Transmission & Distribution Power Delivery

Overhead Transmission Engineering

ECI ranks among the largest U.S. firms specializing in Transmission & Distribution engineering services. ECI provides Transmission & Distribution services for lines with voltages through 765 kV, including new installations, upgrading of existing facilities, reconductoring and line rating. Our wide breadth of experience extends from traditional design of monopole wood, steel or concrete construction, H-frame or lattice towers to innovative tripod or other specialty structure design required to economically address unique circumstances. ECI’s detailed design capabilities include electrical, conductor, structure, PLS-CADD, foundation, insulator, grounding (lightning) and hardware design. ECI’s expertise includes studies and analysis of critical electrical elements associated with EHV transmission projects such as insulation coordination studies, voltage unbalance (transposition) studies, coupled resonance studies for double circuit lines, conductor studies, corona studies, specialty clearance studies, shield wire segmentation studies, OPGW short circuit rating studies, OPGW voltage analysis for working areas, OPGW repeater site studies, transmission grounding studies, electrostatic (ES) and electromagnetic (EM) studies, EMF field profile studies, and RI/TVI and audible noise studies.

Underground Transmission Design

ECI’s underground transmission line design capabilities include cable system design, duct bank design, grounding/bonding design, splicing/vault design and OH/UG termination design. While a major part of the electrical component of an underground system is the selection of the cable type and accompanying installation methodology, there are myriad of other details that are just as important. These include grounding/bonding methodology, fault duty capacity, relay and fault detection impacts, termination and splicing selection. ECI utilizes state-of-the-art tools to address these design areas including CYMCAP, PSCAD®, ASPEN™ and CDEGS®, as well as in-house custom software to address such areas as cable pull tension analysis and point loading on OH/UG termination structures. ECI is experienced with all support functions and coordination necessary to execute underground transmission projects such as siting/permitting, right-of-way, surveying, geotechnical surveys, cable supplier selection and coordination, installation/construction techniques, construction oversight and final commissioning.

Distribution Design

ECI’s distribution line design philosophy is based upon experience spanning three decades in the industry utilizing utility design standards and requirements based on the current National Electric Safety Code (NESC) as well as applicable local codes including Rural Utilities Service standards and staking. In addition to traditional overhead and underground distribution design, ECI’s Distribution Team is experienced in the mapping, staking, inspection and inventory of existing facilities; voltage conversion design; vault & bus room design; cable replacement design & failure analysis; circuit reliability improvement projects; and storm damage field investigation & design. ECI also offers technical solutions for smart grid applications, microgrids, and distributed energy resources including system modeling & analysis, protection studies, and communication design.

• Overhead & Underground Line Design
• Uprating, Upgrading & Repair Line Design
• Wood, Steel, Concrete & Hybrid Pole Design
• Lattice Tower Analysis & Specification
• Foundation Design & Optimization
• Overhead Insulation Coordination, Corona, Voltage Unbalance, TOV, Conductor & Specialty Studies
• Underground Duct Bank, Vault System, Cable, Bonding/Grounding, Current Unbalance & Specialty Design & Studies
• Distribution Design
• Conventional & GPS Survey/Staking, UAV LiDAR Data & Imagery Collection
• Construction Management