OHTLs can face several operational challenges:

• Environmental Factors: Wind-induced vibrations (galloping, aeolian vibration), ice loading, extreme temperatures (leading to sag changes), and lightning strikes.

• Vegetation Interference: Trees growing into the clearance zone causing faults or outages.

• Insulator Contamination/Damage: Pollution, salt spray, or physical damage can reduce insulation effectiveness, leading to flashovers.

• Conductor Degradation: Corrosion, fatigue, or annealing (loss of strength due to heat) can compromise conductor integrity.

• Hardware Failure: Malfunctions in clamps, connectors, or dampers.

• Wildlife Interference: Birds or animals causing short circuits. Proactive maintenance and the use of high-quality, durable equipment (like ours) are key to mitigating these issues.