High voltage & plant · MV power cable
We buy medium voltage cable, 2 kV to 35 kV.
The backbone of every Houston plant: shielded 5 kV, 15 kV and 35 kV cable, bought as full reels, partials and cut lengths from switchgear, motor and feeder work.
Medium voltage is where plant power starts to behave differently. Above 1 kV the cable carries a metallic shield, the insulation is thicker, terminations are engineered rather than improvised, and a reel that has been sitting in the sun for two years is not the same asset as one that has been indoors.
Houston plants run 4.16 kV, 13.8 kV and 34.5 kV systems, with 15 kV class cable appearing everywhere in between. That is the cable we buy most: shielded feeder from a substation to an MCC, a motor run that was replaced during a turnaround, a spare reel that outlived the project.
What the construction tells you
Medium voltage cable is built in layers: conductor, conductor shield, insulation, insulation shield, metallic shield and jacket. The insulation is usually EPR or XLPE, the shield is copper tape or wire, and the jacket is PVC, CPE or a low-smoke material in confined spaces. Single conductor and three conductor constructions both appear.
The voltage class and insulation level are printed on the jacket, along with the conductor size and the manufacturer. A 15 kV cable marked 133 percent insulation is the common industrial specification; 100 percent insulation exists but is less forgiving of installation.
- 5 kV and 8 kV — smaller plant distribution and older systems
- 15 kV — the industrial default, 1/C and 3/C
- 25 kV and 35 kV — larger plant feeders and utility distribution
- Copper or aluminium conductor, 2 AWG to 1000 MCM
- Copper tape shield, concentric wire shield or UniShield
Where MV surplus comes from in Houston
Three sources dominate. Switchgear and MCC replacements leave tails and jumpers with terminations still fitted. Motor and feeder replacements leave partial reels when the run is shorter than the ordered length. Capital projects that are deferred or descoped leave full reels still banded with mill tags.
Turnarounds add a fourth: cable pre-purchased for a scope that changed, returned to the contractor's yard and never reconciled. Those lots are often the cleanest, because the cable never left the reel.
Terminations, splices and what gets cut off
Most medium voltage cable is sold with its terminations already removed. A stress cone or a cold-shrink termination is built for one cable end and one piece of equipment, and it is normally cut back before the cable is re-used or scrapped.
That matters for two reasons. First, the cut tells you how the cable was handled: a clean, square cut with the shield intact is a better sign than a ragged end with the semicon torn. Second, the length left after the tails are removed is the length that counts, which is often a few feet shorter than the tag suggests.
What a buyer looks at on an MV reel
Footage first, then condition. A continuous length is worth more than the same total in three pieces, because splices in MV work are expensive and often unwelcome. The tag, the wrap count or a certified weight all help establish length.
Condition is judged at the jacket and the ends. Sun damage, standing water, crushed reel flanges and exposed shield all matter. Cable that has been energised and removed is not disqualified, but it is graded as used rather than surplus, and the termination stubs usually tell the story.
- Voltage class and insulation level as printed on the jacket
- Conductor size, material and number of conductors
- Continuous length versus multiple cut lengths
- Jacket integrity, water exposure and UV damage
- Whether the reel has been stored indoors or outside
Cable above 1 kV should only be handled by qualified people following the site's own procedures. Nothing on this page replaces those rules.
Sending an MV lot
Send the jacket print, the reel tag, the approximate footage and where the reel has been stored. Two photographs — the tag and the cut end — resolve the conductor, the shield type and the general condition faster than a description.
If the cable is still connected or has been cut out of service, say so. De-energised and discharged is a different starting point from unknown, and it changes how a collection is planned.
Cable that is not worth moving
Not every MV reel justifies a truck. A short tail with a crushed flange, a length that has been cut into three pieces for a panel change, or a reel that has stood in standing water for two summers is usually a metal recovery item rather than a cable lot.
Saying so early is part of the job. A seller who is told plainly that a reel is not worth a dedicated trip can group it with better material, or scrap it, instead of paying to store it for another year.
The reels that do justify a trip tend to share three things: a construction still in demand, a meaningful continuous length, and a jacket that has not been cooked by the sun. Everything else is a judgment call, and it is better made on a photograph than on a guess.
Questions sellers ask
Do you buy 15 kV cable with the terminations still on?
Yes. Terminations are usually cut back before the cable is reused, so they do not add value, but they do confirm the voltage class and how the cable was installed. The cable behind them is what is reviewed.
What is the smallest MV lot worth collecting?
It depends on size and condition more than length. A single 500 MCM 15 kV partial with a few hundred feet on it can justify a trip; a short tail of 2 AWG usually joins a larger load.
Is used MV cable bought, or only new surplus?
Both. Used cable that has been de-energised and removed is bought regularly, but it is graded as used and the shield, jacket and ends are inspected closely.
Can you take 35 kV cable?
Yes. 25 kV and 35 kV constructions are reviewed the same way as 15 kV, with more attention to handling because the reels are larger and the insulation is thicker.
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