California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE)

The aging of installed underground distribution cables is a looming issue facing electric utilities in California and throughout the U.S. A variety of technologies and tests are currently available to evaluate underground cables, but there is often little correlation between the diagnostic results and the actual deterioration. This project will evaluate existing diagnostic approaches used to detect or predict incipient failure and determine whether new innovative technologies can be utilized to improve diagnostic accuracy while reducing the costs.