Guidelines for Economic and Installation Environment-Based Selection of Overhead Transmission Conductors

This paper provides guidelines for transmission grid planners to improve conductor selection in capacity upgrade projects. Proposed guidelines are developed by implementing a formalized methodology that pre-selects feasible conductors based on ampacity and sag constraints, then evaluates the net-present cost (NPC) of each project over the entire lifetime of the line. Results emphasize the impact of conductor selection on projects' cost-benefit value, and recommend for grid planners to: i) consider various parameters for conductor selection (technical, economic, and new power generation), ii) evaluate projects over the entire line lifetime, iii) associate conductor selection with investment option selection, and iv) better estimate the duration of line use to capture the impact of losses and congestion.