Overhead transmission · Georgia
We buy transmission conductor for 69 kV to 500 kV lines
Phase conductor from line rebuilds, voltage upgrades and canceled transmission projects. A transmission lot is reviewed the way the line was built — by phase, by bundle and by stringing reel — because that is how the footage, the hardware and the release documents are organized.
- 69 kV to 500 kV
- Bundled phase lots
- Stringing reels
01Overview
What this page covers
Transmission conductor is not one material. A 69 kV line may carry a single 477 kcmil ACSR phase; a 500 kV line carries three or four conductors per phase on spacers, with an optical ground wire above. The same aluminum, at very different tensions, in very different lengths. That is why a transmission lot arrives with a stringing sheet rather than a weight ticket.
Most of what reaches a buying desk comes from four events: a reconductor that moved a line to a larger or higher-temperature conductor, a voltage upgrade, a canceled project where reels never left the laydown yard, and storm work that took out a section of line. Each produces a different kind of lot, and the difference is in the documentation as much as the metal.
02Specification
What the reel and the stringing sheet tell us
- Voltage classes
- 69 kV, 115 kV, 230 kV, 345 kV and 500 kV lines
- Constructions
- ACSR, ACSS, ACAR, AAAC and composite-core conductor
- Bundling
- Single conductor at 69 kV; 2, 3 and 4-conductor bundles above
- Sizes
- 477 kcmil through 2,156 kcmil and larger
- Standards
- ASTM B232, B399 and B524; most lines are ordered to a utility specification
- Reels
- 96 in. to 120 in. flange, wood or returnable steel stringing drums
- Documentation
- Reel tag, stringing sheet, footage per reel, release reference
- Condition
- New surplus, line-removed, storm salvage, canceled order
The stringing sheet, not the tag, is the document that proves footage. It records which reel number went into which pull and what came back.
03Conductor we buy
Conductor we buy
Phase conductor on stringing reels
Conventional ACSR and ACSS in the 477 to 2,156 kcmil range, on wood or steel stringing drums with the reel number stencilled on the flange. Sequential numbering matters: it ties the drum to a pull and to a footage that someone already counted.
Annealed and composite-core conductor
ACSS uses annealed aluminum so the conductor sags less when it runs hot, and it is common on uprated lines. Composite-core conductor carries a carbon and glass core that must not be bent tight or kinked; a kinked core condemns the length regardless of the aluminum.
Bundled phase sets
Two, three and four-conductor bundles with spacers, dampers and armor rods. The conductor is reviewed as a set of equal footages, and the hardware is reviewed separately on its own count, because a bundle is only useful if the runs match.
Tails and part drums
The short length left at the end of a pull, usually a few hundred feet, plus drums opened for a job that changed. Reviewed as cut lengths unless the footage and the reel condition say otherwise.
04Evaluation
How a transmission conductor lot is reviewed
Start with the documents. A utility release, the stringing sheet and the reel tags answer the three questions that decide everything else: what the conductor is, how much of it there is, and whether it is free to move. Where the tags are gone, the stranding at a cut end and the surface print along the outer layer usually identify it.
Then the condition of the outer layer, which is the part that took the abuse. Bullwheel flattening, birdcaging where a pull stalled, armor rod bite marks and transverse vibration marks all show on the first two layers. The cut ends show the core: rust weeping out of a galvanized steel core means water has been in the drum, and that changes the review.
Freight decides whether a lot is worth moving. A 120 in. drum is an oversize load that needs a lowboy and a crane at both ends, and the conductor on it is light for its bulk. Give the number of drums, the flange diameter, the weight per drum and the site access — a laydown yard off a state route is a different job from a right-of-way on a ridge.
A de-energised transmission circuit is not a dead circuit. Parallel lines induce voltage on a conductor that is isolated at both ends, and the induced voltage can be lethal. Nothing is cut or lowered until the utility has proved the circuit dead and grounded it at the work site.
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
- ACSR conductorAluminium conductor steel reinforced, distribution to transmission
- AAAC and ACAR conductorAll-aluminium alloy and aluminium conductor alloy reinforced
- Reconductor and removed conductorConductor pulled during reconductor and upgrade work
- OPGW and ADSSOptical ground wire and all-dielectric self-supporting fibre
07Questions
Transmission conductor questions
Is conductor from a reconductor ever put back on a transmission line?
Rarely at the same voltage class. Sound conductor is more often re-strung on a lower voltage or lower tension line, or held as storm stock. The review turns on strand damage and core condition, not on age.
Why does the stringing sheet matter more than the reel tag?
The tag states what was wound at the factory. The stringing sheet records what went into the pull and what came back, which is the only reliable footage figure for a partly used drum.
Do you buy conductor that is still clipped in?
No. Removal is line work and stays with the utility or its contractor. The lot starts when the conductor is on the ground, coiled or re-reeled, and released.
What happens to the spacers, dampers and armor rods?
They are a separate lot with a separate count. Damper and spacer quantities also help confirm the bundle configuration, which is useful when the conductor tags are missing.
Send the stringing sheet with the reel list
Reel numbers, flange diameters, footage and the utility that released the lot are enough to start. Photographs of the tags and the cut ends can follow.