ed graphi cal l y in Fig. 1.
Typi cal l y, conduct or selection f or a new hi gh-vol t age
t ransmi ssi on line woul d be as follows.
(a) A number of different candi dat e conduct or s (or
candi dat e conduct or bundl es) are selected based on
mi ni mum oper at i onal requi rement s. Mi ni mum opera-
t i onal r equi r ement s include t her mal capaci t y (i.e. capac-
ity t o car r y the maxi mum ant i ci pat ed line cur r ent for
specified t i me peri ods and ambi ent condi t i ons) and
maxi mum al l owabl e vol t age gradi ent effects (i.e.
l l 0 R.D. Castro /Electric Power Systems Research 35 (1995) 109 118
C o s t s
~Total C o s t
\ .
x
., ...
' , '..Opumal Point
........... ---"
" R L o s s e s
/ Costs . . . . . . . . .
I I ] I I q
C o n d u c t o r S i z e
Fig. 1. Determination of the most efficient conductor size.
cor ona, r adi o i nt erference, television i nt erference and
audi bl e noi se limitations). Conduc t or t e mpe r a t ur e -
s ag- t ens i on charact eri st i cs may also be consi dered.
(b) For each candi dat e conduct or (or c onduc t or bun-
dle) est i mat es are made of the line const r uct i on (instal-
l at i on) cost and t he present wor t h of t he I2R losses over
t he pr oj ect ed life of t he line. These costs are added t o
obt ai n t he t ot al est i mat ed cost associ at ed wi t h the
i nst al l at i on and use of each candi dat e conduct or . The
candi dat e c onduc t or with the lowest t ot al est i mat ed
cost is t he selected conduct or .
3.2. Conductor configuration
To t r ansmi t t he large amount s of power r equi r ed by
moder n power systems, t wo or mor e single conduct or s
are bundl ed t o f or m each phase ( or pol e) of an AC (or
DC) t ransmi ssi on line (Fig. 2). The bundl i ng of conduc-
t or s increases t he effective radi us of the phase conduc-
tors. Thi s reduces line react ance, cor ona losses, radi o
~ Typical Conduclor Separation of 18 Inches
~ Clamp Casling* \ , ' ~ / /
I ~ ~ Boll Head Break= ~ _ . ~
Away Alter Assembly
Fig. 3. Two-conductor bundle separated by a spacer.
i nt erference, television i nt erference and audi bl e noise.
The di sadvant ages of bundl ed conduct or s include in-
creases in compl exi t y, cost, wi nd and ice l oadi ng and
t ower requi rement s. The i ndi vi dual conduct or s in a
conduct or bundl e are somet i mes referred t o as ' subcon-
duct or s' .
A 10:1, or near 10:1, r at i o of s ubconduct or di amet er
t o s ubconduct or spaci ng in a conduct or bundl e is t o be
avoi ded i f at all pract i cal t o do so. Thi s is because a
10:1 r at i o t ends t o pr omot e wind i nduced (aeolian)
subspan vi br at i on whi ch can damage t he subconduc-
t ors. LADWP' s present design f or a t wo- conduct or
bundl e is an 18 in. ( 45. 72cm) hor i zont al separ at i on
bet ween conduct or s (Fig. 3). Fut ur e designs may con-
sider a hor i zont al separ at i on of up t o 25 in. (63.50 cm)
t o el i mi nat e any pr obl ems due t o aeol i an vi brat i on.
LADWP' s present design f or a t hr ee- conduct or bundl e
is a 25 in. hor i zont al separ at i on wi t h a t hi rd conduct or
beneat h, 18 in. f r om each conduct or .
3.3. Ground-wire configuration
A gr ound wire is used t o pr event the fl ashover of a
conduct or t o gr ound dur i ng lightning storms. It is
usually made f r om ext ra-hi gh-st rengt h st r anded steel
1
cable, wi t h a di amet er of ~ or 5in. (1.11 or 1.27 cm).
LADWP uses t wo gr ound wires. The gr ound wires
shoul d be l ocat ed above t he conduct or s in such a way
t hat a line t hr ough a gr ound wire and t he out si de
conduct or on the same side of the t ower makes an
angle with the vert i cal not exceeding 15 .
Gr ound wires shoul d be segment ed about every t wo
miles and gr ounded t o the t ower every mile aft er the
segment at i on. Studies per f or med i ndi cat e t hat this will
l ower power losses due t o i nduced vol t age on t he
gr ound wire.
Fig. 2. Illustration of a two-conductor bundle. (Provided by Stanley
G. Flagg Co., Stowe, PA.)
4. Wind and ice loading
A wi nd and ice l oadi ng est i mat e is necessary t o
det er mi ne at what condi t i ons the l oaded design t ensi on
will occur. For Cal i forni a, Gener al Or der 95 (G. O. 95),
Rul e 43 on t emper at ur e and l oadi ng applies. For t he
rest of the US t he Nat i onal Electrical Safet y Code
( NESC) Sect i on 23 on cl earances applies, as well as any
R.D. Cast ro/El ect ri c Power Systems Research 35 (1995) 109 118 111
Fig. 4. Gener al l oadi ng ma p of t he cont i nent al Uni t ed St at es for
l oadi ng o f over head lines.
regulations imposed by the state. A general loading
map for overhead lines is illustrated in Fig. 4.
As an example, assume a transmission line is to be
built in Mono County, CA. Appendix A of G.O. 95
shows this to be a heavy loading area, so Rule 43.1 on
heavy loading must be followed. This gives a wind
loading of 6 lbf/ft 2 (28.1 N/ m 2) in conjunction with ice
of radial thickness in. (1.27 cm) at 0 F ( - 17.8 C).
NESC provides similar loading estimates.
5. Ma x i mum tensi on determi nati on
Based on the conduct or type selected, the maximum
(loaded) design tension is determined. The loaded design
tension (i.e. the tension of the conduct or with wind and
ice loading) is typically specified to be 33%-35% of the
ultimate strength under loaded conditions. Unl oaded
conduct or sagged-in tension (60 F (15.5 C), no wind,
no ice) is typically 20%- 22% of the ultimate strength.
For example, assume the conduct or selected was a
2312 kcmiP ACSR ' Thrasher' . The ultimate strength of
a ' Thrasher' conduct or is approximately 55000-
60 000 lbf (245-267 kN) depending on the galvaniza-
tion of the core. The loaded design tension is 33% of
60 000 lbf, i.e. 20 000 l bf (89 kN). This tension would
occur under the loaded conduct or conditions specified
in the example above in Section 4 (i.e. 6 lbf/ft 2 wind,
1 in. ice, at 0 F).
6. Transmi ssi on t owers
Tower loading information based on the loaded con-
ductor and overhead ground wire design tensions,
along with the conductor-to-steel electrical clearance, is
given to the structural design engineer to design the
towers. Historically, LADWP towers used fbr AC lines
are of the lattice steel self-supporting type. Other utili-
ties sometimes use guyed towers which have a lower
weight than the self-supporting type, and this weight
can be further reduced by the use of aluminum instead
of steel.
6.1. Tower configuration
The configuration of a tower is determined by bot h
the transmission engineer, who is responsible for meet-
ing the electrical requirements, and the structural design
engineer, who is responsible for the structure' s ade-
quacy and efficiency. Typical circuit configurations are
horizontal, vertical and delta. Generally, the horizontal
configuration produces the minimum-height towers, the
vertical configuration produces the minimum-width
right of way, and the delta configuration minimizes
electrical line losses and magnetic field effects for single-
circuit towers. A typical single-circuit suspension tower
of horizontal configuration is illustrated in Fig. 5. Typ-
ical tower height (as measured from t op of footings to
conduct or attachment point) configurations for towers
used by LADWP are given in Table 1.
The tower legs are generally designed in increments
of 3 ft (0.9 m). Preferred practice is to use the shortest
legs possible to make up a tower of the required height.
Body extensions are generally available in increments of
18 ft (5.5 m). It is desirable to keep the overall height of
the highest tower below 200 ft (61 m) to avoid having
to provide lights and other special FAA requirements
for towers above 200 ft.
6.2. Tower design strength
All towers must be built strong enough to support
the conductors and ground wire, including ice loading,
Tabl e 1
Typi cal t ower hei ght conf i gur at i on (in feet a)
Tower Tower Body Tower Tower Tower Body Tower
hei ght body ext ensi on leg hei ght body ext ensi on leg
70 64 0 6 112 64 18 30
73 64 0 9 115 64 36 15
76 64 0 12 118 64 36 18
79 64 0 15 121 64 36 21
82 64 0 18 124 64 36 24
85 64 0 21 127 64 36 27
88 64 0 24 130 64 36 30
91 64 0 27 133 64 54 15
94 64 0 30 136 64 54 18
97 64 18 15 139 64 54 21
100 64 18 18 142 64 54 24
103 64 18 21 145 64 54 27
106 64 18 24 148 64 54 30
109 64 18 27
t kcmi l = 1000 ci rcul ar mils; 1 c mi l = 5.0671 x 10 - 4 mm z. " 1 ft = 0.3048 m.
112 R.D. Castro Electric Power Systems Research 35 (1995) 109 118
L
t02'
L 27" I _ 2r' - I
35'
~ . T WO CONDUCTORS
PER PHASE
PHASE SPACING
BODY
BODY
EXTENSION
I ~ 3 6 ' _ I
I - SQUARE - [
ROUND FOOTING
Fig. 5. Typical single-circuit 500 kV AC suspension tower. (Di mensi ons in ft.)
TOWER
LEIS
dur i ng t he maxi mum assumed wi nd l oadi ng. In addi -
t i on, br oken- wi r e capabi l i t y must be desi gned i nt o t ow-
ers. The br oken- wi r e capabi l i t y desi gned i nt o t owers
used by LADWP is as follows:
Single-circuit dead- end t owers (Fig. 6) are t ypi cal l y
desi gned f or all cables i nt act on one side of the t ower
and any combi nat i on of br oken conduct or s and gr ound
wires on the ot her side under nor mal wind speeds and
t emper at ur es.
Mul t i ci rcui t dead- end t owers are t ypi cal l y desi gned
f or all cables i nt act on one side of the t ower and one
gr ound wire and any combi nat i on of conduct or s bro-
ken in one circuit on the ot her side under nor mal wi nd
speeds and t emper at ur es.
Suspensi on t owers are t ypi cal l y desi gned f or any
one conduct or or bundl e br oken in combi nat i on with
one gr ound wire br oken under nor mal wind speeds and
t emper at ur es. Suspensi on t owers are onl y used in
st rai ght sections of the line.
Typi cal di mensi ons f or 500 kV single-circuit t owers
are given in Fig. 5.
7. Insulators
The basic electrical r equi r ement of any i nsul at or
assembl y is t hat the i nsul at or shoul d sustain a lightning
strike wi t hout for mi ng a conduct or pat h over the insu-
l at or surface. The basic mechani cal r equi r ement is t hat
the i nsul at or be able t o suppor t the wind and ice
l oadi ng of the conduct or and t o wi t hst and lightning,
power surges and mechani cal abuse wi t hout dr oppi ng
t he conduct or .
The oper at i onal per f or mance of a t ransmi ssi on line is
largely det er mi ned by the i nsul at i on. Selecting t he insu-
l at i on levels requi res careful analysis. Insul at ors near
refineries, al ong t he seashore or in areas of light rainfall
may become so cont ami nat ed t hat consi derabl e overi n-
R.D. Castro/Electric' Power SFstems Research 35 (1995) 109 118 113
sulation is required. Under nor mal condi t i ons, the as-
sembled i nsul at or shoul d have a dr y flashover of five
times the nomi nal operat i ng vol t age and a leakage pat h
of twice the shortest air-gap distance.
The st andar d i nsul at or is a porcelain i nsul at or wi t h a
10in. (25. 4cm) di amet er and a spacing of 5~ in.
(14.6 cm) from center to center. In recent years silicone
pol ymer i nsul at ors have been installed in many new
lines. The advant age of using pol ymer i nsul at ors is t hat
cont ami nat i on is less of a probl em t han wi t h porcelain
insulators, which reduces line mai nt enance. The disad-
vant age of pol ymer i nsul at ors is t hat t hey det eri orat e
much faster t han porcelain and need replacement
s o o n e r .
8. Ruling span determination
The ruling span may be defined as the span length in
which the t ensi on in the conduct or, under changes in
t emperat ure and loading, will most nearl y agree wi t h
the average t ensi on in a series of spans of varyi ng
lengths between dead-end towers.
To det ermi ne the design ruling span, a st udy involv-
ing different t ower confi gurat i ons (e.g. large spans wi t h
large towers versus short spans wi t h small towers) in
the established right of way is performed to det ermi ne
the best balance between mat eri al costs (larger spans
require st ronger towers and hardware) and l abor costs
(shorter spans require more l abor and mai nt enance).
Because of the numer ous necessary iterations, the
ruling span det er mi nat i on is accompl i shed using com-
puters. First, the ri ght -of-way t errai n and t ower cost
dat a are entered into the spot t i ng pr ogr am and a
reasonabl e ruling span is estimated. The spot t i ng pro-
gram is run to generate the most economi c combi nat i on
of towers using the cat enary const ant generat ed from
the est i mat ed ruling span. A resul t ant ruling span is
t hen calculated from the proposed t ower placement.
The analysis is t hen rerun with the resul t ant ruling span
value being i nput as the est i mat ed ruling span. This
process is cont i nued until the difference between the
est i mat ed and resulting ruling span is mi ni mal
( LADWP typically accepts a 2"/o differential). This re-
sulting ruling span is called the design ruling span.
These iterations to minimize the ruling span differen-
tial are necessary because a large differential indicates
t hat the tensions and clearances calculated using the
est i mat ed ruling span' s cat enary const ant may not ac-
curat el y reflect the resul t ant ruling span' s tension and
clearances.
Aft er the t errai n is staked by the survey crew, the
act ual ruling spans for each dead-end to dead-end line
segment will be used to calculate conduct or sags and
tensions. The act ual ruling spans are calculated as
follows:
/ / LI 3 + L2 3 -+- L3 3 + . . . + Lx3~ 12
where LR is the actual ruling span and L x is the
i ndi vi dual span length.
The use of a design ruling span appreciably different
from the actual ruling span results in unpredi ct abl e sags
and tensions. Using lower t han predicted tensions may
cause clearance problems. Hi gher t han predicted ten-
sions may cause aeolian vi brat i on or uplift problems.
Typi cal actual ruling spans on the LADWP system
are as follows:
In the Ci t y of Los Angeles and for voltages of
230kV or less, ruling spans are 600- 1000f t (183-
305 m). This distance is oft en governed by the right-of-
way wi dt h available to accommodat e a 30 side swing
of the conduct or under wind.
For 230-287 kV lines outside the city, spans are
900 1200 ft (274-366 m).
For 500 kV lines outside the city, spans are 1200-
1500 ft (366-457 m).
Fig. 6. Dead- end t ower.
9. Spotting towers
Towers are spot t ed or l ocat ed using comput er pro-
grams. Listed below are the necessary inputs for the
programs.
9.1. Topographical data
Topogr aphi cal dat a are obt ai ned from the field per-
sonnel who survey the line wi t h aerial phot ogr aphy.
114 R.D. Castro~Electric Power Systems Research .35 (1995) 109 118
Table 2
Conduct or clearances adopt ed by LADWP for 500 kV AC transmission lines
Description Clearance
(~ ) (m)
Accessible to pedestrians only
Accessible to vehicles
Above railroad tracks
Above maj or highways
Vertical clearance above buildings, bridges, etc.
(clearance above buildings upon which men may walk)
Hori zont al clearance from buildings, bridges, etc.
(clearance from buildings upon which men may work)
Radi al separation from guy wires and cables
from adjoining structures
Radial separation from guy wires and cables
support ed on same tower
Fr om communi cat i ons conduct ors
(e.g. telephone lines)
Fr om conduct ors of ot her lines
Fr om conduct ors of same line
30 9.1
35 2.7
39 11.9
40 12.2
35 2.7
15 4.6
18.17 5.5
11.33 3.5
25 7.6
25 7.6
19.17 5.8
Specifically, cent erl i ne and cert ai n off-cent erl i ne eleva-
t i on profi l e dat a are requi red.
9.2. Conductor data and configuration
Ref er t o Sect i on 3 on conduct or s.
9.3. Loaded design tension
In addi t i on t o t he l oaded design t ensi on, t he condi -
t i ons at whi ch t he l oaded design t ensi on occurs are also
requi red. Ref er t o Sect i on 5 on maxi mum t ensi on det er-
mi nat i on.
9.4. Conductor clearances
The cl earances requi red var y wi t h t he area bei ng
t raversed. In Cal i forni a, t he cl earances must meet the
specifications out l i ned in Cal i forni a Gener al Or der 95
(G. O. 95), Rul es f or Over head Li ne Const r uct i on (Sec-
t i on III, Rul es For All Lines, Rul es 37 and 38 on
clearances). In the rest of t he Uni t ed States the clear-
ances must meet t he specifications out l i ned in t he Na-
t i onal Electrical Safet y Code ( NESC) ( Par t 2. Safet y
Rul es f or the Inst al l at i on and Mai nt enance of Over-
head El ect ri c Suppl y and Communi cat i on Lines, Sec-
t i on 23 on clearances).
The conduct or l ow poi nt must never vi ol at e t he
cl earance levels specified above. The curve shape as-
sumed by a conduct or when suspended bet ween t owers
is ver y close t o a cat enar y. The equat i on f or t he con-
duct or low poi nt (i.e. the conduct or sag at mi dspan,
assumi ng suspensi on poi nt s at equal el evat i ons) using
hyper bol i c funct i ons is
Th S W
D = ~ cosh 2Th
where D is the conduct or sag at mi dspan, W t he l oaded
weight of the conduct or , Th t he hor i zont al component
of the conduct or t ensi on, and S t he hor i zont al length of
the conduct or span.
Thi s equat i on can be appr oxi mat ed t o a high degree
of accur acy by the use of Macl aur i n' s infinite series:
WS 2 W { WS 2 ~ 2 ( W~2 ( WS 2 ~ 3
Thi s is the basic equat i on used by most spot t i ng pr o-
grams for det er mi ni ng the conduct or clearance.
In general, LADWP bases its cl earance requi rement s
on G. O. 95, since its regul at i ons are mor e stringent
t han NESC r equi r ement s and most of our lines are
bui l t in Cal i forni a. Conduct or cl earances used by
LADWP f or 500 kV lines are given in Tabl e 2.
9.5. Tower data
Tower dat a out l i ni ng rel evant i nf or mat i on (e.g. costs)
on the t ypes of t owers are requi red. Typi cal t ower types
f or a given line may be as follows:
St andar d suspensi on (LS)
Heavy suspensi on (HS)
Angl e suspensi on (AS)
Dead end (D1)
Dead end (D2)
Dead end (D3)
1 line angle allowed
1 line angle allowed
up t o 20 line angle al l owed
up t o 30 line angle allowed
up t o 60 line angle al l owed
up t o 90 line angle allowed
The l oadi ng on these t owers varies f r om t he LS t ower
t ype which carries the smallest l oads t o the D3 t ower
R, D. Cast ro/El ect ri c Power S~,stems Research 35 (1995) 109-118 I 15
Table 3
Typical desi gn l oadi ng requi rement s (in ki ps ~) for 500 kV single-cir-
cuit AC t owers
Tower t ype Upl i ft Compr essi on Lat eral
LS 115 15,0 40
HS 145 200 45
AS 220 290 81
D1 293 350 127
D2 405 460 159
D3 450 540 186
1 ki p = 100 l bf = 4448.2 N.
t ype whi ch is desi gned t o car r y the largest loads. Tabl e
3 out l i nes t ypi cal design l oadi ng r equi r ement s f or
500 kV single-circuit AC towers.
9.6. Ruling spans
Ref er t o Sect i on 8 on rul i ng span det er mi nat i on.
Once t he r equi r ed i nf or mat i on is i nput , t he spot t i ng
pr ogr am selects t he t ower types, l ocat i ons, and heights
t o be used and t he sag and t ensi ons of t he lines, usi ng
an iterative process t hat det ermi nes the most economi -
cal t ower t ype/ l ocat i on t hat meet s t he i nput requi re-
ment s. The survey crew t hen goes out i nt o t he field and
stakes t he pr opos ed t ower l ocat i ons.
The design engi neer inspects the pr opos ed l ocat i ons
t o see i f t here are any conflicts wi t h field condi t i ons.
For exampl e, i f a pr opos ed t ower l ocat i on is in a wash
it needs t o be moved. The survey crew t hen rest ake the
t ower l ocat i ons as needed. The const r uct i on cont r act or ,
under t he supervi si on of a qual i t y assurance engineer,
installs t he t ower foot i ngs at t he mar ki ngs laid out by
t he survey crew. General l y, a l ong line in relatively flat
t errai n averages a r at i o of twelve suspensi on t owers t o
one dead- end t ower.
As-bui l t el evat i ons are t hen measur ed by t he survey
crew. Based on these foot i ng el evat i ons and previ ousl y
det er mi ned t ower heights, revised sag/ t ensi ons are t hen
cal cul at ed by the sag/ t ensi on pr ogr am and cl earance
levels checked.
10. Envi ronmental criteria
An i mpor t ant aspect of any large t ransmi ssi on line
under const r uct i on is satisfying t he r equi r ed envi ron-
ment al regul at i ons. For rights of way ( ROW) on federal
gover nment land, the pr oj ect is supervi sed by t he Bur eau
of Land Management ( BLM) Di vi si on of t he US De-
par t ment of the Int eri or. For ROW on nat i onal forest
l and, the proj ect is supervi sed by t he US Depar t ment of
For est r y. Usual l y, most utilities cont r act out t he envi-
r onment al wor k t o envi r onment al cont r act i ng firms.
Fig. 7. Envi r onment al concer ns have become an i mpor t ant aspect of
t ransmi ssi on line design. ( Gr aphi c pr ovi ded by Bi oSyst ems Analysis,
Inc.)
10.1. Environmental impact study
Once the ROW grant has been issued by the appr o-
pri at e agency an envi r onment al i mpact st udy (EIS) is
per f or med, usually by an envi r onment al cont r act or .
The EIS is a dr af t envi r onment al r epor t t hat includes a
cur sor y st udy of t he area, an intensive l i t erat ure search
on t he area and the envi r onment al i mpact of the pr o-
ject. The EIS also calls f or addi t i onal studies t o be done
t o assess the full envi r onment al i mpact (Fig. 7) of the
proj ect , such as a seasonal pl ant survey. In case of an
endanger ed ani mal , such as the desert t or t oi se in the
sout hwest , the EIS calls for a bi ol ogi cal opi ni on f r om
the US Fi sh and Wildlife Depar t ment .
In addi t i on, t he EIS also out l i nes the mi t i gat i on
measures t o be fol l owed dur i ng const r uct i on and opera-
t i on of the line. These mi t i gat i on measures include, but
are not limited to, possible biological, bot ani cal , cul-
tural, ant hr opol ogi cal and pal eont ol ogi cal effects of the
project .
10.2. Environmental impact report
When t he EIS has been released, heari ngs are hel d on
the pr oj ect t o allow public opi ni on t o be gat hered. An
envi r onment al i mpact r epor t is publ i shed as a response
t o these opi ni ons.
10.3. Environmental licensing services
Envi r onment al licensing services become necessary
once t he t ower l ocat i ons have been det ermi ned. The
116 R.D. Cast ro/El ect ri e Power Systems Research 35 (1995) 109 118
environmental contractor does an intensive survey of
each section of the transmission corridor. The sections
are typically 8-12 miles (13-19 km) in length.
The design engineers use this survey information to
generate a plan and profile drawing of the section that
details tower locations, spans, restricted areas, access
routes, and other pertinent survey information. The
design engineers also use this information to generate
site prescription forms that outline construction layouts
to be adhered to during construction. The plan and
profile drawings and site prescription forms are re-
viewed by the BLM, which then issues a 'notice to
proceed' for the construction of that section. The plan
and profile drawings and site prescription forms are
made available to the construction contractor at least
60 days prior to construction of that section.
11. Field effects of transmission lines
The popular press has recently focused public atten-
tion on the controversy in the scientific community as
to whether there are any adverse health effects from the
electromagnetic fields (EMFs) of transmission lines
(Fig. 8). As a result, most utilities have begun incorpo-
rating methods of reducing EMFs as part of the design
process of building transmission lines.
Below are specific practices that have been found to
lower EMF levels at the edge of a transmission line's
right of way. For comparative purposes, magnetic field
reduction levels have been illlustrated for a single-cir-
cuit AC line carrying 1000 A with a ROW extending
100 ft (30 m) from the centerline. All values (i.e. percent
reduction levels) refer to magnetic field levels at the
edge of the ROW. The voltage level of the line is
/
Fig. 8. Methods of reducing EMF have been incorporated into
transmission line design. (Graphic provided by Positron Industries,
Inc., Montreal, Canada.)
immaterial (i.e. it does not affect the magnetic field),
but the dimensions chosen are appropriate for a 500 kV
line.
11.1. Increasing R OW width
Since the EMF is inversely proportional to the dis-
tance from a line source, substantially increasing the
ROW width does reduce EMF levels. In general,
though, this alternative is not economically feasible.
11.2. Increasing tower height
The EMF can be reduced dramatically directly under
the transmission lines by increasing the tower height,
but the impact is minimal at the edge of the ROW. For
example, doubling the tower height from 30 to 60 ft
(9-18 m) only reduces the magnetic field by 20%.
11.3. Phase spacing
Reducing the distance between conductor phases
would increase the magnetic field and phase current
interaction, lowering the field level at the ROW edge.
For example, reducing the phase spacing in a horizon-
tal configuration from 45 ft (13.7 m) to 25 ft (7.6 m) can
reduce magnetic levels by 50%. However, noise and
interference performance suffer when phases are placed
closer together.
11.4. Line configuration
A horizontal line configuration has a higher level of
EMF at the ROW edge than either a vertical or delta
configuration. A vertical or delta configuration has 50%
lower magnetic field emissions than a similar horizontal
configuration. The difference between vertical and delta
configurations is minimal at the ROW edge.
11.5. Shielding wires
Shield or ground wires placed over lines for lightning
protection have little effect on the EMF.
Installing shield wires below transmission lines can be
made to reduce EMF levels by inducing currents that
minimize the resulting magnetic field. This method can
be implemented by placing a wire loop around a section
of the transmission line on wooden poles placed between
the transmission line and the ROW edge. The wire loop
is grounded at one point, and a series capacitor is
inserted (Fig. 9). By optimizing the current phase and
magnitude, the magnetic field may be reduced by 80%.
11.6. Effect of earth resistivity
Lowering the resistivity of the earth actually raises
the EMF levels slightly. For example, a resistivity of
R.DI Castro / Electric Power Systems Research 35 (1995) 109-. 118 I 17
II
1
Fig. 9. Shielding power lines with wire loops (cross section).
A. ) , A
B , ! B
C C , : .
S u p a r b u n d l a
[ t ~ ) c - ABCl
A= =C
B , , B
C , , A
L o w - R e a c t a n c e
p z 3 c - C B ~
Fig. 10. Double-circuit phasi ng can drastically lower EMF levels at
right-of-way edge.
5 ~ / m is associated wi t h a 15% hi gher magnet i c field
t han a 100 ff~,/m resistivity.
11.7. Effect ?f double-circuit phasing
Confi guri ng a doubl e-ci rcui t vertical line wi t h a low-
react ance confi gurat i on of A- B C C- B- A can drasti-
cally reduce EMF levels over a superbundl e
( A- B- C A- B- C) confi gurat i on (Fig. 10). For exam-
ple, assumi ng a current of 1000A for each circuit,
going in the same direction, a superbundl e has three
times the magnet i c field levels of a low-reactance
confi gurat i on.
12. Material specifications
Once the design i nfor mat i on is det ermi ned, specifica-
tions are required for the vari ous materials and services
needed for const ruct i on. Specifications for the following
are required: conduct ors, gr ound wires, insulators,
hardware, accessories, danger signs, tower steel, and
const ruct i on specifications (Fig. 11).
Acknowledgements
I woul d like to t hank Mr Tom R. Tayl or of the Los
Angeles Depar t ment of Wat er and Power for his contri-
but i ons and suggestions.
Bibliography
[1] J.G. Anderson (ed.), Transmission Line Rejerenee Book: 34 5k V
and Above, Electric Power Research Institute, Pah> Alto, CA, 2nd
edn., 1982.
[2] Transmission Line Re/erence Book: Wind Induced Conductor
Motion, Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA,
1979.
[3] Electrical Transmission and Distribution Rejerenee Book, Westing-
house Electric Corporat i on, East Pittsburgh, PA, 4th edn., 1950.
[4] H.H. Farr, Transmission Line Design Manual, US Depart ment of
the Interior, Wat er and Power Resources Service, Denver, CO,
1980.
[5] National Eleetrical Saf ety Code, IEEE, New York, 1987 edn.,
1986.
[6] Rules j or Overhead Line Construction, General Order 95, Public
Utilities Commission of the State of California, Mar. 1981.
7O
66
5 t
41
3O
2O
I 0
230 kV " F 500 kV DC
Slmgle Circull Single Circuit
'*'Flap
500 kV
Si ngl e Cif cult
"Della"
500 kV 1100 kV
Double Circuit Sinolg C~' ~i !
"Stlsck m "Experlmerda!
Oellu"
Fig. 11. Configurations of typical transmission towers.
200
175
! 50
125
100
75
50
ZT)
0
118 R.D. Castro~Electric Power Systems Research 35 (1995) 109 118
[7] Bonneville Power Administration, Electrical and Biological
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[8] C.A. Powel, Principles of Electrie Utility Engineering, MIT Press,
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[10] D.G. Fink and J.M. Carroll (eds.), Standard Handbook j or
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