No Under ground lines says JPSCo

[Sickko]

Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) says 'No' to underground power lines


The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) has ruled out running its electricity transmission lines underground.
Speaking with JIS News, President and chief executive officer (CEO), Damian Obligio, said that to build underground lines would cost seven to 10 times the cost of the overhead lines.
Maintaining that overhead lines remained the best option, despite Jamaica's location in an area frequently affected by hurricanes and windstorms, the CEO pointed out that "the tariff for underground lines would go up significantly and in the event of a disaster affecting those lines, the restoration process would be longer."
"You would have to build inspection chambers under-ground, which can be flooded and it will take longer to remove the flood water and dry them," he explained.
Citing countries that had under-ground transmission lines, Mr. Obligio said that, "if you check any of the big cities with under-ground cabling, you can verify that it takes longer to restore service after a disaster." He added that as a result, big cities double their infrastructure, meaning they have overhead and underground cables, so they can alternate transmission. Mr. Obligio pointed to several other factors which would not make underground cabling feasible for the country. "In Jamaica, the ground is rocky and the streets are narrow," he noted, adding that regular cutting of the streets to lay cables would make matters worse after every disaster.

[Time]

Con Ed Shocking and killing New Yorkers

Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) says 'No' to underground power lines


The [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Jamaica[/color][/color] Public Service Company (JPSCo) has ruled out running its electricity [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]transmission[/color][/color] lines underground.
Speaking with JIS News, President and chief executive officer (CEO), Damian Obligio, said that to build underground lines would cost seven to 10 times the cost of the overhead lines.
Maintaining that overhead lines remained the best option, despite Jamaica's location in an area frequently affected by hurricanes and windstorms, the CEO pointed out that "the tariff for underground lines would go up significantly and in the event of a disaster affecting those lines, the restoration process would be longer."
"You would have to build inspection chambers under-ground, which can be flooded and it will take longer to remove the flood water and dry them," he explained.
Citing countries that had under-ground transmission lines, Mr. Obligio said that, "if you check any of the big cities with under-ground cabling, you can verify that it takes longer to restore service after a disaster." He added that as a result, big cities double their infrastructure, meaning they have overhead and underground cables, so they can alternate transmission. Mr. Obligio pointed to several other factors which would not make underground cabling feasible for the country. "In Jamaica, the ground is rocky and the streets are narrow," he noted, adding that regular cutting of the streets to lay cables would make matters worse after every disaster.

We have a serious problem in Manhattan with underground cables. There are many hot spots in the city. More people have been hurt and/or kill by the Con Edison (the energy company) than by terrorism since 2002.

[Westman]

They make sense near emergency facilities and in high population density areas. I build them every day. Jamaica is just trying to develop proper infrastructure so the cost can be a lot. When they get done with a good grid, they should seriously think of some underground in Kgn, MoBay, Ochi, Spanish Town and Mandeville.
There is a difference between underground electric transmission and distribution lines. Transmission has to be in oil-cooled conduits. Extremely expensive. Distribution is smaller. Older Cities like NYC have problems because of old/long ago construction and improper as-built plans/process. In OTown, we dont have those problems. My neighborhood is all underground and, in case of hurricanes, our outages are very brief.
Overhead transmission is so sturdy that hurricanes seldom affect them anywhere. It is the distribution lines that get affected. Life cycle costs for areas with undergound distribution can be lower. Reliability is heightened tremendously.

[Sickko]

Maybe you need to send them an email...

[Assasin]

thanks fi the info cause it seems to work good in England but in NY there always seems to be something wrong.

[Westman]

Sickko, when you imagine the amount of money that Mirant made of the JPS asset, you should want to cry. If it was that valuable, how come the govt could not have seen it? They could have used some of that equity to finance the reliability upgrades to the system. Instead they sold the majority to Mirant, who in return, shrewdly sold it off so they could milk the equity from the company. That is so scandalous! That equity could have helped the Jamaican govt, the consumer and attracted industry with lower power costs and better reliability.

[Baddaz]

if i can add 2 penny wut...

a friend who is an electical engineer told me that underground electricity in a country like jamaica which is prone to flooding would not be a good idea... he also stated that the repair and maintenance of these underground infracstructure would be extremely costly...

in his opinion, above ground is better suited for a country with jamaica's terrain and low budget...

[Baddaz]

When they get done with a good grid...

westman, as you know jamaica has limited budget... if the people are outraged with the prospect of paying tolls, imagine what the outcry would be to recoup the cost of maintaining these underground distribution infrastructure...

i say continue with the overhead distribution and raise the standard across board to withstand the category 5+ hurricanes...

[Assasin]

so we screwed either way then?
cause JPS have no insurance to get money from so a the same customer have fi pay for it inna them bill.

[Westman]

Nonsense! Where I live has more annual rainfall than Ja. It does not need to be everywhere. However, in certain places with population density that is very high it should be considered. Also, near hospitals, certain industries, etc. I spoke about doing it only after a decent grid is put in to provide basic service everywhere. I do it here and guess what, a lot of Jamaican born electrical engineers do it on my projects. We actively discuss why this has not been undertaken in some very important places in Ja.

[Westman]

You are mixing apples and oranges. When you think of places near UWI Hospital, KPH, New Kingston, Industrial areas on Spanish Town Road and many more, it is a travesty that we dont think of having any of it.

[Tilla]

BTW Baddaz, Missa Westman is the city engineer in Otown. I would trust his judgment.

[Mosiah]

Seems like our utility companies are not interested in life cycle costs. They want to make a quick buck and splurt.

[Mosiah]

I'm sure we do have some. New Kingston and the Mall downtown don't seem to have as many overhead lines as other places.

[Gamma]

what makes you say that? "the room for rent attitude"?