Improved Power Reliability by using HT Aerial Bunch Cables

Sunil G. Vora
CEEAMA LFM 105
Sunelec Infra LLP, Palghar
E-mail : [email protected]

Preamble :

Distribution of electricity requires the use of conductors in various forms i.e. cables, wires, bus-
bars etc. The most common types of cables are: insulated, flexible, armoured, shielded,
braided etc. One of the newer variants is the “Bundled Cable” where 3 fully insulated
conductors are bunched together with a bare conductor to form a cable suitable for hanging
from poles. This configuration helps to achieve flexibility as well as maintain insulation and
isolation from nearby conductors & structures.
These range of cables are known by the self-descriptive name “Aerial Bunch Cable” and come
in both Low Tension and High Tension varieties. (LT- ABC, HT- ABC)
ABC combines the advantages of underground armoured cables and overhead bare
conductors. Let us now see how we can use the properties of HT- ABC to solve some common
problems faced by Discoms in Urban, Rural as well as Industrial Areas

Why ABC ?
ABC are suitable for distribution of power in highly congested urban areas and as well as rural
areas. The major advantages of ABC are :
 In urban areas, the narrow gaps between buildings do not provide sufficient bare conductor
clearance. Here ABC can be an ideal replacement
 ABC can be laid without cutting or trimming any trees as no fault is caused by passing ABC
thru branches
 Due to completely insulated construction, it is a deterrent for pilferage of power
 Stray leakages being less, overall power loss is also less in ABC
 Right of Way (ROW) issues are avoided due to use of existing poles to lay new feeders
 The safety afforded to Linemen climbing poles to attend to faults is much higher with ABC
when compared to bare conductor
 Bird faults are eliminated in case of ABC
 High winds can cause bare conductors to touch resulting in line faults which are not
applicable to ABC

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  Upto 6 ABC cables can be laid on 1 pole which is remarkable as space for new lines is
always scarce in urban areas
 Faults on ABC are visible and fault location can be faster than underground cables
 In MIDC or Municipal areas, road cutting charges are phenomenally high for underground
cables

As in all methods, the demerits also need to be outlined & underlined :

 ABC being heavier, tends to sag and it should be considered while deciding the span
 The span for HT ABC should be ideally limited to 20 meters for 11m pole height and 25
meters for 12m pole height
 Mid-span joints are not possible without bringing the cable to ground level
 Passage of fault current could damage the copper screen if not earthed properly at the
terminations
In this paper, we are examining the use of ABC to enhance reliability and hence we are sharing
this real case study. Some visuals are depicted in Annexure B & C.

Background :
MIDC Tarapur is a major Industrial Area near Boisar on the Western Railway track. Since it
was set up in the 1980’s, the area is now home to 1500+ small, medium and large industries.
MSETCL & MSEDCL have set up 3 EHV stations and 7 peripheral 33kV Sub-stations.
HT Consumers are connected to the grid at 11kV, 33kV & 132kV levels while LT consumers
are fed from numerous 11kV Distribution Transformer Centres (DTC) in the area.
Over 50 feeders are emanating from various 132/33kV/11kV & 33kV/11kV sub-stations. As a
result, the area is criss-crossed with overhead lines of all voltages and types. Additionally, the
ground is crowded with HT cables, Telephone cables, Gas lines & Water pipe lines. Road and
Drainage work is continually ongoing and underground cables are repeatedly damaged with
resultant outages of power supply. Hence, an alternative way of accommodating new feeders
while maintaining safety and reliability is the need of the hour. At the same time, Industries are
becoming power intensive and contract demands above 1 MVA are now common. MSEDCL
allows 11kV consumers with loads above 1.5 MVA to opt for Express Feeder which involve
laying a separate dedicated line from the sub-station

Case Study :
Two existing industries in MIDC Tarapur were expanding and required Contract Demand of
2 MVA ( ~ 100A load at 11kV ). The additional load was not feasible on the existing feeders
having 0.1 ACSR conductor, as the ampere load was > 300A. Over 25 consumers were
already connected on the same feeder and clients were facing interruption whenever a fault
occurred in any of the premises. Frequent and prolonged use of DG set was affecting overall
power cost. As a result, clients decided to opt for Express Feeder. The distance of these
industries were 1.5kM and 1 kM respectively from the nearest MSEDCL 33kV/11kV sub-
stations. The options of laying a new express feeder were :
1. Underground Cable (many gate & road crossings)
2. Overhead Line using Bare conductor (insufficient clearance for erecting new feeder)
3. Overhead Line using ABC
Annexure A shows the cost comparative for all 3 options
After careful consideration of the merits and demerits, we opted for Express Feeder via ABC.
The work was done under supervision of MSEDCL under DDF scheme.
Vendors were identified and orders were placed. Tarapur being a highly polluted area, hot dip
galvanized (HDG) poles and pole fittings were used for long life. In the initial stage, the handling
of ABC drum was difficult but soon the knack of paying out the ABC using mobile cranes
(hydra) was learnt. Laying upto 15 spans per day (0.4 km) was achieved after initial trial period.
Adjusting equal sag in all spans demands considerable skill and continuous monitoring is
required to ensure an aesthetically decent finish.
For the uptake and downtake, normal armoured HT cables with end termination kits were used.
Lightning arresters were installed at sending end as well as receiving end.
The 1st Express Feeder using HT ABC was commissioned in January 2017 and the 2nd in July
2017. A new industry used HT ABC to take 1.5MVA connection via Express Feeder by using
the existing poles on which ABC was laid earlier and was commissioned in October 2017.
Thus, 3 consumers with Express Feeder via ABC are working at present in Tarapur MIDC.
No fault has occurred so far and we are monitoring the performance periodically.

Post Script :
In my recent visits to clients in other states, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that in
Telangana, a client with a load of 1200 kVA had an 11kV Express Feeder using HT-ABC since
2015 ! Also another client in Himachal Pradesh was served an estimate for new connection
using ABC ! Similarly, a client in Uttarakhand has a connection using HT-ABC since 8 years !
In Punjab, near Ludhiana, I actually saw a pole carrying 6 feeders of HT ABC . In Sikkim, I saw
HT & LT ABC put to use very effectively thru forest areas. In Gujarat, I saw composite lines
with bare conductor and ABC on the same pole.
It was humbling to know that we are not doing something very innovative but rather, we are
following what other states have already adopted !

Conclusion :
The advantages of using ABC are very clear and selecting the right application is the job of
Electrical Engineers. Human nature is to be suspicious about anything new but after hands-on
experience, we tend to accept it easily. So it is with ABC. After having used in 3 projects in 2 years,
I would now say, using ABC is as easy as saying A.. B.. C.. !

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SUNELEC 11kV HT EXPRESS FEEDER COST COMPARATIVE DEC 18
OPTION 1 : UNDERGROUND OPTION 2 : OVERHEAD BARE CONDUCTOR OPTION 3 : OVERHEAD AERIAL BUNCHED CABLE
S.No.
Description Qty. Units  Rate Rs.  Amt. Rs. Description Qty. Units  Rate Rs.  Amt. Rs. Description Qty. Rate Rs. Amt. Rs.
3C x 185 sq.mm. 
0.1 ACSR (Dog)  3c x 120 sq.mm. 
11kV ( E ), XLPE 
Conductor /  (3  11kV ( E ) HT ABC 
Insulated, Al. 
1 1000 mts.          1,050     1,050,000  conductors per  3000 mts.             110         330,000  with 95sq.mm.  1000 mts.             600         600,000 
conductor, G.I. 
running mt. of  bare messenger 
Round Armoured 
line) wire
Cable
200mm dia HDPE 
DWC Pipes for  (152 x 152) x 12m  (100 x 116) x 11m 
2 200 mts.             275           55,000  30 nos.        19,000         570,000  60 nos.        12,000         720,000 
road / gate  long RSJ Poles long RSJ Poles
crossings
150mm dia RCC  HDGI Cross Arms,  HDGI Cross Arm, 
3 Half Round Pipe  700 mts.             150         105,000  Clamps &  2 tons        75,000         150,000  Clamps &  0.75 ton        75,000           56,250 
for cable cover Fabrication Fabrication
Cable protection  Stay sets & stay  Stay sets & stay 
4 8000 nos.                  5           40,000  1 lot        50,000           50,000  1 lot        50,000           50,000 
using red bricks  wires wires
Sand bedding &  11kV Polymer 
Suspension & 
5 covering using dry  15 brass          3,000           45,000  Composite Pin  100 nos.             400           40,000  1 lot        40,000           40,000 
Dead end clamps
river sand  Insulators
11kV Polymer  1 phase jointing 
RCC Cable Route  Long Rod  kits & Insulator 
6 100 nos.            300          30,000  45 nos.          1,000           45,000  1 lot       25,000         25,000
Markers Insulators with  Support  at Mid 
Tension H/W Span
Excavation,  1:4:8 Concreting  1:4:8 Concreting 
7 Refilling and  600 cu.mt             500        300,000 of poles, studs,  60 cu.mt         3,000       180,000 of poles, studs,  100 cu.mt         3,000       300,000
levelling stay sets  stay sets 
Pole erection incl.  Pole erection incl. 
Cable Laying 
8 1000 mts.            150       150,000 excavation, re‐ 30 nos.          3,000           90,000  excavation, re‐ 60 nos.          2,500         150,000 
(labour charges)
filling filling
MIDC Road & Gate  locati Conductor  HT ABC Cable 
9 10       15,000       150,000 25 spans         1,500         37,500 1000 mts.            150       150,000
cutting cess ons Stringing  hanging
Pole painting,  Pole painting, 
10 Sundries  1 lot       50,000         50,000 muffing, danger  1 lot     100,000       100,000 muffing, danger  1 lot     100,000       100,000
signs, ACDs signs, ACDs
Say Rs. 20 lacs / km    1,975,000 Say Rs. 16 lacs / km    1,592,500 Say Rs. 22 lacs / km    2,191,250

Note : Common items like LA installation, Cable Jointing for end of feeder connection, Guarding are not considered as they are common to all 3 methods of erection

Sheet 1 of 1
 ANNEXURE B

HT Aerial Bunched Cable (ABC)

. 
Typical configuration of HT ABC – 3 XLPE Insulated Cores with 1 bare ‘Messenger Wire’

Aerial Bunched Cable Accessories

A variety of suspension clamps, eye bolts, J hooks, dead end clamps are available for
simple installation of ABC from poles. More customized accessories are still being
developed for fast installation and connections.
 ANNEXURE C : ABC INSTALLATION VARIETIES

Fig 1. Mid Span Joint in ABC Feeder Fig 2. 3 Feeders on 1 Pole using ABC

Fig 3. 2 ABC Feeders + 1 ACSR Feeder Fig. 4 HT + LT ABC on 1 Pole

Fig. 5. ABC Cable Passing Thru Trees Fig 6 Excessively Sagging ABC
(Courtesy – Ensto India Pvt. Ltd.)