Technology to automate the termination of medium voltage cables and enable more reliable and resilient connections within the power grid has been demonstrated by a collaboration involving Con Edison Company of New York and ULC Technologies. In addition to improving the consistency of critical grid connections, the cable splicing machine also serves to minimize worker exposure to high voltages.

During recent field trials, splicers lowered the machine into the desired position and then inserted the cableSource: ULC Technologies inside the machine. The cable splicer system completed three autonomous operations to prepare the link in approximately 25 to 30 minutes per each phase of a medium voltage cable.

The machine consists of several independent subsystems controlled through a centralized processing computer and user interface. New tooling upgrades improve its robustness and adaptability so different types of cables can be addressed even faster than before with future development. Several auxiliary subsystems carry out additional steps such as shorting and cutting the cable. The inclusion of live camera feeds allows an operator to successfully monitor and verify the process from beginning to end from outside the manhole with no physical human intervention.

The technology will be presented and demonstrated in booth 760 at the upcoming Distributech Conference, which takes place February 26 to February 29 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.