11

DISTRIBUTION CONDUCTORS
One area in the electrical power industry that has undergone extensive change is the type of
conductors available to transmit and distribute electricity. Copper was the first metal used to
transmit electricity during the development of the electrical industry in the early 1880s. Copper
conducting sizing for distribution was determined by strength requirements, with load
requirements as a secondary factor. From the standpoint of efficient electrical conductivity and
ampacity, conductors were generally larger than required. Because of the weight of the copper
conductors, span lengths were short, thus increasing the overall cost of the distribution line.
Aluminum began replacing copper as the metal of choice for transmission and distribution
conductors around 1895 in California. Since that evolution, aluminum has been used by electric
utilities for the transmission and distribution of electric power. Aluminum rank second only to
copper in volume conductivity and possesses a conductivity to weight ratio twice that of the
copper. Its strength to weight ratio is 30 percent greater than copper.
With the introduction of the aluminum conductor as a transmission and distribution conductor,
the need for a conductor with a greater strength to weight ratio was soon realized. In 1907, a new
aluminum steel composite cable, which combined light weight aluminum with the high strength
of a steel inner core, was introduced. This new steel reinforced aluminum conductor became
known as ASCR and rapid acceptance through 1939.
Soon after, an all aluminum magnesium silicon alloy was introduced. The new all
aluminum alloy cable (AAAC) had comparable mechanical and electrical properties to ACSR,
but improved weight and corrosion resistance characteristics. More recently, new alloys have
been developed to provide thermal stability, increased conductivity, vibration resistance, and
12

other specific characteristics. There are four types of overhead conductors used in the industry
for electrical transmission and distribution. These conductors are as follows:
AAC (all aluminum conductor)
AAAC (all aluminum alloy conductor)
ACSR (aluminum conductor, steel reinforced)
ACAR (aluminum conductor, aluminum alloy reinforced)

Transmission and distribution systems usually contain a combination of these conductors in
various configurations, all uniquely designed into total system whose primary purpose is to
deliver electrical power to the consumers.









13

AAC CABLE


AAAC CABLE


14


ACSR CABLE



ACAR CABLE