High Voltage ยท 69 kV
We buy 69 kV cable.
Sixty-nine kilovolt cable sits between distribution and transmission. It arrives as solid dielectric on a reel, or as cable inside a steel pipe, and both are awkward to move.
Call or text the buying desk954-740-1983
Class69 kV, three-phase
DielectricXLPE, EPR or paper
Usual sizes1/0 to 2000 kcmil
Priced onTag, test record, shield
Get a buy quote
Send the reel list. A buyer reads it.
Six details are enough to start. Tags and photos can follow by text or email once a buyer has looked at the basics.
- A buyer reviews the lot: construction, footage and condition, not only metal weight
- Copper and aluminium, 600 V building wire through 345 kV cable
- Full reels, partial reels, cut lengths, pallets and truckloads
- No fee, no obligation, and no automatic pickup
Reel list · 69 kV Cable
Reviewed by a buyerTell us what you have and where it sits. Nothing is moved until written lot terms are agreed.
At 69 kV the insulation is thick enough to change everything about handling. Solid dielectric at this class is an extrusion of XLPE or EPR over semiconductive screens, with a metallic shield of copper tape or wire and an outer jacket. The finished cable is stiff enough that it will not follow a tight bend, and it remembers every bend it is forced into.
In this region 69 kV appears as subtransmission between utility substations, as the tie inside large industrial sites that run their own yard, and on base distribution where a yard has been rebuilt around a higher voltage. Older pipe-type 69 kV is urban work, and it is a different job entirely. It is also the class where sellers most often ask whether the cable can be reused, and the answer turns on records.
01
Solid dielectric on a reel
A 69 kV reel is a serious object. The cable is heavy for its size, the reel is wide, and the combination often exceeds what a standard forklift will lift safely. It travels on a lowboy or a flatbed with the reel chocked, and it is unloaded with a crane or a large lift, never by rolling it off a tailgate.
The tag matters more here than at any lower voltage. It records the conductor size, the insulation wall, the shield type and the footage, and without it a buyer is guessing at a reel nobody can price.
02
Pipe-type is a different job
Some 69 kV systems put three paper-insulated cables inside one steel pipe filled with oil under pressure. Removal is a sequence, not a pull: the line is de-energised, the oil is drained and handled, the pipe is opened, and the cable is winched out in sections.
What a seller ends up with is oil-stained cable, a quantity of dielectric fluid and a length of steel pipe. All three have to be declared before a truck is sent.
03
Testing and the paperwork that follows it
Removed 69 kV cable is normally tested before it is reused, and the test record is part of what makes it reusable. A passing withstand test on a reel that also has its factory tag is a strong lot. A reel with no history is priced as shielded cable of known size, which is a lower place to start.
- Reel tag with size, wall, shield and footage
- Factory test certificate, if it was kept
- Field test results from before removal
- De-energisation and discharge record
- Whether the ends are sealed and capped
04
Where a 69 kV lot goes wrong
The common failure is handling, not age. A reel that was dragged, dropped or bent past its minimum radius can have damaged insulation that no tag will reveal, and a buyer who sees a creased jacket will price the reel as suspect.
The second failure is water. Ends left open in a yard take on moisture through the strand interstices, and moisture in a 69 kV cable is a long-term problem rather than a surface one.
- A creased or flattened jacket from bad handling
- Ends left open to the weather
- A reel that has been rolled rather than lifted
- Field repairs and splice bodies left on the cable
| Construction | Range | Handling note |
|---|---|---|
| XLPE, copper conductor | 1/0 to 2000 kcmil | Crane or heavy lift |
| XLPE, aluminium conductor | 1/0 to 2000 kcmil | Reel upright, chocked |
| EPR, copper tape shield | 2 AWG to 1000 kcmil | No tight bends |
| Paper, pipe-type | 500 to 2000 kcmil | Oil handling required |
Questions
Answers before you send anything.
If your question is not here, call the desk. A buyer answers, not a call centre.
Do you buy cut lengths of 69 kV cable?
Yes, if the ends are sealed and the length is known. Short lengths from a splice or a termination are common, and they are priced on the same size-and-shield basis as a full reel, with the length as a multiplier.
Can a 69 kV reel travel on a normal trailer?
Sometimes, but it has to be loaded properly and secured against rolling. The weight and the diameter decide it. Send the reel dimensions and we will say what kind of truck the pickup needs before anyone commits.
What if the cable was in service for thirty years?
Age alone does not disqualify it. What matters is the test history, the shield type and whether water reached the insulation. Old cable with records is often a better lot than new cable that sat unbounded in the sun.
Do you take the oil from a pipe-type job?
The fluid has to be characterised and handled before the cable moves, and that is normally the seller's contractor's scope. Tell us the volume and whether it has been tested, and we will say what can be collected with the cable.
Keep reading
Related pages
No fee · no obligation
You have the cable. We have a scale and a check.
Send the reel list, the tags or a photograph of the pallet. A buyer comes back with what the lot is worth and how pickup would work, before anything is moved.
954-740-1983 Call or text
- Reel tags, or the print on the jacket
- Reel count and footage, even roughly
- Where it sits and what can reach it
- Whether the cable is still energised