SCE&G's Largest Underground HV Transmission Project
To better serve its growing number of customers and to provide greater service reliability, South Carolina Gas & Electric proposed a new 115-kV electrical transmission line in 2007 called the Hamlin 115-kV tie line. At the request of the Town of Mount Pleasant, from 2007 to 2009, SCE&G studied the option of placing a larger section of the line underground. In 2009, SCE&G began to investigate additional underground options that would place three existing radially fed substations into a loop system arrangement, embarking SCE&G on the largest underground high-voltage transmission project in company history. Following are images of the installation process. For further detail on the project, see "115-kV Cable Installed Across a Tidal Marsh," featured in the April 2017 issue of T&D World.
About the Author
Michael Pridmore
Manager of the Electric Transmission Engineering
Mike Pridmore is the manager of the electric transmission engineering department at South Carolina Electric & Gas. He previously worked in transmission engineering and electric distribution operations. Prior to joining SCE&G, Pridmore worked for Duke Energy as a transmission line engineer. He holds BSCE and MSCE degrees from Clemson University and is a registered professional engineer in the state of South Carolina.
Brett Varner
manager of power delivery engineering
Brett Varner is the manager of power delivery engineering at South Carolina Electric & Gas. He previously worked as a manager in both transmission engineering and distribution operations, responsible for the design of projects from conception to as-built. Varner holds a BSME degree from Clemson University and an MBA from the University of South Carolina. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of South Carolina.