HV Cable Accessories: Enablers to Restore and Recover Cable Systems by Ruben Grund

In recent years, the causes behind failures of cable systems have begun to shift. While incidence of material degradation, systematic defects and incorrect definitions and calculations has decreased, externally induced damage continues to be an issue. Damage caused by excavators continues due to lack of sufficient documentation, especially in the course of expanding cities into previously suburban areas. Repair of such damage is vital and failed components need to be replaced as quickly as possible to ensure service is restored. But this can prove a major challenge given that a range of variables needs to be taken into account. For example, is there sufficient excess length for the cable to be replaced or will an additional cable bridge be needed? What will be the requirements in regard to testing? This presentation looks into the possibility to reduce the negative impact of these types of failure based on two case studies: the first sees utilization of a conventional joint for repair; the second discusses using a pluggable system, assuming the network in question is already flexible, meaning that transformers as well as switchgear are also equipped with pluggable systems. Moreover, this second case study is not limited only to incidence of repair but can also be applied for temporary set-up and bypassing of existing lines.