I was reading some information about the 2003 power blackout in the Northeastern US.
Beginning early in the afternoon of August 14, 2003 big transmission lines began to fail in First Energy's operating area, several because the utility had not kept up with tree-trimming, so that as heavily loaded lines heated up, they sagged into brush and shorted out. As one went down, the next would become too loaded, sag still more, and short, and so on. All that, the result of a serious infringement of operating standards and no small matter in its own right,
would have remained a local problem if First Energy and the midwestern power regulator had quickly recognized what was going on and had promptly cut service to enough customers to keep the whole system from getting overloaded.
From "A Coal Power Ban Is a Necessity." Coal. Ed. Michael Logan. 5 Aug. 2010
What about overheating causes power lines to sag? I understand that increasing the load on the line will increase the line's temperature due to the resistance in the cables. Why does this increased heat cause the lines to sag though?
Best Answer
The conductor material (copper, aluminum, whatever) expands when heated. When the temperature increases, the length of the power line between two towers increases due to thermal expansion, and the line sags because of the increased slack.