Electrical phenomena associated with vegetation in contact with medium voltage conductors: summary of field experiments

Vegetation contact with medium voltage conductors is a major problem for many distribution network operators (DNOs) around the world. In addition to being a safety hazard and reliability concern, many DNOs are concerned about vegetation-induced teardowns of conductors igniting wildfires. Despite multiple controlled experiments performed at various laboratories around the world, many misconceptions persist about the electrical behaviour of vegetation contacting medium voltage conductors. This paper summarizes experiments performed by researchers at Texas A&M University and draws conclusions regarding the possibility of detecting vegetation contacts on active circuits.