Reasons utilities are switching to high-performance overhead conductors

1. Reasons why utilities are switching to high performance overhead conductors www.ctcglobal.com Feb 2020

2. Introduction CTC Global is a ACCC conductor manufacturing company that was founded to develop, certify and deploy advanced technologies to improve the efficiency, capacity, reliability and resiliency of the electric power grid. Our primary product is high-capacity, low-sag CTC Global ACCC Conductor solutions. www.ctcglobal.com

3. In 2003, CTC Global introduced the ACCC® Conductor. CTC replaced the steel core wires in conventional ACSR overhead conductors with a hybrid carbon fiber core. The carbon fiber core is ~50 percent stronger and 70 percent lighter than steel. To date, over 50,000 miles of the ACCC Conductor have been installed at over 700 projects in 50+ countries.  www.ctcglobal.com

4. Here are some reasons why utilities are switching to high performance overhead conductors Mitigate Sag Violations We all got the memo – after discovering several transmission lines that violated clearance limits, NERC and FERC made it clear utilities needed to inspect their transmission lines and develop a plan to mitigate excessive conductor sag. A number of options were and are being considered which include re-tensioning, raising, modifying or replacing existing structures, derating or installing high-capacity, low-sag conductors such as ACCR, C7 or ACCC® Conductor www.ctcglobal.com

5. Improve Grid Reliability & Resilience Eliminating sag clearance violations was the logical first step. Recall the major east coast blackout of 2003. More recently, on the west coast, high temperatures, drought conditions, strong winds and horrific fires have wreaked havoc with local utilities and their customers who are now having to endure preemptive power outages to reduce the risk of starting additional fires. While sag is obviously a drag, it is not the only aspect of improving grid reliability and resilience. High-performance conductors are also enabling grid operators to reroute power around areas where lines are being serviced or in areas where the threat of fires or other events is anticipated, because they can carry more current – without exhibiting excessive thermal sag. www.ctcglobal.com

6. Increase Line Capacity Increasing line capacity is extremely important for the N-conditions described above. It is also important to our changing mix of generation resource assets.  High-performance conductors – supplemented by substation upgrades – can generally help double the capacity of existing lines. In 2016, for instance, American Electric Power doubled the capacity of two 120 circuit-mile 345 kV lines in the lower Rio Grande Valley by swapping out double bundled ACSR Drake size conductor with double bundled ACCC Drake size conductor. The fact that they completed this mission while the circuits remained energized won them the EEI Edison Award that year. www.ctcglobal.com

7. Improve Grid Efficiency Discussions about 'efficiency' have generally revolved around demand-side appliances and generation resources. In spite of our nation's low D+ grid rating (as reported by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2012 and 2017), few transmission engineers give transmission efficiency much thought, because line losses are relatively low in the U.S. and the recognized costs of losses are simply passed on to the consumer. However, when AEP upgraded their two circuits in Texas, not only did they increase line capacity to accommodate load growth, they also reduced line losses by a surprising 30 percent. Even with a relatively low "load factor," line loss reductions were estimated to save 300,000 MWh per year. At $50.00 / MW, that's $15,000,000 per year or $450,000,000 over 30 years (a simplified view). www.ctcglobal.com

8. Environmental Attributes As mentioned above, the ACCC Conductor's ability to reduce line losses can translate into reduced fuel consumption and reduced emissions, or at the very least - enable an increase in clean energy delivery. While these may seem like second or third tier benefits, consider that many states have established CO2 reduction initiatives and that policy makers, regulators and governors consider these 'high-value' topics. In California, for instance, it's not unlikely that the Air Resources Board (CARB) speaks from time to time with CAISO and CPUC. It may be no coincidence that 'cleaner' projects received approval over other projects in the queue.  www.ctcglobal.com

9. Contact Us CTC Global Phone: +1 949 428 8500 Fax: +1 949 428 8515 info@ctcglobal.com www.ctcglobal.com

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