What is a Lindsey Tower?

Southern California Edison transmission lines carry high-voltage power from generating facilities, often located in rural areas, to cities and suburbs. Constructing the transmission towers that support those lines usually takes several weeks.

When natural disasters damage transmission lines and cause an outage, SCE uses emergency restoration systems called Lindsey towers that can be setup next to the original lines. The system bypasses the damaged section and keeps the circuit energized. The towers are modular, easily moved and have been used across the world, including in the Himalayas, in flood plains in Asia and sand dunes in the Middle East.

A Lindsey tower can be erected in hours by hand, or using cranes or helicopters. The versatility of the tower makes it possible to safely restore power quickly while repairs or replacement of permanent towers can take days, even weeks.