What is the purpose of those orange (rarely white) balls on power lines? They seem to be found mainly on the longest spans (which are often also the highest), as the line cross streams or highways. It’s hard to tell, but the balls seem to be about 10 or 20 inches in diameter. There are maybe four or six evenly-spaced balls per span. Only one span has balls, not several adjacent spans. I’ve never noticed them here in Maine, but on a recent trip I saw quite a few in New York and Pennsylvania and one such span each in Idaho and Minnesota. These appear to be are ordinary power lines, not long-distance high tension lines.
My first guess was that it was aid to airplane pilots following a highway, so they wouldn’t fly into the lines. But I’ve seen them on spans quite close to the ground. I didn’t notice that they are found mainly near airports.
in my home town, they are primarily found near tv stations and hospitals. So what do all the hospitals and tv stations have in common? Helicopter landing pads. That’s what I assume they’re for: so pilots taking off and landing don’t take out a line. Though this is just my educated guess.
I told my husband that they were in case of floods so the power lines would float
WAG: I have seen them mainly in touristy areas near bridges. I thought they were for visibility, especially in areas where there are heliocopters that give tourist rides.
It might be different in Ireland but we have the balls aswell but only over main roads . I was told by somebody in the E.S.B. ( Electricity Supply Board ) that they where there because of swans thinking the roads where rivers and fly along them and take out the power lines .
