Thursday, February 14, 2013

Valentine Sparks

Today is Valentine's Day -- a day to celebrate all of the powerful and heart-warming forms of love displayed on this planet by mankind.  A cute article on the various celebrations around the globe can be found here

Today, paper hearts with beginner's penmanship touch the hearts of mothers and fathers the world over,



men (and women) with sweaty palms make promises of forever with that certain someone they can't imagine life without,



and life-long couples reflect back upon the deep abiding friendship that kept the romance alive during years of sacrifice and struggle...couples like this one.

We demonstrate our affection in a myriad of ways, from handmade cards to chocolates and flowers, but sometimes"sparks" on Valentine's Day are not always a good thing and the gifts we give can actually cause harm.  Learn more here: http://www.pgecurrents.com/2013/02/12/video-metallic-balloons-popular-but-they-pose-a-valentine%E2%80%99s-day-hazard/

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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Getting the green light


Susquehanna-Roseland line

Just this week, a project in which we are involved was in the news as having received court approval to proceed: http://www.northjersey.com/news/NJ_court_OKs_transmission_line_upgrades_in_the_Highlands.html?c=y&page=1.  

This project involves designing a new 45-mile double-circuit 230 kV/500 kV steel pole transmission line to replace an existing 230 kV transmission line on a narrow 150-foot-wide right-of-way.   A portion of the line has to remain energized during construction to keep a substation fed from two sources.   The remaining line will be constructed in a way that will allow the re-energization of the line in a 14-hour turn-around time frame.
 
Commonwealth has provided an electrical effects analysis; assistance with permitting; and design that entails traversing the Delaware Water Gap area, crossing existing transmission lines, and interconnecting to a new 500 kV switching station.  Commonwealth also was involved with the alternative route analysis and the preferred route evaluation.   A feasibility report and cost estimates were prepared initially for the preferred route, and then the design began.   Commonwealth also assisted in the permitting documentation phase.
 
The final deliverables will be a construction package for the entire line and support by Commonwealth during construction.   The structures are double-circuit tubular steel poles, sometimes mini-legged design, and double-circuit lattice towers.   The 500 kV circuit consists of four-bundle 1590 kcmil “Falcon” ACSR. The heights of the structure were required to be less than 200 feet.  This project began in 2008 and is ongoing.
 
We are pleased to be a part of the work taking place to help the client meet reliability standards while being good environmental stewards.

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