1

Incorporating Weather Statistics in

Determining Overhead Line Ampacity
M.J.C. Berende, J.G. Slootweg, Member IEEE, G.J.M.B. Clemens

course not lead to a (significant and/or uncontrolled) decrease

Abstract—This paper treats the dependence of overhead line in supply reliability due to an increase in component failure
ampacity on weather circumstances. First, the problems rate, nor to potentially dangerous situations to personnel
associated with too high conductor temperatures (too low and/or the public. Particularly capital intensive network
conductor clearance to ground, melting of fat causing accelerated
components, such as HV transformers, cables and overhead
aging, and tensile strength reduction) are touched upon. Then the
various factors affecting the relation between conductor current lines, are obvious candidates for further investigations with
on the one hand and conductor temperature on the other is respect to their utilization, because postponement of
discussed and quantified. investments in these types of equipment yields significant
Thereafter, a typical conductor used at Essent Netwerk is savings.
studied in detail. Using weather statistics for the Netherlands, its In this paper, the results of an investigation aiming at
ampacity throughout the year is calculated and the derivation of improving the utilization of overhead lines by incorporating
the ampacity value to be used in system planning and operation
is discussed. Finally, the relation with system operation and the
the dependence of their current carrying capacity (or
increase of line ampacity by pinpointing and solving local ampacity) on weather conditions in system planning and
bottlenecks are discussed. operation are presented. The paper is organized as follows.
First, an overview of the topic of line ampacity, its
Index Terms—Overhead line, Ampacity, Conductor determination, and the limits to be taken into account is given.
temperature, Surface clearance, Power system planning, Power Then, the physical relation between conductor current and
system operation, Asset management temperature and the various factors that play a role are studied
in detail and the results are applied in a number of practical
I. INTRODUCTION
cases. Finally, the handling of the calculation results in power

T HE restructuring of the electricity sector that has taken

place in many countries often comprises the separation of
traditional, vertically integrated utilities into a network
system planning and operation is treated. In figure 1, two
types of overhead line steel towers that occur frequently at
Essent Netwerk are depicted.
operator on the one hand and a (commercial) company
involved in electricity production and trading on the other.
Because electricity networks are generally considered a
natural monopoly, network operators are not liberalized, but
regulated in order to prevent the network operator from
improper behavior towards his (captive) customers.
The regulatory approaches adopted by the newly
established regulators always in some way or another aim at
increasing the efficiency of the network operators. Hence, the
restructuring of the electricity sector and the accompanying
establishment of a regulator tends to lead to an increasing
downward pressure on the expenses of network operators. The
challenge for network operators is to reduce cost by increasing
their effectiveness and efficiency without compromising
system reliability and personal safety of employees or the Fig. 1. Frequently occurring tower types at Essent Netwerk: 110 kV “hammer
head” tower and 150 kV “Donau” tower (Photographs: Hilbrand Hut and
general public. Arnie Berkers)
One way to reduce the expenses of a network operator is to
better utilize existing network components, because this leads II. LINE AMPACITY
to postponement of investments. This should, however, of
The current flowing through an overhead line causes
losses, which lead to an increase of the temperature of the
All authors are with Essent Netwerk B.V., P.O. Box 856, 5201 AW, ’s- conductor. A higher conductor temperature has two major
Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. Corresponding author is J.G. Slootweg (e-
mail: [email protected], +31-6-52376925)
consequences. First, the conductor becomes longer due to
thermal expansion. Given that each conductor section is fixed
 2

to the towers at both ends, expansion of a conductor leads to a

larger sag, i.e. less clearance from the surface. Depending on
the design of the line, eventually minimum requirements as
stated in applicable norms [e.g. 1] may be violated and/or
public safety can be threatened due to an increased probability
of live line contact. Conductor expansion is a reversible effect:
when the conductor temperature decreases, the conductor
shrinks again and the sag becomes smaller, i.e. the surface
clearance increases again. Further, this effect is “continuous”,
i.e. every temperature change in principle leads to a change in
conductor length and hence sag.
The second effect of higher conductor temperatures can be
degeneration of the conductor. This is caused by two
mechanisms:
- Reduction of corrosion protection
- Reduction of tensile strength due to material degeneration
The first effect, reduction of corrosion protection, is caused by
the fact that when the conductor temperature becomes higher
than a certain value (about 90°-100° C) the cable greasing
melts. Because cable greasing is hydrophobic, the melting of
the cable greasing increases the sensitivity to corrosion. This
particularly applies to conductor in which steel is used.
Therefore, for aluminium conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) Fig. 2. Reduction of tensile strength dependent on temperature and time for
conductors the maximum operating temperature in order to copper (Cu) and aluminium (Al) [2]
prevent reduction of the corrosion protection level is normally
set at 80° C. In aluminium magnesium silicon (AMS) Given the above, it can be concluded that either sag or
conductors, cable greasing may be used as well, but the effect conductor degeneration can limit the allowed conductor
of greasing is limited in this case. Therefore, maximum temperature and hence its ampacity. When conductor
operating temperature is set at 90° C. degeneration is the limiting factor, in case of copper
The melting of cable greasing is irreversible, because when conductors tensile strength reduction tends to be the dominant
the greasing becomes fluent and trickles it does not come back factor, whereas for ACSR and AMS conductors, melting of
when the line cools down again. It is, however, as long as cable greasing is most important. Sag as the limiting factor
cable greasing does not indeed occur, not cumulative. can occur at any type of conductor, because it mainly depends
The second effect, reduction of tensile strength, is caused on the engineering of the line and less on the type of
by the fact that when a conductor is exposed to a high conductor.
temperature, the material degenerates. This causes a reduction
of tensile strength. The extent, to which tensile strength is lost, III. CALCULATING CONDUCTOR TEMPERATURE
is determined by the type of material and the value and To establish the relation between conductor current and
duration of the conductor temperature. conductor temperature, a model of the thermal behavior of the
Reduction of tensile strength is irreversible and also conductor is necessary. Such models can be readily found in
cumulative; when the conductor temperature has been high, publications, e.g. [3, 4]. They are in general based on the heat
tensile strength is lost. When the conductor cools down, balance of the conductor: in steady state, the heat supplied to
tensile strength does not increase again and when the the conductor equals the heat it transfers to its environment.
conductor temperature becomes high the next time, tensile The most important sources of heat are:
strength reduction continues from the already reduced value - Dissipation due to the resistance of the conductor
that was caused by earlier exposures too high temperatures. - Irradiation of the sun
In figure 2, the tensile strength reduction with time is The most important mechanisms for heat transfer are:
depicted for different materials and temperatures [2]. It can be - Convection due to air flowing around the conductor
concluded from the figure that aluminum is relatively - Radiation from the conductor
insensitive to high temperatures: the tensile strength reduction Each of these will now be treated in more detail.
is relatively small and flattens quickly. On the other hand,
copper is much more sensitive to high temperatures: tensile A. Dissipation
strength reduction is much higher at lower temperatures and The losses in a conductor depend on its resistance and the
hardly flattens. Therefore, the maximum temperature of current through the conductor. For the resistance, the value of
copper conductors is normally set at 70° C the AC-resistance at the relevant temperature should be used.
It can be calculated with the following equation:
 3

(
R AC = R AC ,293K 1 − α (Tc − 293) ) (1) which the air surrounding the conductor is “refreshed”. The
mechanism of forced convection is described by the following
in which
equations:
RAC is the AC resistance of the conductor at the temperature of
Pc = πλ f Nuδ (Tc − Ta ) (4)
interest [Ω/m]
RAC,293K is the AC resistance of the conductor at room with
λ f = 2.42 ⋅ 10−2 + 7,2 ⋅ 10−5T f
temperature [Ω/k]
Tc is the conductor temperature of interest [K]
α is the temperature coefficient of resistance [K-1]; its value
Nuδ = Nu90 ⎛⎜ 0.42 + B (sin δ ) m ⎞⎟
varies between different types of conductor material ⎝ ⎠
The dissipation losses can now be calculated using the well 0.471
known equation ⎛ ⎞
⎜ vw D ⎟
Nu90 = 0.641⎜ ⎟
Pd = R AC I c2 (2) ⎜ 1.32 ⋅ 10− 5 + 9.5 ⋅ 10− 8T ⎟
⎝ f ⎠
in which
Pd are the dissipation losses [W/m] ⎛ T + Ta ⎞
Tf =⎜ c − 273 ⎟
Ic is (the RMS value of) the conductor current [A] ⎜ 2 ⎟
⎝ ⎠
B. Irradiation in which
The amount of sunlight absorbed by the conductor depends Pc is the heat transfer due to forced convection [W/m]
on the sunshine, the conductor diameter and the absorption λf is the heat conductivity of air [Wm-1K-1]
coefficient of the conductor surface. The following equation Tf is the temperature of the air film immediately surrounding
applies: the conductor [K]
Ps = α s SD (3) Ta is the ambient temperature [K]
δ is the angle of attack of the wind [°]
in which Nuδ is the Nusselt number for a given angle of attack δ
Ps is the absorbed sunlight [W/m] Nu90 is the Nusselt number for an angle of attack of 90°
αs is the absorption coefficient of the conductor surface vw is the wind speed [m/s]
S is the irradiation perpendicular to the conductor surface B and m are dimensionless constants, for which applies
[W/m2] - 0°<δ<24°: B=0.68 and m=1.08
D is the conductor diameter [m] - 0°<δ<90°: B=0.58 and m=0.90
C. Convection D. Radiation
Two sources of convection exist, namely natural The heat emitted from a conductor by radiation depends on
convection and forced convection. Natural convection is the temperature difference between the conductor and its
caused by the heating of the air around the conductor by the environment, the conductor diameter and the emission
conductor itself. This reduces the air’s density. The heated air coefficient of the conductor surface. The following equation
rises, making room for “new” air that can also be heated by applies:
the conductor. On the other hand, forced convection is caused
by the wind that “refreshes” the air around the conductor Pr = πDεσ B (Tc4 − Ta4 ) (5)
much more quickly than the mechanism of natural convection in which
would do. Therefore, at wind speeds above 0.5 m/s, natural Pr is the heat transfer due to radiation [W/m]
convection does hardly play a role, because the air is moving ε is emission coefficient
more quickly due to the wind than it can be heated by the σB is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, 5.67·10-8 Wm-2K-4
conductor.
The investigation reported in this paper was carried out for E. Heat balance
the Netherlands, and in the Dutch climate, wind speeds lower As stated above, in steady state the heat supplied to the
than 0,5 m/s hardly occur. Therefore, only the effect of forced conductor and the heat it transfers to the environment are
convection will be taken into account here and the effect of equal:
natural convection is neglected. However, the equations Pd + Ps = Pc + Pr (6)
describing the effect of natural convection, which is important By assuming that the conductor temperature Tc in eqs. (1, 4, 5)
when studying line ampacity in climates where complete equals the maximum operating temperature for the conductor
calms occur more regularly or inside buildings, can be found of interest (limited by either sag or degeneration) and by
in [2]. substituting eq. (2) in eq. (6), the current leading to the
The heat transfer from the conductor to the surrounding air maximum operating temperature, i.e. the conductor ampacity,
depends on the temperature difference between the two, the can be calculated with the following equation:
heat conductivity of the air and the conductor diameter. The
wind speed and the angle of attack determine the speed at
 4

Pc + Pr − Ps statistics into account in determining the practical ampacity,

Ic = (7) but also the network topology and operative and failure
R AC
statistics. The reason for this is, that when a certain probability
Eq. (7) can be used to calculate the ampacity of a specific of having the practical ampacity exceeding the physical
conductor by substituting the appropriate values for the ampacity is accepted, not only the weather statistics, but also
various conductor characteristics, the allowed conductor the fraction of the time during which relatively high currents
temperature as well as the relevant weather conditions into occur (i.e. in failure and maintenance situations) plays a role:
equations (1, 3-5, 7). the shorter the period during which relatively high currents
occur, the less the chance that these occur during unfavorable
IV. AMPACITY CALCULATIONS weather circumstances and thus the higher the practical
ampacity can be.
A. Approach towards Ampacity Determination
B. Usage of Weather Statistics
In order to avoid potentially dangerous and/or damaging
line overloads, as well as unjustified investments in network As can be concluded from section III, three aspects of the
extensions, it was decided to re-establish the conductor weather affect the physical ampacity of a conductor, namely:
ampacities that are used in system planning and operation for - Irradiation by the sun
the about 250 overhead line circuits of Essent Netwerk. - Wind speed and direction
The starting-point for the investigation is formed by criteria - Environmental temperature
which formulate the permitted probability that conductor Data with respect to the solar irradiation were drawn from an
clearance is too low or that the temperature at which internet database containing half-hourly values for the
conductor degeneration starts is exceeded. Such criteria can be irradiation throughout Europe over the years 1996 to 1999 [5].
derived from norms, or based on financial calculations that The analyses showed, however, that the impact of irradiation
compare the necessity to invest on the one hand with the cost on physical conductor ampacity was relatively limited. For
and probability of line failure on the other. In any case, the practical reasons, a fixed (worst case) value for the irradiation
criteria should be derived from the company’s policy with was derived from the data for each season. These are given in
respect to such topics as the (monetary) valuation of public table I.
TABLE I
and personnel safety, outages and norms and legislation. Thus, APPLIED VALUES FOR SOLAR IRRADIATION
it is ensured that the criteria are derived in conformance with Season Months Irradiation [W/m2]
the Asset Management concept as it is being used at many Winter Dec.-Feb. 500
network operators nowadays. Spring Mar.-May 900
Summer June-Aug. 1000
When the conductor temperature is such that degeneration Autumn Sept.-Nov. 700
starts (in case the maximum conductor temperature is limited
by material properties) or clearance becomes too low (in case Data with respect to temperature, wind speed and wind
the maximum conductor temperature is limited by ground direction were received from the Royal Dutch Meteorological
clearance), the line is considered overloaded. The value of the Institute KNMI [6], namely hourly values from 2002 to 2004
current at which overloading occurs will be further referred to for three locations in The Netherlands. Using these data, plots
as its physical ampacity. Taking into account section III, it is of the physical ampacity can be drawn. In figure 3, the
clear that a conductor’s physical ampacity depends on the cumulative frequency distribution of the physical ampacity of
actual weather circumstances, such as wind speed and a St/Al 23/259 conductor is depicted for the summer (red) and
direction, sunlight and temperature and hence varies the winter (blue). The solar irradiation is as given in table I,
throughout the day and the year. the conductor properties in table II. The calculations were
However, for practical reasons, network planners and carried out using Matlab.
operators must have a single ampacity or at most a very TABLE II
limited set of ampacities for each circuit. This ampacity will CONDUCTOR PROPERTIES
Characteristic Value
be further referred to as the practical ampacity. Depending on RAC 0.11133 Ω/km
the value chosen for the practical ampacity, it can sometimes αs 0.6
be higher than the actual physical ampacity. So, the goal of the D 21.84 mm
investigation presented here can now be reformulated as ε 0.6
deriving values of the practical ampacity to be used in power
system planning and operation, such that the probability that The figure applies to the peak load period (set at 10h00 to
the actual physical ampacity is lower than the practical 18h00). Because the lowest peak load in The Netherlands is
ampacity meets the formulated criteria. about a factor 1.5 bigger than the highest off-peak load,
A complicating factor in determining the ampacity is the because maintenance (leading to planned line outages) is only
redundancy that is nearly always present in HV networks, carried out during daytime, and because off-peak load does
which generally tend to be (n-1) or even (n-2) safe. not coincide with the highest values of ambient temperature
Redundancy makes it necessary not only to take weather (as off-peak load occurs during night time) the probability of
 5

100 100

80 80

Cumulative frequency distribution (%)

Cumulative frequency distribution (%)

60 60

Angle between
conductor-axis and
40 northern wind direction [°]
40
0
45
20 90
20
Summer
Winter

0 0
600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Physical ampacity (A) Physical ampacity (A)

Fig. 3 Physical ampacity of St/Al 23/259 conductor during summer (red) and Fig. 4 Dependence of physical ampacity of St/Al 23/259 conductor on wind
winter (blue) for a maximum temperature of 80°C direction (summer situation) for a maximum temperature of 80°C

off-peak line overloadings is negligible. Taking into account ampacity will be in this region, as otherwise the probability of
irrelevant data for the off-peak period would just distort the overloading will become far too high. In this region, the wind
picture. direction only has a small effect, which can be explained by
From figure 3, it can be concluded that the investigated realizing that wind speed is low anyway. Line orientation will
conductor can always carry at least 600 A, even under the therefore not be taken into account any further.
“worst” atmospheric conditions (high temperature and D. Effect of Redundancy
irradiation, no wind). In other words, the minimum physical
As mentioned above, the probability that the actual line
ampacity of the conductor is 600 A. When the practical
current exceeds the physical ampacity of the line on the one
ampacity is set higher than the minimum physical ampacity,
hand depends on the chosen practical ampacity, but on the
the line could be overloaded. The probability of overloading
other hand also on the degree of redundancy. When a network
can, however, not be derived from figure 3.
is highly redundant, the probability that a circuit becomes
This can be seen as follows. When the practical ampacity
overloaded is very low, because therefore a number of other
would be set at 1050 A, there is a probability of 50% that
circuits would have to fail simultaneously.
practical ampacity will exceed physical ampacity. However,
When a network is completely (n-1) safe, only (n-2)
the probability that the line will indeed be overloaded also
contingencies can lead to overloadings. There exist three types
depends on the probability that the actual current exceeds the
of (n-2) contingencies, namely:
minimum physical ampacity. Periods with low physical
- Failure of one circuit while another circuit is unavailable
ampacity do not necessarily correlate with high currents.
for maintenance
However, generally spoken, the higher the practical ampacity
- Failure of two circuits independently, i.e. failure of a
(which guides system planning and operation) is set, the
second circuit while the first circuit is still unavailable due
higher the chance that at some time the actual current exceeds
to reparation after failure
the physical ampacity and a line becomes overloaded.
- Failure of two circuits due to a common cause
C. Effect of Line Orientation When a network is only (n-1) safe, or partly but not
As can be concluded from eq. (4), not only the wind speed completely (n-2) safe, the following contingencies can lead to
vw, but also the angle of attack δ determines the heat transfer overloadings as well:
from the conductor to the air by forced convection. However, - Maintenance of one circuit
in practice high voltage lines are oriented in all directions and - Failure of one circuit
therefore a given wind direction leads to different angles of Both for (n-1) and (n-2) safety, of course only circuits that are
attack on different lines. In order to investigate whether this redundant to each other are relevant.
effect should be taken into account or not, the orientation of By multiplying the probability of occurrence and the
the conductor depicted in figure 3 was varied for the summer duration of each of the above situations, the fraction of the
situation. The results are given in figure 4. time that the network is in a state in which overloading could
It can be concluded from figure 4 that wind direction occur can be calculated. The probability that the network is in
mainly plays a role at higher physical ampacities. This can be a state in which overloading could occur can then be
explained by realizing that the wind itself is the main cause of combined with physical ampacity graphs, such as figure 3, in
the observed high physical ampacity. However, for the order to find the practical ampacity that leads to the allowed
analysis in this paper, particularly the region with low overloading probability, i.e. the probability that high load,
physical ampacity is of interest, because the practical unfavorable atmospheric conditions and a relevant
 6

contingency coincide. For more detail on this type of

calculations, literature on network reliability calculations can
be consulted [7-8]. In principle, calculations can be carried out
for the network as a whole, as well for specific circuits.
E. Practical Considerations
In practical situations, the ampacity can either be
determined by conductor degeneration or by surface
clearance, as described in section II. When conductor
degeneration is the limiting factor, the question whether or not
to exceed the physical ampacity is mainly an economic one.
Exceeding physical ampacity leads to gains in the short run by
the postponement of investments in line upgrades or new
lines. However, in the long run, lines are more quickly worn
out, leading to an earlier need for replacement. When surface
clearance is the limiting factor, public safety is the main issue,
because overloading lines with a large sag can increase the
risk of unintended live line contact by third parties.
With respect to the economic trade-off for lines of which
overloading leads to conductor degeneration, network
operators are relatively free to optimize according to their own
measures. Whether this is also the case for safety depends on
the applicable norms and the applicable legislative framework.
In some countries, conformance with the applicable norms
may be legally obliged. In that case, the main task of the
network operator would be to investigate thoroughly which
practical ampacity can be chosen while still not violating the
applicable rules, given the weather circumstances.

V. LINKING NETWORK PLANNING AND OPERATION

At quite a number of DNO’s, there seems to be a relatively Figure 5. Control centers of Essent Netwerk: Weert (above) and Zwolle
large (organizational) distance between network planning (below) (Photographs: Tom Rombouts and Hilbrand Hut)

departments, nowadays often turned into asset management

departments, on the one hand and control centers on the other. this paper as well as other activities of the asset management
This situation is undesirable for several reasons: department are extensively communicated with the control
- When policies and criteria differ between the asset centers by explaining the approach and the results to network
management department and the network operators, they operators, so that they can update the ampacity tables in the
experience different problems and asset management ends SCADA-system accordingly. In figure 5, the control centers
up planning investments to solve its own problems, rather of Essent Netwerk are depicted.
than those of the operators.
VI. LOCAL BOTTLENECKS IN SAG-LIMITED CIRCUITS
- Daily operation in the control center generates a wealth of
information that can be used fruitfully in network planning As discussed in section III, a line can either be sag-limited
and should hence be made accessible to the asset or degeneration-limited. Upgrading of degeneration-limited
management department. lines normally requires wire replacement and is hence
- When planners and operators optimize according to relatively expensive. However, in case of sag-limited lines, it
different criteria, this may cause suboptimization. is often possible to reduce the sag at relatively low cost. When
Examples are scheduling work during weekends or the cause is a local bottleneck (e.g. construction of a road or
committing of generators, where either a (relatively small) building below the line), tower elevation or locally tensing the
investment could be a more efficient solution, or these conductor more tightly can be good solutions. Tensing can
measures would actually not be necessary (yet). also be applied to complete circuits, whereas tower elevation
For these reasons, Essent Netwerk has recently tightened the in that case tends to become too expensive.
link between asset management and the control centre by In order to obtain an overview over the actual sag of its
establishing a SLA (Service Level Agreement) between the overhead lines and to assess whether increased line utilization
two with the asset management department in the role of would be possible and at which cost, Essent Netwerk has
principal. Further, the results of the investigation presented in made a survey of its 110 kV grid using FLI-MAP®. FLI-
MAP® consists of the following steps:
 7

- Take pictures of all lines using a helicopter VII. CONCLUSIONS

- Log line currents and weather circumstances at the instant In the paper, it was first shown that various factors can
that the pictures are taken limit the ampacity of a line, namely allowed sag, melting of
- Trace lines, as well as some aspects of the surface (such as cable greasing and reduction of tensile strength. The limit for
railways, waterways, roads, buildings and forest) in the a specific line depends on the type (material) of the conductor
pictures and convert these from bitmap-oriented to vector- as well as on the line’s engineering.
oriented elements. Then, the impact of weather circumstances on line
- Use dedicated software to “filter” the circuits while ampacity was discussed. To this end, the concept of physical
varying the current and hence the sag of the line, in order ampacity was introduced. It was concluded that in the Dutch
to see where surface clearance bottlenecks exist in order to situation temperature and wind speed are the most relevant
determine its ampacity. meteorological factors, whereas wind direction and solar
In figures 6 and 7 some pictures showing FLI-MAP® irradiation play only a minor role. It was also argued that in
screenshots are depicted. Although the analysis of the FLI- determining the practical ampacity, the degree of redundancy
MAP® data has not been completed yet, provisional results in the network must be taken into account. The higher the
seem promising. redundancy, the less the probability that a line must carry a
high current and thus the higher the practical ampacity can be
chosen to achieve a given value for the allowed overloading
probability.
It was also observed that it is essential to communicate line
ampacities adequately with the control centre, so that they can
be implemented and used in system operation. Finally, the use
of FLI-MAP® for pinpointing local bottlenecks in sag-limited
circuits was illustrated.

VIII. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Our colleagues Sjoerd Talsma, Gerard Sleumer, Ronald
van Dalen en Koos Swart are acknowledged for their efforts
in the FLI-MAP® project and for making available figures 6
and 7 .

IX. REFERENCES
[1] NEN-EN 50341-3, Bovengrondse elektrische lijnen boven 45 kV
wisselspanning - Deel 3: Verzameling van nationale normatieve
Fig. 6 FLI-MAP® screenshot showing a 110 kV overhead line (purple) aspecten, November 2001 (in Dutch).
entering a substation; the red part is a road below the line [2] Thermal behaviour of overhead conductors, Cigré Technical Brochure
No. 207, 2002.
[3] Rapport inzake de belastbaarheid van stroomgeleiders voor
hoogspanningslijnen, N.V. Samenwerkende Elektriciteits-
produktiebedrijven, Werkgroep belastbaarheid verbindingen, oktober
1971 (in Dutch).
[4] Kostenbesparing binnen handbereik; Gereedschap dynamisch netbeheer
voor bedrijfsvoering en lange termijn-netplanning, KEMA, rapport
PREGO 15, april 2004 (in Dutch).
[5] www.satel-light.com
[6] www.knmi.nl
[7] R. Billonton, R.N. Allan, Reliability Evaluation of Power Systems,
Springer, 1996.
[8] G.J.M.B Clemens, Zuverlaessigkeitsorientiertes Zusammenwirken von
Netz- und Kraftwerksbetreibern im Verteilungssektor, Aachener Beiträge
zur Energieversorgung (ABEV), Band 60, 1st ed., 1999. ISBN 3-
934318-00-2 (in German).

Fig. 7 FLI-MAP® screenshot showing a road (red) and dike forming a local
surface clearance bottleneck in a 110 kV overhead line circuit
 8

X. BIOGRAPHIES

M.J.C. (Maarten) Berende received a M.Sc. degree in

electrical engineering from Eindhoven University of
Technology, the Netherlands, in 1998. He currently
works with Essent Netwerk B.V., one of the largest
Distribution Network Operators of the Netherlands.
His present function covers the development of
strategies for optimal utilization and replacement of
electrical components, particularly in high voltage
networks.

J.G. (Han) Slootweg (M ’00) received a MSc degree

in electrical engineering in 1998 and a PhD degree in
2003, both from Delft University of Technology, the
Netherlands. He also holds a MSc degree in Business
Administration. Currently, Han works with Essent
Netwerk B.V., one of the largest Distribution
Network Operators of The Netherlands, where he is
coordinating maintenance and long term planning of
the company's 110 kV and 150 kV networks.

G.J.M.B. (Gabriël) Clemens received a MSc degree

in electrical engineering in 1994 and a PhD degree in
1998, both from Aachen University of Technology,
Germany. Currently, he works with Essent Netwerk
B.V., one of the largest Distribution Network
Operators of The Netherlands, where he is
responsible for the design, maintenance and
replacement strategies for the company's electricity as
well as gas networks.