The reliability of cable lines depends on a number of factors:
1️⃣ Design (including calculations);
2️⃣ Production and delivery;
3️⃣ Cable laying and termination/joint installation;
4️⃣ Cable operation (testing, monitoring, diagnostic etc);
5️⃣ Unpredictable actions of third parties.

Mistakes at any of these stages can lead to serious financial losses: damage to the cable, the need to repair the damaged section, or even complete replacement of the entire route of the cable line. With the price of high-voltage cable lines reaching sometimes 1 million euros per 1 km, the consequences of mistakes at any stage are very expensive.

Here is a 330 kV cable from a well-known manufacturer with a very good reputation. It can be seen that the insulation thickness of the cable varies significantly. After just a year of operation of the 330 kV cable line with such a cable, a short circuit occurred on it resulted in significant financial losses. The manufacturer confirmed his fault.

Let me also translate this into another language: “it’s always interesting to look at the real number of problems with those cable projects that were actively advertised and were accompanied by high-profile announcements.”

The idea of the post is simple – in a list of 5 items, unfortunately, no one has an immunity from mistakes and surprises. There are always inaccuracies or mistakes in calculation, production, installation, and so on. The goal of the cable industry is to learn from mistakes and try to avoid them in the future. Therefore, we can only welcome all those who, each at their workplace, invest their efforts and knowledge in improving the quality and reliability of cable lines. Have a good productive week to all of them!