About this Technical Webinar:
Enabling the Energy Transition: Strategic OHL Optioneering for Future Demand
The acceleration of the energy transition is reshaping the demands placed on our transmission network. Rapid electrification, large‑scale renewable integration, and increasing uncertainty in future load growth mean that traditional approaches to overhead line (OHL) design are no longer sufficient. Instead, we must adopt a strategic, system‑led perspective that enables flexibility, resilience, and long‑term value. Overhead lines remain a critical enabler of future network capacity. The choices we make today on routing, technology, conductor systems, and support structures will define not only how effectively we meet near‑term demand, but how adaptable the network will be to future change. Strategic optioneering therefore plays a central role in balancing competing drivers: performance, constructability, environmental constraints, cost, and the ability to accommodate uncertain future requirements without unnecessary rework.
This presentation sets out how a structured and forward‑looking approach to OHL optioneering can support the energy transition. It explores how early, strategic decisions can preserve optionality, improve project resilience, and provide clearer alignment between engineering solutions and long‑term system needs. By embedding future demand considerations into the optioneering process, we can move beyond compliance‑driven design and towards a network that is genuinely future‑ready.
The intent is not to prescribe a single solution, but to provide a framework for making informed, transparent choices ensuring that overhead line investment continues to enable the transition to a low‑carbon energy system while delivering enduring value for the networks we operate.
Methods to be discussed will include:
• Upgrading Conductor Size
• Using High-Temperature Low-Sag (HTLS) Conductors
• Optimising Line Routing and Tower Design & Innovative Technologies
• Installing Additional Circuits
• Increasing Transmission Voltage
Each option has its own technical, economic, and operational considerations, and the best choice depends on the specific requirements and constraints of the transmission system.
Presenter:
Stephen (Steve) Horsman started his career as an apprentice with South of Scotland Electricity Board in 1980. He then joined Scottish Hydro Electric (SHE) in 1988 as a Transmission Operation & Maintenance Engineer in Aberdeen, where he also attended Robert Gordon University gaining a BSc degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering.
In 1993 Steve was appointed as Overhead Line Engineer SHE Policy & Standards and has pursued a career in Overhead Lines in various Engineering, Independent Consultancy and Management roles, for and on behalf of UK & Ireland Transmission and Distribution Network Operators.
With 46 years in the Electricity Industry Steve is currently Lead Principal Engineer Overhead Lines for SSEN Transmission Network Engineering team managing and coordinating Overhead Line Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) in the development and provision of Technical Specifications, Technical Assurance, Design Assurance and Innovations.
Steve also continues to work and collaborate with his colleagues and peers as a representative of SSEN Transmission on ENA OHL working groups and is the new CIGRE B2 UK Regular Member.
