BERLIN– If, as is the common saying, that lightning never strikes in the same place twice, then Berlin would have no worries. Bolts from above have already zapped the town’s electricity generating facility, so all should be well.
Problem is, lightning has zapped the town’s electrical system numerous times over the years and the town is taking additional steps to protect itself.
“We all know how severe the lighting storms can be in this area, and we’ve had damages to the whole system in Berlin in the past four years I’ve been here,” said Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence. “They’ll often strike the overhead lines and then it will travel down the lines and damage the equipment, like transformer cut-outs and that type of stuff.”
Because lightning seeks the best path to the ground, power lines make for a prime target, Lawrence said.
“Sometimes it will travel through the equipment to get there and the equipment is not designed for that type of voltage,” he said.
More than being an inconvenience, Lawrence estimated lightning damages in Berlin over the last four years cost the town approximately $20,000.
“When you lose overhead transformers due to lightning damage, that transformer is $2,000,” Lawrence said.
The town installed lightning rods in its substation last summer after lightning struck the building.
“We took a few hits,” said Lawrence. “What the lightning rods do is, when it hits the rods, it goes directly to ground. The substation has a real large ground grid around it, so it dissipates into the ground.”
During the last few months, Berlin also began installing $8,000 worth of lightning arresters on town power lines. The arresters were part of a plan designed by consulting firm Booth Associates.
“It’s a 10-year plan to keep the infrastructure where it needs to be up to date, and have preventative maintenance and things like that,” Lawrence said. “They came up with the idea of doing it, which is already well known to a lot of different utilities, to help prevent damages to lightning.”
Arresters absorb lightning strikes and send them to ground, rather than allowing them to travel down power lines and play havoc with other parts of the infrastructure. Lawrence expects to complete townwide installation of the arresters within the next two months.
Lightning causes about 22,000 fires each year in the United States, based on calls to the nation’s assorted fire companies. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the fires caused more than $451 million in nationwide damages each year.
Problem is, lightning has zapped the town’s electrical system numerous times over the years and the town is taking additional steps to protect itself.
“We all know how severe the lighting storms can be in this area, and we’ve had damages to the whole system in Berlin in the past four years I’ve been here,” said Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence. “They’ll often strike the overhead lines and then it will travel down the lines and damage the equipment, like transformer cut-outs and that type of stuff.”
Because lightning seeks the best path to the ground, power lines make for a prime target, Lawrence said.
“Sometimes it will travel through the equipment to get there and the equipment is not designed for that type of voltage,” he said.
More than being an inconvenience, Lawrence estimated lightning damages in Berlin over the last four years cost the town approximately $20,000.
“When you lose overhead transformers due to lightning damage, that transformer is $2,000,” Lawrence said.
The town installed lightning rods in its substation last summer after lightning struck the building.
“We took a few hits,” said Lawrence. “What the lightning rods do is, when it hits the rods, it goes directly to ground. The substation has a real large ground grid around it, so it dissipates into the ground.”
During the last few months, Berlin also began installing $8,000 worth of lightning arresters on town power lines. The arresters were part of a plan designed by consulting firm Booth Associates.
“It’s a 10-year plan to keep the infrastructure where it needs to be up to date, and have preventative maintenance and things like that,” Lawrence said. “They came up with the idea of doing it, which is already well known to a lot of different utilities, to help prevent damages to lightning.”
Arresters absorb lightning strikes and send them to ground, rather than allowing them to travel down power lines and play havoc with other parts of the infrastructure. Lawrence expects to complete townwide installation of the arresters within the next two months.
Lightning causes about 22,000 fires each year in the United States, based on calls to the nation’s assorted fire companies. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the fires caused more than $451 million in nationwide damages each year.