Why Utility Companies Need Emergency Restoration Systems (ERS)?

In extreme weather conditions during hurricanes or snowstorms accompanied by heavy snowfall and temperatures around zero, ideal conditions for icing of wires and poles are observed. This dangerous phenomenon is the reason for the rupture of a wire by the weight of the accumulated ice following the destruction of the pillar structure.

The challenges of replacing concrete/steel lattice poles in severe conditions

Replacing concrete/steel lattice poles 24 kV in such harsh conditions is a very difficult and laborious process, due to their length (13 m) and weight (1500 kg). A special means of transport is required, which is difficult to get on the site in wet conditions and impossible during the winter time.

In severe winter conditions dozens of concrete and steel lattice poles fell due to icing on the facilities causing blackouts to a lot of customers in mountainous areas.

Installing long and heavy poles with the need of a concrete foundation is a great challenge for the linemen of the Utility companies. Under such severe conditions, sub-zero temperatures, wind and blizzard, it takes a week just to restore the foundations, and only one concrete/lattice pole a day after that for flat terrains only. In difficult-to-reach mountainous areas, restoration activities can take even longer.

The Solution: An Emergency Restoration System Using Composite Poles

Imagine an emergency team that can quickly restore a damaged pole in 2-3 hours without a crane, even in a strong blizzard and sub-zero temperatures! This is not science fiction, as it may sound.

The Emergency Restoratioin System represents a modular composite pole made of fiber-reinforced polymers FRP, with a guaranteed lateral top structural force of 10 kN (1019 kg) for the intermediate pole and 15 kN (1529 kg) for the anchor one. It consists of three modules, each up to 5 m long and weighing up to 50 kg.

The small size and light weight allow the modules for two composite poles to be transported by Dacia Duster/Ford Ranger, an off-road vehicles near the damage site and carried by hand to the installation place. No crane or concrete foundation is required. All that is needed is a pre-dug trench and backfill for the intermediate column and an existing concrete foundation of a damaged lattice steel tower for the anchor one. The recovery will take only a few hours, not a week!

This will give utilities the advantage of being able to restore 3-4 collapsed poles within one working day in severe weather conditions, in hard-to-reach areas without roads, minimizing the duration of blackouts to consumers.

Bibliography
1. Impact & Mitigation of Icing on Power Network Equipment, INMR, Utility Practice & Experience, November 8, 2024. https://www.inmr.com/impact-mitigation-icing-power-network-equipment/

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