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Live Line Transmission
Live Line Transmission
The planning of hotline work is based on the following safety and system operational
procedures:
Favorable climatic condition for hotline operation is sunny weather. If the weather
forecasts rain or thunderstorms, work will not begin.
Before going to the work site, all equipment and tools will be inspected and
checked for correct operation.
All hotsticks and ladders will be cleaned and checked for integrity by the hotstick
tester.
All linemen in the hotline team will be equipped with personal protective
equipment during the work.
No live-line team members on the tower/conductor will wear any metallic chain,
wristwatch or rings to avoid any circulating current.
Auto recloser will be in OFF position for the line at both ends.
Work permit will be taken from the terminal substations at each end of the line.
POWERGRID's live-line works require crews to practice the following on-site
briefing and safety disciplines before starting work:
The work procedure is discussed with the team members at the tower location and
the responsibility of each member is properly defined.
The land in close vicinity to the tower is cleared to provide a site area for the
required tools.
All epoxy hotline sticks are cleaned with Methyl-Ethyl-Ketone or Acitone, the
metallic sections are cleaned with kerosene and the rotating parts are cleaned with
graphite powder before preparing assemblies for the live-line work
All cleaned hotsticks, strain carrier and other assemblies are kept on the hotline
tool rack to avoid ground contact.
The team linemen will wear conductive socks, boots, helmets and hand gloves.
The hot-end lineman will wear complete barehand suit.
clearance is not sufficient for shifting the hot man to the conductor. Thus, a new
method was developed for shifting the hot man on the conductor.
In this method shown on page 48, the ladder is hung on the crossarm near the conductor
alignment and the hot-end lineman climbs on the ladder near the V-portion of the tower.
The ladder is then moved away from the tower and the hot-end lineman climbs on the
ladder to move onto the conductor. After climbing on the conductor, he can crawl toward
the working point.
The hot man cannot directly land at the position where the conductor is attached to the
insulator string because the reduced approach distance (3060 mm [10 ft]) is only
available with live metal parts. Therefore, no margin is available for inadvertent
movement of the hot man. Furthermore, while working, the hot man has to use a barrier
in the form of an insulated platform so that his legs are not suspended beyond corona
ring. With the precise positioning of the hanging ladder, landing of hot man at an
accessible place (away from conductor attachment point) and restricting the leg
movements of the hot man, V-string insulators can be replaced where the approach
distance is 3 to 3.5 m (9.8 to 11.5 ft). This is somewhat less than the normal approach
distance of 4 to 4.5 m (13.1 to 14.8 ft).
Replacement of Insulators
In the case of 400-kV transmission line towers, the electrical clearances of the jumpers
and insulator strings from the live metal tower body/crossarm are designed based on
power frequency and switching overvoltages. Where no additional clearances have been
provided at the design stage, it may be difficult to carry out hotline maintenance with the
required clearances and degree of safety. It is relatively easy to access the top phase on
the tower, because the problem of electrical clearances for the cold man who will be
sitting on the top crossarm of the conductor does not exist. However, a limitation of
electrical clearances when the cold man sits on the middle or bottom crossarm is only 3 to
3.5 m (9.8 to 11.5 ft). This restricts the use of hotline maintenance by conventional
methods, so a special method has been developed to overcome this problem prevalent on
existing transmission lines.
To make more room for the cold man sitting on the middle or bottom crossarm, the top
and middle phase conductors should be pushed off the tower. This operation is easier on
tension-type towers because only jumpers not under tension need to be pushed off.
However, because of their weight and tension, it is difficult to push the conductors off
suspension towers.
Pushing off the conductor/jumper is done with the help of hotsticks that have suitable end
connections and a chain pulley block. Where crossarms can take up the load of conductor,
the operation can be performed from nearby crossarm. If not, the operation has to be done
from the tower body, which involves the use of longer hotline sticks. Linemen must make
sure that no jerk load exists on the tower and that the load is equally distributed on all the
legs of tower.
By scanning the insulators with the help of a damaged insulator scanner, the
required level of safety necessary when performing hotline maintenance work can
be achieved. It also identifies the punctured insulators, thus providing data for
planning preventive maintenance.
By developing the techniques to carry out hotline maintenance for those situations
where sufficient electrical clearances have not been provided in the design of the
transmission line, it is possible to take up preventive maintenance under live
conditions.
HOTLINE WASHING:
Background:
The enormous growth of industries has caused a considerable growth in atmospheric pollution in
the form of dust, coal dust, ash and chemicals in industrial areas. Along with contributing
geographical factors such as proximity of coastal areas, salt deposits, smog, rain etc. serious
damage and maintenance problems are caused for power generating units.
Despite the different anti pollution measures and devices the Government requires industries to
install,contamination is an ever increasing problem in the power industry. The pollution in form of
conducting materials affects the Insulators and hardware in switchyards, as well as on overhead
Transmission lines.
The pollution build up on these transmission lines provide a conducting path, resulting in
flashover, that in turn cause power disruptions to industries affecting production.
To arrest such contamination of Insulators, it is necessary to have a regular program of cleaning
at regular intervals. The earlier solution to the problem was to de-energize the line or Sub-station
and have workmen climb up and clean the Insulators in a tried and proven method of hand rub,
which entails physical manual cleaning. In todays ever increasing demand for electrical energy
this process proves to be un-economical as the power industry does not make money unless
electricity is flowing.
This is where the process of Hotline Washing proves invaluable, as there is no need for power
shut downs and has proved to be a safer in a more economical way.
This method developed by us at Yashmun is now extensively being used for washing almost all
Electricity Boards and Electric Undertakings in India.
Operating Principles:
Advantages:
HOTLINE MAINTENANCE:
We, at Yashmun, undertake Hot/Live line maintenance jobs upto 220 KV. We have all the
required tools and instruments imported from RITZ Brazil and A.B.Chance USA. Our certified
engineers and technicians have undergone training at the National Power Training Institute in
Bangalore.
Background:
Due to the increasing complexity of transmission networks, coupled with inter regional /inter State
ties, transporting of large quantums of power has rendered shut-downs on Transmission
lines/stations almost impossible, thus rendering a need for live wire maintenance technicians. A
network of 220 KV and 400KV Transmission lines form the backbone of the Transmission
network. Power flow from these networks are monitored and regulated by National / Regional /
State load dispatch centers. It is obvious that a constant supply of electricity is required by
consumers and for this an almost un- interrupted stable availability of Transmission lines is
required. Providing redundancy in transmission lines could be a solution, which, however is a
costly option. Therefore preventive maintenance, deploying live line maintenance techniques,
proves the best solution.
To carry out this test we use an indicating instrument with 2 prongs in association with a hot stick .
Current passing through an Insulator is proportional to the voltage absorbed by that Insulator.