Overhead vs.

Underground Electric
Distribution
By Jerson T. Emata
Building Utilities 2
BSAR 3-b
● Generation
● Transmission
● Distribution
● Utilization
 Distribution
Electric power distribution is the final
stage in the delivery of electric power;
it carries electricity from the
transmission system to individual
consumers.
 Today's distribution systems are heavily integrated with
renewable energy generations at the distribution level of the
power systems by the means of distributed generation resources,
such as solar energy and wind energy.
Overhead Power Distribution
Power from the generating station may be
carried to the various points of consumption
byoverhead transmission and distribution lines,
byunderground cable, or by a combination of
both.

Traditionally, the overhead cables or the bare

conductors have been used for the transmission of
electrical power and even for the distribution.
These are simple in configuration and are usually
commissioned using the towers or poles.

● Cheap
● Easy maintenance
● Easy expansion
The bare wire conductors on the
line are generally made of
aluminum (either plain or
reinforced with steel or
composite materials such as
carbon and glass fiber), yet,
some copper wires are used in
medium voltage distribution and
low-voltage connections to
customer premises.
Typhoon Tisoy in
Bicol
December 2019
Spaghetti Cables
Underground Power Distribution
Undergrounding is the replacement of overhead cables
providing electrical power or telecommunications, with
underground cables. It demonstrates the higher
technology in developed countries for fire prevention
and to make the power lines less susceptible to outages
during high wind thunderstorms or heavy snow or ice
storms.

● Less maintenance fetch

● Better aesthetic
● Avoid illegal connections
The installation of underground
transmission lines costs more per foot
than most overhead lines. Costs of
underground construction can range
from four to ten times as much as an
equivalent length of overhead line.
However, generalized cost ratios of
underground to overhead options
should not be used because costs are
site-specific.
Types of underground cables
Underground cables are usually classified
according to their Voltage ratings. They’re
grouped as follows:

● Low tension cables which have a maximum

voltage handling capacity of 1000V
● High tension cables which have a maximum
voltage handling capacity of 11kV
● Super tension cables which have a
maximum voltage handling capacity of
33kV
● Extra high tension cables which have a
maximum voltage handling capacity of
66kV
● Extra super voltage cables which are used
for applications with voltage requirement
above 132kV.
Damage to underground cable is difficult
to locate, and restoration of the system
once the faults are located might take
considerably long time. For underground
cable system, a large number of cables is
required for the same capacity of the
overhead counterpart.