Overhead Cables Will be Replaced in Cities and Underground Cables Will Soon be on The Rise

BMA May Cancel The Project To Move All Overhead Cables Underground

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) may cancel the project to move all overhead and telecommunication cables underground. This is because most telecom service providers have avoided the project due to its high investment cost, estimated at around 19 billion baht.

Bangkok Deputy Governor Wisanu Subsompon said that at this stage, the city government has instructed its investment department as telecom service providers have shown little interest. Krungthep Thanakom, the project owner, has slowed down work.

If the project is to be completed, the city expects the telecom regulator National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to also share the cost, he said.

So far, the BMA has laid 7.2 kilometers of power cable underground covering some roads in Bangkok. The estimated cost is 140 million baht, but the total distance of overhead cables in the capital is about 2,450 kilometers.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) has placed its cables separately into underground cable ducts for a total distance of 62 kilometers. Work on another 12 kilometers of road is expected to be completed this year.

It plans to apply to Cabinet within the next five years to relocate the cables over a distance of 77.3 kilometers, after which all poles will be removed.

The cable project is one of BMA's ambitious plans to beautify Bangkok's environment by removing cable barriers.

So, Why Are More and More Cables Being Placed Underground?

Underground cables are a new trend in the new century with the rapid development of the urban economy and the improvement of the quality of urban life. It has and will have a beneficial effect on the beautification of the urban environment and the enhancement of the city's functions, and has a new reality effect. Underground cable, should be and will be able to reflect the high level of a city's comprehensive socio-economic development, and can also measure a city's high degree of modernization and scientific development.

International experts in urban cable research, through decades of scientific exploration and construction practice across the centuries, have obtained convincing empirical conclusions, and the ZMS cable expert team has summarized the following underground cable to modern urban development brought many benefits.

1. Underground Cables Enhance The Reliability Of Urban Power Grids

With a large number of towers in the city exposed to the edge of the road, you can not avoid the overhead line traffic accidents, and will also often happen crane touching the line, aerial throwing, kite hanging line, and other external damage, more likely in storms, heavy snow and other catastrophic weather caused by serious damage to the power supply and communications network, on these cable loss and accidents, almost directly lead to the interruption of power supply and communications disconnection rate.

For example, France had a powerful storm in December 1999, resulting in 8% of the high-voltage and ultra-high-voltage transmission lines serious failure, power outages lasted 15 million customer days, while it will all lines to repair but took up to 6 months, total losses of up to 1.3 billion euros. 

In Hangzhou, China, there was also a strong typhoon in August 1988, which caused a large number of trees to fall on the overhead lines, resulting in the breakage of the cable lines, which caused a massive blackout in the Hangzhou area for more than 10 days, with considerable losses.

In a general sense, the incidence of accidents and failures of overhead power lines is much greater than that of underground cable lines, about 10 times as much. Therefore, the use of overhead lines into the ground in the city is very necessary, but also particularly important, underground cables are fully available to the city to bring the reliability of power supply, and safety more worry-free.

2. Underground Cable Can Enhance The Transmission Capacity Of Urban Lines

Usually overhead transmission lines to another tower, but buried underground cable lines can reach a lot of circuits. In addition, underground high-voltage cables generally have more efficient copper conductors, making them efficient to transmit electricity.

In addition, underground UHV cables generally have more efficient copper conductors that can operate at lower temperatures than overhead transmission lines. This feature makes it possible to achieve the most efficient possible delivery of electricity to end users and is particularly important for renewable energy generators and low-carbon generators beyond long distances. It can make a valuable contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by reducing losses in the transmission of such power.

3. Underground Cables Can Eradicate Visual Pollution And Beautify The Urban Environment

The huge spider web of urban overhead lines, largely destroys the aesthetics of the city, destroying the visual effect of traditional and modern buildings. Overhead line into the ground, you can return the city a pure, can let people visual produce a sense of comfort and beauty. 

4. Cable Buried In The Ground Can Improve The Use Of Urban Land Value

The land is a high-value but scarce resource, especially in the center of first-tier cities. Due to the spatial safety distance of the overhead line, the requirement is higher than the underground pipeline, which decreases the utilization value of the land, but changing to underground can increase the utilization value.

5. Avoid More Dangerous Accidents

Taking the way of buried, can better decline dangerous accidents, and avoid accidents because of the poles, resulting in personal safety accidents.

Conclusion

Based on the strong development of underground cable construction in cities around the world and the many benefits of underground cables for modern urban development, ZMS predicts that more and more countries will increase their underground cable laying efforts in the coming decades. More countries will proactively participate, thus setting off a series of underground cable construction boom.