Safety of pipelines in close proximity to electric transmission lines

Abstract

AC interference from high voltage power lines can constitute an electric shock hazard and a threat to equipment integrity during both load and fault conditions. Mitigation systems are usually installed to reduce the touch voltages so that the nearby metallic utilities are safe. This paper discusses the states of the touch and step voltages for a few typical right-ofway systems under load and fault conditions. The effects of a typical mitigation system on the inductive interference levels are also studied. The results presented in this paper clearly illustrate the safety behavior of pipelines subjected to electromagnetic interference from neighboring electrical networks and the effectiveness of mitigation. Index Terms – AC Interference, safety, pipelines, touch voltages, step voltages, potentials, induced voltages, mitigation.