S&C Helps Utility Eliminate Wildlife-Related Flashovers On Distribution Lines.

Birds and squirrels are a leading cause of flashovers on distribution lines. Such flashovers not only inconvenience customers, they also have a very negative impact on utility outage indices such as SAIFI and MAIFI, which are used to monitor distribution line performance.

To cut the occurrence of wildlife-related flashovers on several of their troublesome distribution lines, one Midwestern utility decided to try a radically different line configuration, relocating the lines to the top of the pole. Jumpers from the lines would be connected to inverted style distribution switches. The switch base would be clear of energized components . . . so wildlife could perch on top of the base without causing an insulation or phase-to-phase flashover.

The utility turned to S&C to furnish the switches. S&C’s Technical Services went to work on a solution. They developed an inverted style Omni-Rupter® Switch meeting the utility’s needs.

The utility is pleased with the performance of the switch and has standardized on it for areas with wildlife concerns. Inverted style Omni-Rupters can be an extra tool for utilities looking to improve distribution line performance and reduce wildlife-related issues.