BUYING MV URD? NEW HELP FROM ANS!
ANSI approval for a medium-voltage URD standard can simplify purchases.
- Published in Southwire's T&D Update newsletter in March 1998
- Reprint permission granted
Cable buyers shopping for URD cables may find that a new nationally accredited standard makes their job easier. ICEA (Insulated Cable Engineers Association) and AEIC (Association of Edison Illuminating Companies) have cooperated to create a unified standard for 5kV to 46kV concentric neutral distribution cables. That document has recently been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a national standard.
"Other hardware used for utility distribution is already covered by accredited standards," says Nick Ware, manager of Southwire's D.B. Cofer Technology Center and a past president of ICEA. "The new standard will bring 5kV to 46kV distribution cable products under the ANSI umbrella also."
New spec covers XLPE and EPR
The new document is the "Standard for Concentric Neutral Cables Rated 5,000 to 46,000 Volts," ANSI/ICEA Publication S-94-649-1997. The standard covers construction, performance standards and qualification testing for both cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) URD cables.
Historically, utilities have purchased URD to a combination of specifications. ICEA wrote general standards for power cable products and AEIC wrote supplements that focused on utility applications.
The current ICEA standard for XLPE cables is S-66-524, and the AEIC supplement is CS5-94. For EPR cables, the documents are ICEA S-68-516 and AEIC CS6-96. Most existing ICEA and AEIC requirements are in the new ANSI-approved standard.
Joint committee gets industry input
How did all this happen? "The urging of the utility industry led ICEA and AEIC to cooperate in a joint working group operating under the ICEA organization," says Ware. "The group, called Utility Power Cable Standards Technical Advisory Committee (UPCSTAC), is composed of over 30 members from the two organizations."
To broaden input to the new standards even further, UPCSTAC input also came from the National Electrical Manufacturer's Association (NEMA) Power and Control Section Technical Committee and from the IEEE Insulated Conductors Committee (ICC). The ICC input includes opinions from REAS, municipal power companies, compound manufacturers, cable fitting manufacturers and others.
"The resulting integrated standard then went to ANSI for accreditation," says Ware. "Southwire URD products are ready to comply with this standard."
Ware adds, "Other integrated standards are under consideration. This cooperative effort will give the industry more complete — and more useful — cable standards." |
