Upgrading an existing 138 kV transmission line in Manitoba

In recent years, upgrading existing transmission lines becomes a popular option for electric utilities to address increasing demand for power because of the difficulty of obtaining new rights-of-way, and much less capital investment required. In this paper, a 138 kV, double circuit line in Manitoba, Canada, is used as a case study to illustrate how upgrading is made. Detailed procedure was described. In particular, the line data was obtained by using the helicopter-mounted, LiDAR survey. A combination of nipping and tucking, re-tensioning, and waist extension was found to be a cost effective solution to raise the thermal rating of the line to the target value. PLS-CADD was used as analysis tool throughout