345 kV cable · Harris County / Greater Houston
We buy 345 kV cable.
Very little 345 kV cable runs underground, and even less becomes surplus. What does exist sits on a steel reel that needs a crane, a lowboy and a reason to move.
345 kV is the top of the voltage range in the Houston area and the backbone of the regional grid. Almost all of it runs overhead on lattice structures and tall tubular poles. Underground 345 kV exists, but only in short stretches where a line has to pass under something or enter a large installation.
That rarity is the point of this page. Very little cable at this class becomes surplus, and the small amount that does tends to be large, heavy and documented, which shapes both the review and the logistics of moving it. The situations that create it are few, and most of them start with a redesign.
The top of the voltage range in this region
At 345 kV the insulation system is built to withstand impulse levels that would destroy a lower class cable, and the conductor is large by any standard. Constructions are generally XLPE with a metallic shield, an oversheath and, in some designs, a longitudinal water barrier. Drums are steel or heavy timber.
The accessory side is as significant as the cable. Joints and terminations at this level are factory engineered, matched to the cable, and often supplied as kits with their own documentation. A drum without its matching accessories is harder to place than one that still has them. Accessories are matched by construction rather than by voltage alone.
What that means for a seller is that the drum is the asset and the label is the key to it. A 345 kV reel with a legible tag, an intact seal and a test report is a different object from the same drum with the tag rotted off, even when the cable inside is the same cable.
- XLPE insulation with a metallic shield
- Large conductor, often 1000 MCM and above
- Steel or heavy timber drums
- Longitudinal water barrier in some designs
Moving a reel that outweighs a pickup truck
A large 345 kV drum is not a two person lift and it is not a forklift job on a standard yard apron. It needs a crane or a heavy forklift to load, a lowboy or a step deck to travel, and a route that can take the weight and the height. Plan the move before the collection date, not on it.
The drum also has to survive the trip. Lagging, flange protection and a firm flat deck matter more at this weight, because a reel that shifts on a trailer can damage the cable and the trailer together. Say what the drum weighs and how it is currently sitting. Photograph the lagging before it is touched.
If it has to be moved twice, say so. Yard to trailer and trailer to yard are two lifts, and the second is the one people forget when they plan around a single crane window. A drum left on a trailer overnight needs chocking and a driver who knows the load.
- Drum diameter, width and approximate gross weight
- Whether the reel is lagged, and whether the lagging is intact
- What equipment can load it at your site
- Whether a lowboy can reach the reel and turn around
- Gate, escort and permit requirements along the route
If the drum sits inside a plant, the plant's crane and rigging contractor usually loads it. That is normal, and it is worth confirming early rather than on the morning of the lift when the trailer is already at the gate.
The situations that produce 345 kV surplus
Utility project changes are the main source. A line or a substation tie redesigned after the cable was purchased leaves a reel with no home, and at this class the reel is too valuable to leave in the weather and too awkward to store indoors. It usually moves within a year or two.
Large industrial interconnections are the second. A facility with its own high voltage supply may hold spare cable against a future outage, and eventually the spare is written off. That material is often unused and still lagged, which is the best case on this page, and also the hardest to store.
Cancelled work is the third. When a project stops after delivery, the cable sits where it was dropped. The reel tag, the test documents and the delivery ticket usually survive with it, and that paperwork is what makes the lot reviewable years later. Ask for the delivery ticket as well as the tag, because the pair dates the reel.
Starting a review without moving the reel
Photograph the tag, the flange stencil and the drum in its setting. Give voltage class, conductor size, insulation type, shipped length and the year of manufacture if the tag shows it. Note whether the lagging has been opened and whether the ends are sealed. Two frames are usually enough, one of the drum and one of the tag.
Documentation comes next. Test reports, the purchase record and any accessory list should be photographed at the same time, because they live in different places and one of them is usually missing by the time a collection is arranged. Send what exists and say plainly what does not. Say also who holds each document and whether it can be released.
Nothing on a 345 kV reel should be opened, cut or moved without the site's own electrical clearance in place.
Questions sellers ask
Do you buy underground 345 kV cable at all?
Yes, when it appears. It is rare in this region because most 345 kV runs overhead, so surplus tends to come from a small number of project situations. Condition, documentation and the ability to move the reel matter more here than in any other class.
What does it take to load a large 345 kV drum?
A crane or a heavy forklift, and a trailer rated for the weight. Most drums at this class are loaded on site by the plant's rigging contractor. Confirm the equipment, the access route and the trailer type before a collection is scheduled.
Are 345 kV reels bought without test documentation?
They are reviewed, but the absence of paperwork narrows the outcome. At this class a buyer cannot establish construction or insulation integrity from the jacket print alone. A reel without documents is more likely to be treated as metal than as cable.
Can accessories be collected with the cable?
Yes, and they should be listed. Joints, terminations and stress cones are matched to the cable construction, and a buyer wants to know what exists before assessing the reel. Keep them labelled and photographed separately so nothing is separated in transit.
Buying desk · Greater Houston
Have this cable on the yard?
Tell us what is on the reel, where it sits and what condition it is in. A buyer reviews the lot, asks for photographs of the tag and the cut end, and comes back with a real answer — not a request to call a call centre.
- Cable type, size and voltage class
- Footage, reel count or weight, and condition
- City, and whether the site has loading equipment