3M™ Aluminum Conductor Composite Reinforced Customer Installations - Densely Populated or Under-built Areas

APS installed 3M ACCR 1272-T13 (642 mm²) to increase capacity on an overhead transmission line extending from a local area power plant to a downtown Phoenix substation. The conductor was used to upgrade a line that had already been upgraded once with ACSS. The installation provides increased capacity to service a fast-growing metropolitan area that experiences extreme summer heat. The new conductor eliminated the need for the utility to site, acquire right-of-way, and construct a new power line route in a congested downtown business area. The utility selected 3M ACCR as a result of a twelve-month evaluation of various high temperature, low sag conductors. 3M’s ability to supply a complete package, including conductor hardware and installation support, was instrumental in the utility’s selection of ACCR.

CPFL Piratininga, a power distribution unit of CPFL Energia, used 336-T16 (171 mm²) 3M ACCR to expand transmission capacity in Várzea Paulista and Jundiaí (SP), Brasil. Because part of the existing line was located in an urban corridor with houses on both sides, installing new towers was deemed too risky, as the conductor ran over buildings and access to the line for foundation and structural work was difficult. Installing 3M ACCR provided the needed upgrade capacity without the need to construct new towers, accelerating and simplifying installation. CPFL Piratininga also chose 3M ACCR for its reliability.

MERALCO, the largest distribution utility in the Philippines, needed to increase capacity on an urban line along a crowded thoroughfare in the City of Manila. The original plan called for new poles and bundled 795 ACSR. Instead, they used 3M ACCR 795 T-16 (418 mm²) single bundle, allowing them to use the same poles and rights of way, minimizing disturbances in the area.