Re: this was probably really stupid

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: Ed Phillips <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net> 

"As Ed mentioned, it's all in the bundling.  Bundling also reduces
inductance (which is a BIG deal for long distance high power
transmission
lines.. it makes the system hard to stabilize), and reduces skin effect
losses.  All in all, bundling is a "good thing".  Around here (southern
CA), you see a lot of two conductor bundles (probably on the 138 or
345kV
lines), but occasionally 3 or 4 conductor bundles.  Looking at some
photos
of the "Path 15 improvement" project, it looks like they are 3 wire
bundles
(Path 15 is a 500kV line)
http://www.wapa.gov/media/cct/2004/may14/26no102a.htm

I found a picture of a DWP line claimed to be 750kV DC that looks like a
dual bundle.  However, I always thought that line ran at 500kV (maybe
it's
a voltage to ground vs voltage between conductors issue)"

	The conductors on the DC line you mension do consist of two "wires" in
parallel, at least in the one place I could get out of my car and look
at them with binoculars.  I'd guess the spacing is of the order of a
foot and merely that the conductor diameter is much smaller.  A common
way of speaking of that intertie is "1.5 MV line to line", but that
doesn't prove the actual voltage, which might actually be varied
depending on the load.

Ed