Assessment of Pre-Stressed Concrete Electric Poles for Rural Electrification Projects

Abstract

Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas in a country in order to improve the living conditions of the people. In accordance with the extant electricity regulation act chapter 106 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1990) Part VI No 47 (i), every support carrying electric lines shall be made of treated wood, steel or reinforced concrete or any combination of such materials or other approved materials. Regulation No 47, (2)(1990), further stipulates that every support shall be so constructed to withstand the transverse, horizontal and vertical loads. Hence, in order to confirm that any pre-stressed concrete electric pole is acceptable and fit with adequate strength for rural electrification projects, a test or assessment was carried out. After the test, a safety factor of above 2.0 units was obtained and the cube test result satisfied the minimum strength of 40N/mm2 for the pre-stressed concrete pole.