Keeping tabs on aging power cables to prevent outages

Switzerland's power grid comprises over 250,000 kilometers of lines. Composed of a transmission and a distribution network, the voltage is gradually reduced from 380,000 to 230 volts enroute to the consumer. The aboveground transmission network, some sections of which are more than 40 years old, measures 6,700 kilometers. As it is designed for considerably smaller amounts of electricity from predominantly central power stations, it only partially satisfies today's needs. Nowadays, considerably l