On the left side of the pole, it looks like there is a thin wire jumping between the 2nd and third wires. (unknown wire + X phase). On the right, I don't see anything connected to the 2nd wire.

Could it possibly be something as mundane as master control for street lighting?

Probably not even a control but simply a switched phase. I've seen that setup in several countries like Greece and the Czech Republic.

I wonder how that street light works... only one wire seems to be connected!

I think I see two wires there. It is hard to see how they are connected, though.

It looks like the light has a 2-conductor cable coming from the bottom of the conduit. The two wires are separated out in line with the support bracket for the xfmr, where they appear to be connected to the lower two wires heading left. Hard to tell with that rats-nest...

Did anybody notice that the cutouts are open on the feeders going into the "conduit" (I use that term loosely)? Wonder what that's all about.

Then, we have the question of what appears to be a telephone or CATV cable actually crossing through that mess.

Their workmanship sure makes me appreciate the way we do things here for sure.

This is more like it:

It appears they loosely follow some type of international standard. It definitely isn't the American one though.

3 Wire Primary? I don't see many of those on single phase systems, not around here anyway.

It would appear to be 3-phase service, as denoted by the "Z, Y, X" on the secondary bushings.

In a lot of countries 3-phase is used much more extensively than in the U.S. right down to local distribution.

Even here in the U.K. where we're kind of between the U.S. and Europe in this regard, single-phase HV spurs and transformers are only found feeding very small collections of houses.

As soon as you get to anywhere of any size (even a small village) you'll find xfmrs feeding a 3-ph 4-w 240/415V wye network with each house then just tapped from one phase and neutral.

You only have to hop over the Channel as far as France to see 3-phase services even in very small houses.

Are you kidding me? So Cal Edison here in sunny California has had a major love affair with 3 wire delta primaries for years!! There are always exceptions, though: my palatial estate (ok, the dump I live in) is served with a 4kv wye primary, (feeding an unfused transformer!) but there is a 34.5kv class delta primary over it, which serves a lot of the neighboring homes.

But if you're in the LADWP area, I think most of their service was/is wye. Any POCO guys here who can confirm/deny this?

I cringe at the idea of trying to close in those cutouts! Who knows what's on the other end of that UG drop?

I must admit, that i was also in temptation to organize an isolated rod, close the cutouts and see or hear, what happens ... but the imagination of making experiences with columbian jails just let me refrain from this idea

Regards

Herrmann

Tony,
I'd venture to say that there's more than likely a HV step-down transformer on the end of it.
One thing that line workers hate to turn up to is a pole with all three drop-outs fallen, it's a worry!.

Hi Mike;

yeah, I've been around when those cutouts blow under fault and also when an unfortunate lineman reclosed one into a bad transformer. We both let loose with some colorful language in that event.

One thing I've always wondered..would it be possible to make a cutout "fault indicating"?

For example, plug fuses in homes, when blown, could give clues as to the nature of the problem. A clear window with a broken link was usually just an overload, while a blackened window indicated a short.

Seems that these line cutouts simply drop open no matter what happened, giving no clue as to the nature of the fault.

Or maybe the links used in the cutouts could somehow be modified to tell the tale?

Hmmmmmmmm.......

The end result, if you survived, would most likely be a very loud boom and some serious damage to your eyes and undergarments.

In any event I think the colombian jails would be the least of your worries.

The dropouts will certainly show if they have exploded under a major fault or some overload or corrosion.
In the first case the fuse cartridge has just completely exploded and ripped the connecting wires away.
Under ageing or small overload most of the remains are still with the ddo.

Thanks for that explanation, Rodalco.

Can you usually tell from the ground, or do you have to bring the door down to get a closer look?

Tony,
What usually happens here with these drop-out fuses, is you put the hook end of your telescopic hotstick, through the loop on the fuse body and push it upwards to release it from the bottom of the fuse trunion, it can then be bought down to where you are on the ground with the stick.
It's easier to do than actually explain.