De-icing/Anti-icing Techniques for Power Lines: Current Methods and Future Direction

Atmospheric icing may be problematic for many industries, including electric utilities. The combination of wind and ice could cause damages, sometimes leading to power outages. The January 1998 ice storm has led to the development of several de-icing methods destined to overhead power lines. These techniques are the subject of several technical reports and publications. Furthermore, in the past five years, advances in ice adhesion, surface, and interface science have led to the development of new de-icing and anti-icing techniques. After a brief review of the most notable de-icing and anti-icing methods developed during the last decade, and which could be applied to power lines, this paper presents a review of some interesting deicing methods under consideration for use by Hydro-Québec. Also, the potentiality of the new developments in the field of ice adhesion and their application to power-line and conductor deicing and anti-icing will be discussed.