Supplying Fixed and Stroboscopic Light Beacons From the Overhead Ground Wire on 735 kV Transmission Lines

The increased use of fixed and stroboscopic light beacons to mark the location of Transmission Line Towers forced Hydro-Quebec as utility to look upon an economic system for supplying those beacons, especially in remote areas. Electrical energy induced capacitively in an insulated section of overhead ground wire was an interesting approach and so a system was devised for supplying both fixed and stroboscopic light beacons with power derived directly from the overhead ground wire of the transmission line itself. This paper describes then a low cost solution adopted for building operational prototypes to energize beacon lights on Hydro-Quebec 735 kV system.