EHV cable · Georgia
We buy 345 kV cable and accessory lots
At 345 kV the cable and its accessories are one engineered assembly. A reel without its joints and terminations is an expensive length of insulation, which is why the paperwork and the crates carry as much of the review as the copper.
- Factory joints
- Matched sets
- Heavy haul
01Overview
What this page covers
345 kV transmission in Georgia is overhead, so cable at this class is a short, engineered solution: a station tie, a crossing that could not be built overhead, or a generator connection. A project of that kind is ordered as a set, with factory lengths cut to a route and joints placed at fixed intervals.
That makes a 345 kV lot a different proposition from a 230 kV one mainly in degree. The reels are larger, the accessories are fewer and more specialized, and the installation demands a controlled environment that most contractors do not have. The charging current over a long run is also large enough that the route is designed with reactive compensation, which is one more reason the cable belongs to a project rather than to a stock list.
02Specification
What a 345 kV set contains
- Voltage class
- 345 kV, 100% insulation level
- Insulation
- XLPE, nominal wall about 1.0 in., bonded semicon screens
- Conductor
- 2,500 kcmil to 3,500 kcmil, segmental copper or aluminum
- Sheath
- Welded corrugated aluminum with an extruded HDPE jacket
- Reels
- 108 in. to 132 in.; factory lengths commonly 1,500 to 2,500 ft
- Accessories
- Factory joints, composite or SF6 terminations, link boxes, limiters
- Records
- Routine partial discharge and voltage tests at the works
- Condition
- Never installed, service-aged, canceled project, sheath fault
Record the drum serial and the factory length of every reel before anything is moved. On a 345 kV set the serial is how the cable is matched to its joints.
03Cable and accessories we buy
Cable and accessories we buy
Never-installed project cable
The best asset at this class: reels from a route that was canceled or redesigned, still sealed, with the factory length and test record intact. Nothing has stressed the insulation or the sheath, and the footage is known exactly.
Service-aged cable with its accessories consumed
Cable that has been energised and whose joints and terminations were used on the original job. It is reviewed on test history and on sheath condition, and it is generally a recovery asset unless the owner has records showing recent testing.
Factory joints and termination assemblies
One-piece joints, GIS interfaces and outdoor composite terminations in their original packing. These are matched to a cable size and a sheath type, and they are the items that decide whether a set can be rebuilt.
Bonding and monitoring hardware
Link boxes, sheath voltage limiters, grounding kits and, where fitted, the fiber sensing cable that runs with the power cable. Small items, easily separated from the reels, and costly to replace.
04Evaluation
How a 345 kV set is reviewed
Start with the match. Every reel serial should correspond to a factory length in the project record, and every joint should carry a part number that fits that cable. A set that has been broken up is reviewed item by item, and the cable drops to the value of tested cable rather than of a system.
Then the test records and the physical condition of the sheath and jacket. A welded aluminum sheath is robust but it work-hardens, and a reel that was handled without the right spreader beam will show a crease. A crease is a sheath fault waiting to happen, and a sheath fault at 345 kV is a repair that few owners will take on.
Finally the logistics, which at this size are a project of their own. A 132 in. drum needs a lowboy, permits, a crane at each end and a route survey. State the drum diameter, the weight and the yard access early, because a set can be perfectly good material and still not be worth moving from a site with no crane access.
A 132 in. drum of 345 kV cable is the first hazard. It will roll on a slope, it will crush a foot, and it is moved with a crane and a spreader beam rather than a forklift. The second is charge, because the length behaves as a capacitor after isolation. The third is contamination: a joint or termination at this class is assembled in a controlled environment, and a dusty, humid yard is not one.
05Seller terms
Before you sell: how it works
Four things a seller should be able to pin down before a truck is booked.
Verification
Footage is checked against the reel tag, the sequential marks on the jacket, the wrap count against the barrel, or a published weight per 1,000 ft — whichever the reel actually supports.
Payment
Payment method and timing are agreed in writing for the specific lot before anything is loaded or moved. No verbal number is treated as an agreement.
Paperwork
A bill of sale for the lot, and for utility material the owning utility’s release reference. Neither is optional and neither is created after the fact.
Freight
Collection is arranged as part of the terms. Say what can lift the reels and whether a 53-foot trailer can reach them, and the pickup is planned around that.
Sending a reel list and photographs costs nothing. A review is not a purchase, and nothing is bought, moved or scheduled until written lot terms are agreed for that material. Request a pickup when the lot is ready.
07Questions
345 kV cable questions
Can 345 kV cable be jointed in the field?
Only with a controlled environment and the OEM's procedure. Most 345 kV joints are factory assemblies, which is why the joints are reviewed as separate items.
Is unused 345 kV cable from a canceled project re-usable?
Yes, if the reels are sealed, the ends are intact and the test records exist. The limiting factor is usually whether a new route can use the factory lengths as cut.
What happens to the cable if the accessories are lost?
It is still reviewed as cable, but at a lower basis. Without matching joints and terminations, a buyer has to source accessories from the OEM, which changes the economics of the whole set.
How is a sheath fault found on a reel?
By a sheath test at the drum, before the cable is moved. A visual inspection will not find a pinhole in a jacket, and a fault found after installation is far more costly.
Send the project record with the reel serials
Serials, factory lengths, joint part numbers and test records describe a 345 kV set. Drum diameters and weights set the transport plan.