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Introduction Metal Components Network Risk Factors Distance from Wellbeing

Many California power lines were built in the 1930’s and still remain in service. Some towers still have original metal components.

The Camp Fire in California was caused by the failure of one such component, resulting in the most devastating fire in the state’s history with 85 lives lost and 18,804 structures destroyed.

Red lines indicate power lines installed between 1930 and 1950.

The US power grid was greatly expanded as part of the New Deal in the 1930's. Some of those lines are still in service.

Introduction Metal Components Network Risk Factors Distance from Wellbeing

This decrease in width of the hanger plate edge with a steady (0.007 inches per year) rate of wear but does not take into consideration any failure from cracking or fatigue. When the plate is new the distance from the eye to the edge of the plate is one inch, after 50 years the distance is 0.657 inches, after 75 years 0.489 inches.

PG&E policy states that 30% wear on a hanger plate requires priority replacement, and 50% wear immediate replacement. The component that failed causing the Camp fire, according to this rate, reached 30% wear in 1987.

(Click image to see keyholing progress 15%)

In 2018 a power line near Paradise California was downed due to a metal component breaking. This equipment was nearly 100 years old, and its failure caused the deadliest wildfire in California history killing 85 people.

Metal hanger plates with C-hooks are used to hang high voltage power lines. Wind moves the lines and creates friction, causing the metal of both components to wear away.

Introduction Metal Components Network Risk Factors Distance from Wellbeing

This decrease in width of the hanger plate edge with a steady (0.007 inches per year) rate of wear but does not take into consideration any failure from cracking or fatigue. When the plate is new the distance from the eye to the edge of the plate is one inch, after 50 years the distance is 0.657 inches, after 75 years 0.489 inches.

PG&E policy states that 30% wear on a hanger plate requires priority replacement, and 50% wear immediate replacement. The component that failed causing the Camp fire, according to this rate, reached 30% wear in 1987.

(Click image to see keyholing progress 15%)

In 2018 a power line near Paradise California was downed due to a metal component breaking. This equipment was nearly 100 years old, and its failure caused the deadliest wildfire in California history killing 85 people.

Metal hanger plates with C-hooks are used to hang high voltage power lines. Wind moves the lines and creates friction, causing the metal of both components to wear away.

Introduction Metal Components Network Risk Factors Distance from Wellbeing

This decrease in width of the hanger plate edge with a steady (0.007 inches per year) rate of wear but does not take into consideration any failure from cracking or fatigue. When the plate is new the distance from the eye to the edge of the plate is one inch, after 50 years the distance is 0.657 inches, after 75 years 0.489 inches.

PG&E policy states that 30% wear on a hanger plate requires priority replacement, and 50% wear immediate replacement. The component that failed causing the Camp fire, according to this rate, reached 30% wear in 1987.

(Click image to see keyholing progress 15%)

In 2018 a power line near Paradise California was downed due to a metal component breaking. This equipment was nearly 100 years old, and its failure caused the deadliest wildfire in California history killing 85 people.

Metal hanger plates with C-hooks are used to hang high voltage power lines. Wind moves the lines and creates friction, causing the metal of both components to wear away.

Introduction Metal Components Network Risk Factors Distance from Wellbeing

This decrease in width of the hanger plate edge with a steady (0.007 inches per year) rate of wear but does not take into consideration any failure from cracking or fatigue. When the plate is new the distance from the eye to the edge of the plate is one inch, after 50 years the distance is 0.657 inches, after 75 years 0.489 inches.

PG&E policy states that 30% wear on a hanger plate requires priority replacement, and 50% wear immediate replacement. The component that failed causing the Camp fire, according to this rate, reached 30% wear in 1987.

(Click image to see keyholing progress 15%)

In 2018 a power line near Paradise California was downed due to a metal component breaking. This equipment was nearly 100 years old, and its failure caused the deadliest wildfire in California history killing 85 people.

Metal hanger plates with C-hooks are used to hang high voltage power lines. Wind moves the lines and creates friction, causing the metal of both components to wear away.

Introduction Metal Components Network Risk Factors Distance from Wellbeing

TEXT:

Cascading Failure and its Impact on Interconnected Networks The power grid joins together many essential networks in the community. The risk of cascading failures of interdependent networks is implicitly understood; explicitly linking a single part failure to the consequences in the community highlights the high return value of proper maintenance.

This network shows the possible outcomes from a cascading failure of interconnected networks in a community.

In this scenario, the failure of one component in the electrical grid network can lead to power outages or fires. These potential disruptions or disasters increase in severity and distribution, leading to economic repercussions or loss of life.

Introduction Metal Components Network Risk Factors Distance from Wellbeing

Death and damage due to fires ignited by downed powerlines occur at a much higher rate than by any other ignition type.

Electrical ignition sources are the third most common cause of wildfires at roughly 8 percent, this still comes out to an estimated hundreds of occurrences per year.

The California State Senate Committee on Energy, utilities, and Communication found in 2017 -

“while wildfires were not usually started by electrical infrastructure, those fires were disproportionately damaging and dangerous…

Thus, electricity-caused fires are most likely to occur when the risk of a fire getting out of control and having deadly consequences is greatest.”

Notably, this finding was released before the Camp Fire, which tripled the previous record for deadliest and most destructive fire in California history.

Introduction Metal Components Network Risk Factors Distance from Wellbeing

TEXT:

Distance from wellbeing can be defined as the combined risk factors associated with a given node. The greater the combined risk, the longer the distance from wellbeing.

For example, a larger Power Grid Structural Component node can be associated with a higher age value of a metal hanger plate on a powerline tower. This increases the distance from wellbeing of the node.

Connections between higher risk nodes increase the edge weight; if the tower that the aging metal plate is on is surrounded by dry grass in a windy area the power node will be connected to a larger size weather node and to a topographical node by heavier edges.