The growth and development of trenchless technology, has opened up vast new horizons for the installation of cables. Unfortunately all the benefits may not always be fully realised because of lack of awareness, practical incompatibility problems, and regulatory requirements geared to the more traditional open trench methods. While the technology has been applied extensively to telecommunications, water, sewer and gas reticulation, the application to power distribution has been somewhat more restrained, and often for good reason. There are still some unique problems associated with the application to power cables, including thermal considerations, mechanical protection and the required clearances from other utilities. The aim of this paper is to look at a range of options for the installation of underground cables, and to highlight the possibilities and problems bringing together the new technologies to embrace modern cables. Topics covered in the paper are: · Open trench and trenchless power cable installation. · Cost comparisons of open trench and trenchless methods. · Trenchless hardware and guidance systems. · Preplanning and safety systems. · Underground utility location: Radar, electronic, and physical location. · Conjoint installations with other services. · Compliance and safety issues. · Trenchless Technology - the future.
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