Line Route Design is a comprehensive service that ensures optimal planning and execution of transmission line projects. It begins with strategic line route selection and optimum structure spotting, balancing technical feasibility with environmental and regulatory constraints. The process includes detailed constructability assessments, such as evaluating heavy vehicle access, construction laydown areas, and machine setup sites. Environmental considerations are thoroughly addressed, including easement widths, vegetation clearance, and heritage or landowner constraints. The service also encompasses ground-based and UAV line route surveys, support for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Impact Assessment Reports (IAR), and proactive stakeholder management with utilities, landowners, and communities. Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) is developed to support tender submissions and project planning. This holistic approach ensures that all technical, environmental, and community factors are integrated into a viable and sustainable line route strategy.
Overhead Line Design encompasses the full spectrum of technical and construction planning for transmission infrastructure. It begins with PLS-CADD modeling, enabling precise simulations and structural analysis. The service includes line design optimization, factoring in conductor tensions, structure dimensions, foundation requirements, and cost analysis to ensure efficient and economical solutions. Design upgrades such as increasing ground clearances, reconductoring, and Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) installations are also supported, along with line cut-ins and augmentations to accommodate evolving grid needs. Specialized designs for wind and solar generation connections, including reticulation and termination, are provided, as well as solutions for conductor vibration and galloping. Comprehensive construction documentation—including plan and profile designs, line schedules, staking schedules, material lists, stringing schedules, and damper placement charts—ensures smooth execution from planning to field implementation. These services are tailored to meet the demands of modern energy systems and ensure long-term reliability and performance.
Groundline Engineering offers specialized high-voltage cable design services up to 400kV, tailored for diverse applications including industrial, tunnel, aviation, utility, and renewable energy sectors such as wind, solar, and BESS. The design process emphasizes optimization for transmission efficiency, durability, and cost-effectiveness, ensuring robust performance across varied environments. Services include earthing and bonding designs, detailed system engineering studies for voltage, load, and fault tolerance, and route planning for underground installations in urban, rural, and agricultural settings. The team also engineers overhead-to-submarine connectivity and underground cable systems, supported by rigorous testing and certification aligned with IEC, IEEE, Cigre, and client standards. Installation support covers technical guidance for cable pulling, jointing, and terminating, with expertise in trenchless technologies and challenging terrains, and includes on-site supervision during installation and commissioning. This end-to-end service ensures that
cable systems are designed, tested, and installed to meet the highest standards of safety, reliability, and efficiency.
Groundline Engineering’s Drafting and CAD Services provide precise and comprehensive visual documentation to support engineering and construction workflows. These services include the creation of wire and electrical clearance diagrams, plan and profile drawings, and structural steel installation arrangements, ensuring clarity and compliance throughout project phases. Detailed fabrication drawings, material and bolt lists, and route and access maps are developed to streamline construction and logistics. The team also delivers set and insulator designs, foundation general arrangements, and setting level diagrams to support accurate field implementation. Additionally, line schedules and asset records are maintained to ensure traceability and efficient asset management. These drafting services are essential for translating engineering concepts into actionable construction plans and maintaining documentation throughout the asset lifecycle.
Groundline Engineering’s Structure Design service delivers robust and optimized solutions for transmission infrastructure using advanced tools like the Power Line Systems suite and SPACE GASS. Designs are developed in accordance with industry standards and asset owner requirements, incorporating load trees, charts, and structural geometry tailored to electrical, operational, and maintenance needs. The team specializes in lattice tower designs, including guyed and self-supporting structures, with capabilities for new builds, modifications, strengthening, and optimization of tower bracings, dimensions, and connection details. Expertise also extends to pole structure designs using materials such as wood, steel, concrete, composites, and stobie, with support for multi-pole configurations and structural enhancements. Comprehensive procurement specifications are provided, covering outlines, geometry, attachment plate designs, and full-scale prototyping and load testing to ensure reliability and performance. This service ensures that all structural components are engineered for safety, durability, and cost-efficiency across a wide range of applications.
Groundline Engineering’s Foundation Design service delivers tailored solutions for a wide range of structure types, including lattice towers, guyed towers, and direct embedded or base plate-connected poles. The team specializes in designing foundations for challenging terrains and environments, offering options such as pad and chimney, long pile (belled and unbelled), rock anchor, and large pad foundations. Advanced techniques like Transient Dynamic Response (TDR) are used for integrity and as-built assessments of existing piled foundations. The service also includes management of geotechnical investigations to inform design decisions and ensure structural stability. Additionally, Groundline provides foundation upgrades and strengthening to extend the life and performance of existing infrastructure. These services are critical for ensuring that transmission structures remain secure and resilient under varying environmental and operational conditions.
Groundline Engineering’s Electrical Design service ensures safe, efficient, and standards-compliant transmission line performance. It includes conductor and earth wire selection tailored to project-specific electrical and mechanical requirements. The team integrates electrical design aspects into structural geometry, such as conductor spacings and earth wire shield angles, to optimize system reliability. Advanced insulation coordination studies are conducted to enhance outage performance, supported by detailed insulation and earthing designs that meet client specifications and industry standards. This holistic approach ensures robust electrical integrity across diverse operating environments and supports the seamless integration of electrical systems into broader infrastructure projects.
Groundline understands the importance of independent verification and working with designers to ensure a safe, code compliant, constructible design that remains long after we have gone.
Independent verifications and peer reviews, carried out by a third-party expert, reduce the risk of costly mistakes and oversights.
This is where Groundline comes in.
You can rest assured knowing with our global reach and ongoing investment in training and upskilling, we have a comprehensive understanding of your local standards and will bring international best practice to bear on your project.
Overhead line construction and maintenance is in our blood. We started on the ground, and use the expertise and knowledge gained in the work we do today.
We provide robust and accurate operational support:
Our desktop assessments and studies determine the condition of your assets and identify potential electrical infringements to vegetation or changes inland use or building developments. Depending on your requirements, they may be supplemented with, or informed by, site-based inspections and tests.
Groundline seeks to understand our customers’ asset strategies so we can help deliver on them. We provide quality data and data interpretations, using nondestructive testing methods as much as possible.
Our testing methods include:
