Transmission crews beef up Boundary Dam line

New, stronger structures will make the transmission line more reliable.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative - September 2, 2011

The robust storm structures will help
prevent cascading. Photo by Wayne
Bentz, lead lineman from the Mandan
outpost.

Wind and ice are enemies to transmission lines. While nothing can thwart them with 100-percent certainty, Basin Electric is countering with preparation.

The cooperative’s Transmission System Maintenance (TSM) division is beefing up a transmission line in northwestern North Dakota in the hopes of protecting it from storm damage and enhancing reliability.

Bryan Keller, manager of TSM, said during the week of Aug. 22, crews from the Logan and Mandan maintenance outposts worked on the Tioga-to-Boundary Dam 230-kilovolt line, installing four storm structures.

Keller said the line’s structures were at risk of failing one after the other during severe storms. “The new storm structures are more robust. The guyed structures are installed every five to six miles to prevent cascading if structures should go down during ice storms or tornadoes,” he said.

The civil and structural engineering section, under the supervision of manager Duey Marthaller, assisted with the design of the storm structures.

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