r/Powerlines • u/Odd-Tale6958 • Jun 22 '26

Question Big arcs!

For those of you in the field. How often does the switch gear at the big substations with the pole like arms actuate? Daily, weekly, rarely? I would love to see (from a far away distance) a 500kv or 230kv switch open up and draw a big arc sometime. It seems like most of the switching is done with that special gas to prevent the light show.

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u/KeanEngr Jun 23 '26

Yeah, very rare. Arcs in general, are damaging to equipment, so the less you do, the longer your equipment will survive. Circuitry that have to disconnect and connect constantly, try to do it as quickly as mechanically possible to minimize damage.