We wrapped 11 miles of 12 kV in the WUI west of Redding with covered conductor and spacers in June, and mid-season numbers show SAIFI down 22% and wire-down tickets down 40% while fault current profiles remained essentially unchanged. For crews doing similar conversions, what install or maintenance pinch points are costing you time (tie heating at deadends, spacer spacing adjustments, wildlife guard fit), and what design tweaks would keep the reliability gains without adding truck hours?
, those tie heating issues drive me nuts too! We wrapped some lines last year, and the time lost with deadends was frustrating. I found it helps to prep all the materials beforehand, so at least you’re not fumbling around when you get to a site. Did you notice any unexpected challenges with the spacers?
I’ve had my share of headaches with tie heating too! Prepping deadends in advance really saved us a couple of hours. Just like making a sandwich — have everything in place so you won’t be fumbling around when it’s time to eat.
I hear you — those deadends can really slow things down. One thing that’s helped us is using a heat blanket on the tie connections. It speeds up the process and reduces cool-down time significantly.