Wire brief · Power cable by voltage class
Medium voltage cable: 2 kV to 35 kV shielded constructions
Above 2 kV, cable stops being a conductor in a jacket and becomes a layered electrical component. Every layer has to survive storage for the cable to be worth anything.
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- Anywhere in Ohio, one desk
- 01Send the wire type, quantity and pickup city.
- 02A buyer reviews the lot and replies with a basis.
- 03Freight and release are agreed, then the load is booked.
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The layers, from conductor out
A medium voltage cable is built in layers: stranded conductor, a semiconducting strand shield that fills the spaces between strands, the insulation, a semiconducting insulation shield bonded to it, a metallic shield of copper tape or copper wire, and an outer jacket. The two semiconducting layers exist to smooth the electric field. Remove either and the cable fails at the point where the field concentrates.
Voltage classes run 2 kV, 5 kV, 8 kV, 15 kV, 25 kV and 35 kV, and each is made in insulation thicknesses described as 100 percent or 133 percent level. The thicker level is used on systems with longer clearing times or where the cable is in a tough environment, and it changes the outside diameter, which changes the connectors, the terminations and the reel capacity.
EPR against XLPE
Ethylene propylene rubber is flexible, tolerant of moisture and forgiving of installation damage. Cross-linked polyethylene has a higher dielectric strength and a thinner wall for the same voltage, and it is stiffer. Both are in service across Ohio plants, and the age of the installation usually predicts which one you will find.
The practical difference at resale is handling. EPR tolerates a tighter bend and a colder yard. XLPE is less forgiving, and a reel that was stored in an unheated building through a cold snap and then dragged off a truck is a reel with a question over it. Neither insulation benefits from being coiled against its minimum bend radius.
Terminations, splices and the value of being uncut
A medium voltage cable must be terminated with a stress control kit matched to the cable class, and any cut in the middle of a run needs a splice kit of the same class. Those kits are specific and not interchangeable. That is the technical reason a continuous length is worth far more than the same footage in pieces.
It is also why a spliced length is almost always written off. A cable that was cut to make a repair, then spliced, has two terminations and a splice in its history, and no plant electrician will put it back into a new run. It is recovered for copper, or kept as a spare for an emergency that never comes.
Reel handling and the Ohio mill case
Medium voltage cable arrives on heavy wooden reels and must stay on them. It should not be coiled on the ground, dropped from a truck bed, or stored on its flange in standing water. The ends should be sealed against moisture, because water in a shielded cable travels under the jacket and along the shield.
- Voltage class and insulation level as printed
- Insulation type, EPR or XLPE, and the shield type
- Whether the length is continuous or has been spliced
- End sealing and whether the reel is lagged
- Storage position, and whether the reel has been dropped or rolled
Related pages
Adjacent cities, wire families and regional briefs.
More in power cable by voltage class
All wire typesQuestions sellers ask
Can a cut medium voltage cable be spliced and reused?
It can be spliced, but a spliced length is not treated as new cable. Splice and termination kits are class specific, and the labour to fit them is most of the job. In practice a spliced cable becomes a spare or scrap rather than a resale length.
How do you know if the cable is 15 kV or 25 kV?
The jacket print gives the voltage class and the insulation level, and the outside diameter supports it. Do not infer it from the copper size. Photograph the print where the class appears and, if the print is gone, measure the diameter over the insulation at a cut end.
Why does a reel have to stay lagged?
The lagging holds the coils in place and keeps the outer layer from rubbing against the flange, which is where shield damage starts. A reel that has been shipped without lagging usually has a scuffed section on the outer wrap that has to be cut off before the cable can be terminated.
Request a quote
Tell the desk what you have in Medium voltage cable
Send the basics and a buyer reviews the lot, usually the same working day.
- Reviewed by a buyer, not a scale
- Reels, pallets, partials or a full truckload
- Anywhere in Ohio, one desk
- 01Send the wire type, quantity and pickup city.
- 02A buyer reviews the lot and replies with a basis.
- 03Freight and release are agreed, then the load is booked.
Second look at the lot
Everything helps, but the wire type, the quantity and the pickup city are enough to start.