Cables between pylons always dip but surely a lot of money could be saved if they were pulled taut.
In: Engineering
One big reason is thermal expansion. Normally this effect is small, but when you’re talking miles of cable, a big change in temperature can make a noticeable impact on the length of a cable. On hot days when there’s a lot of load cables tend to sag a bit more, it’s something utility companies have to monitor to avoid damage.
If you made the cable super tight, especially considering most of this kind of maintenance work is usually done in the summer when it’s warm, when the cold causes the cables to shrink in the winter it can lead to damage or snapping.
It also makes the cables a bit more resilient in general. If the cable is super tight and something like a heavy branch falls onto it, it’ll snap right off. If it’s got some wiggle room that force is spread out a bit more and the cable might rock or shake but is less likely to snap entirely.
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