Performance of HV transmission line insulators in desert conditions. III. Pollution measurements at a coastal site in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia

Contamination flashover is the major cause of insulator failure in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Consolidated Electric Company in the eastern region (SCECO East) has adopted several countermeasures such as increasing the creepage distance and using insulators of different shapes and materials, including resistive-glazed insulators. The utility, however, still relies primarily on an expensive, rigorous maintenance program. Fundamental data of equivalent salt deposit density and the chemical composition of prevailing pollution are presented, and a modified classification of pollution severity is proposed. Leakage current data and the flashover statistics are given. Based on various measured parameters, a comparison of performance among different insulators is made. Of the eight insulator designs evaluated, open-profile insulators performed better than their deep-ribbed counterparts