I came across this power pole on a tiny rural back lane some weeks ago, but didn't have my camera with me at the time.

I was out that way again yesterday so I took a slight detour to get some pics:

[Linked Image]

It's a standard 11kV distribution line, but it sure looked a little different which is what made me take a closer look.

On top of the cross-arm are fairly standard-looking air-break switches, with an operating rod and padlocked handle mounted near the bottom of the pole, such as might be found anywhere:

[Linked Image]

But what's that other equipment? A round unit with six HV terminals connected to each side of the lines:

[Linked Image]

To the right of that is a small transformer tapped across two phases and feeding down to a steel equipment cabinet near the bottom of the pole.

Just to the left of the pole and slightly above the barbed-wire you can see a small radio antenna.

Could this be a radio-controlled system to allow remote switching?