Shielded power cable · Georgia
We buy medium voltage cable, 5 kV to 35 kV
The cable that runs from a switchgear line-up to a transformer, from a utility riser to a padmount, or across a plant yard. It is bought on one line of print — the legend — and everything else follows from what that line says.
- XLPE and EPR
- Tape shield or neutral
- 100% and 133%
01Overview
What this page covers
Medium voltage covers 5 kV through 35 kV, and within that range the cable is defined by three choices: the insulation compound, the insulation level and the metallic shield. XLPE and EPR are the two compounds; 100% and 133% are the two levels; tape shield, concentric neutral and longitudinally applied copper are the three common shields.
Those choices are printed on the jacket in the cable legend, in a fixed order, and reading that line is the first thing a review does. Size, voltage rating, insulation level, shield type, jacket compound and any armor are all there. A seller who photographs the legend has answered most of the questions before a buyer asks them.
02Specification
What the legend and the reel tell us
- Voltage
- 5 kV, 8 kV, 15 kV, 25 kV and 35 kV
- Insulation
- XLPE or EPR, at the 100% or 133% insulation level
- Walls
- 15 kV at 175 and 220 mil; 25 kV at 260 and 320; 35 kV at 345 and 420
- Conductor
- 2 AWG through 1,000 kcmil, copper or aluminum
- Shields
- Copper tape, concentric neutral wires, or corrugated copper
- Jacket
- PVC, CPVC or HDPE; interlocked armor where the route requires it
- Standards
- ICEA S-93-639, NEMA WC 74, AEIC CS8, UL 1072
- Reels
- 48 in. to 84 in.; 500 to 5,000 ft, part reels common
Concentric neutral is part of the value. Count the neutral wires and measure one; a cable quoted without its neutral is a cable quoted short.
03Cable we buy
Cable we buy
XLPE with a copper tape shield
The plant and utility standard for feeder work: cross-linked polyethylene, a helically applied copper tape, and a jacket over it. The tape is thin and it is damaged by poor pulling, so the jacket and the tape are checked together.
Concentric neutral cable
Bare copper wires applied helically over the insulation screen, serving as both shield and neutral. Common on utility distribution and on service to a padmount. The wire count and size matter, because they are copper that is part of the cable.
EPR cable
Ethylene propylene rubber insulation, chosen where flexibility or moisture tolerance matters. It is more forgiving than XLPE in wet soil, bends more easily in a tight duct, and reads differently in the legend.
Armored and heavy-jacket cable
Interlocked aluminum or steel armor, or a corrugated welded sheath on the severe versions. Used in plant yards and where the cable is exposed. Armor is recovered with the cable and counted in the review.
04Evaluation
How an MV lot is reviewed
Read the legend, then measure the footage, then look at the ends. Those three steps answer size, quantity and condition, which is most of the review. The ends are the most informative part of a used cable: they show whether the semicon was stripped with a knife, whether water reached the strand, and whether the shield was cut back properly for a termination.
Age and service matter more than on bare conductor. XLPE in wet soil develops water trees over years, and a cable that spent two decades in a wet duct cannot be treated like a surplus reel from the same year. Where the service history is unknown, the review treats the cable as service-aged rather than as stock.
Then the practical split. New surplus with sealed ends goes back into service; part reels go to contractors who need a few hundred feet; service-aged cable is reviewed on copper and shield content. Sorting a lot into those three groups before it is quoted is the difference between one price and three.
Most cable-cutting injuries in the trade happen at this voltage, because 15 kV looks ordinary. A feeder can be backfed from a customer's generator, a padmount can be loop-fed from the other end, and a cable that is disconnected at the switchgear may still be live from a transformer. Test for voltage, discharge, and ground the conductor before a cut is made, and spike the cable after grounding when the procedure calls for it.
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
07Questions
Medium voltage cable questions
What does the 133% insulation level mean for a buyer?
A thicker wall for the same voltage class, so the cable suits a system with higher ground fault exposure. It also means a larger diameter and a different review from a 100% cable of the same size.
Is concentric neutral counted separately?
It is recorded separately, because the neutral wires are copper. A cable quoted without its neutral count is undervalued by the seller and re-checked by the buyer.
Can service-aged MV cable be re-used?
Sometimes, where it was dry, tested and carefully removed. Without a test history it is normally reviewed as recovery material, because water trees cannot be seen.
Do you buy short part reels?
Yes. Part reels are the normal shape of an MV lot, and lengths of a few hundred feet are useful to contractors for repairs and temporary work.
Photograph the legend and the cut end
The jacket legend gives size, voltage, level and shield. Footage per reel and the condition of the ends complete the first review.