Overhead conductor · Georgia
We buy ACSR and bare overhead conductor in Georgia
Steel-reinforced aluminium conductor from reconductor jobs, cancelled line builds and utility stockpiles. A reel is reviewed on stranding, size, core condition and documented footage — not on what the aluminium would fetch by the pound.
- ACSR, AAC and AAAC
- Reel or cut lengths
- Utility release required
01Overview
What this page covers
ACSR is the workhorse of the Georgia transmission and distribution system: aluminium strands over a galvanised steel core, from 266.8 kcmil distribution conductor up through the 2,000 kcmil class used on bulk transmission lines. It reaches a buying desk in four predictable ways — surplus from a reconductor, leftover from a line rebuild, obsolete stock out of a utility warehouse, or conductor salvaged after storm damage.
Those are four different assets. A factory-new reel with the tag intact and a mill test report is inventory. The same conductor pulled off a line and coiled on the ground is a recovery lot, and it is reviewed as one. Either way the order of questions is the same: stranding and size, then core condition, then footage, then documentation.
02Specification
What the tag and the conductor tell us
- Constructions
- ACSR, AAC, AAAC and ACAR
- Sizes
- 266.8 kcmil (Partridge) through 2,156 kcmil (Bluebird) and larger
- Stranding
- 6/1, 7/1, 12/7, 26/7, 30/7, 45/7, 54/7, 54/19, 72/7
- Core
- Galvanised or aluminised steel; alloy core for AAAC and ACAR
- Standards
- ASTM B232, B231, B399 and B524
- Reels
- NEMA wood reels 48 in. to 96 in.; returnable steel reels on transmission work
- Lengths
- Commonly 5,000 to 25,000 ft per reel; short reels reviewed separately
- Condition
- New surplus, unused stock, removed from line, storm salvage
Photograph the tag, the stranding at a cut end and the whole reel. There is no need to cut conductor to prove what it is when the tag or the surface print already says so.
03Conductor we buy
Conductor we buy
ACSR, distribution through transmission
Aluminium over steel, from 6/1 conductor in the triplex sizes up to 72/7 transmission stranding. The core carries much of the review: galvanising condition, corrosion at the cut ends, and whether the core is galvanised or aluminised.
AAAC and ACAR
All-aluminium alloy conductor and aluminium conductor alloy reinforced, used where a utility has standardised away from a steel core. Easier to identify from the tag alone and less exposed to core corrosion in coastal air.
AAC and bare copper conductor
All-aluminium conductor and bare copper from station and industrial work. Bare copper is reviewed on its own terms, because there the metal rather than the stranding drives the outcome.
Cut lengths and drum remnants
Tails and short lengths left by line crews. Worth reviewing as a group only when the sizes and strandings are listed separately — a bin of mixed cut conductor is a recovery lot by definition.
04Evaluation
How a Georgia conductor lot is reviewed
The first question is whether the conductor can go back into service rather than be recovered. That turns on four things: the stranding being identifiable, the core being sound, the aluminium being free of deep abrasion and ringing, and the reel being intact enough to pay out. A wood reel that has stood on its flange in Georgia red clay for three winters usually fails the last test before anyone looks at the metal.
Documentation carries more weight here than on building wire. Utilities release conductor against a surplus or scrap authorisation, and a buyer has to know the material is released rather than merely sitting in a yard. Give the utility or EMC name, the release reference and the site contact who can authorise movement. A lot cannot move past review on a verbal description alone.
Freight is set by volume, not weight. A 96-inch reel of 795 kcmil ACSR holds a great deal of conductor and very little tonnage, so trailer space governs the cost. Say how many reels there are, their flange diameter, and whether a forklift can reach them or a crane is needed.
Conductor on a live line is not salvage. Nothing is cut, climbed, lowered or moved until the circuit is de-energised and proved dead by the utility. Induced voltage on a de-energised transmission line is a real hazard, not a theoretical 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.
06Related
Related material
- Transmission conductorBare overhead conductor from 69 kV through 500 kV lines
- AAAC and ACAR conductorAll-aluminium alloy and aluminium conductor alloy reinforced
- Reconductor and removed conductorConductor pulled during reconductor and upgrade work
- Utility surplusReleased stock, obsolete standards and cancelled orders
07Questions
ACSR conductor questions
Do you buy ACSR that is still on the pole?
No. Conductor is bought only after the owning utility or its contractor has removed it. Clipping, lowering and stringing are line work and stay with qualified crews working under the utility's clearance.
How is a reel of ACSR valued?
On stranding and size, core type and condition, reel integrity, documented footage, and whether the material is released for sale. Aluminium content sets a floor under the lot; reusability decides the outcome.
Can you review conductor with no tag?
Yes. Measure one strand, count the strands, identify the core and photograph the cut end against a rule. That usually matches the stranding, and the footage can be estimated from the wrap count and the barrel diameter.
Do you take mixed reels from several jobs?
Yes, priced as a mixed lot. Sorting by stranding, size and condition before the review is the cheapest improvement a seller can make to the result.
Send the reel tag, not the weight ticket
Stranding, size, footage and the utility that released it are enough for a first review. Photographs of the tag and the cut end can follow by text.