Tag:power=cable

power = cable
Description
An insulated cable carrying electrical power, such as transmission or distribution cables located underground and undersea cables
Group: Power
Used on these elements
Useful combination
circuits=* voltage=* cables=* location=* ref=* name=* operator=*
See also
power=line power=minor_line power=grounding
Status: de facto
power=cable $1% $1% $1% $1% More details at taginfo More details at taginfo
Tools for this tag
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A cable is insulated and allows electrical power transmission or distribution in complex environments such as indoors, underground or undersea.

These heavier cables should not be confused with light-weight power distribution lines supported by poles, for which power=minor_line is more appropriate. For wires and cables used to communication data, voice or information, consider using communication=line. Overhead lines supported by pylons (power=tower) are tagged as power=line.

How to map

Draw a line along the feature path and tag it with power=cable. By default, cables are assumed to be buried underground or underwater and location=* can be used with appropriate value.

• Optionally add layer=* if needed to indicate the relative vertical alignment of different features.
• For cables mounted inside a man accessible self-supporting tunnel use tunnel=yes. Dedicated and accessible power tunnels are sometimes found in large cities like London

Cables, as power lines, are physical features mapped as ways which don't represent the flow of power.

• It is recommended, if known, to cut ways as often as cables are joined together. It is important to document differences (diameter, material and so on) between cable sections.
• Cables - like power lines - can be members of route=power relations corresponding to a whole power circuit between two substations.

Tagging

Key	Value	Comment	Recommendation
power	cable	It's a power cable, normally mapped as a .	Mandatory
voltage	<operating voltage>	The voltage at which the cable is operated	Recommended
location	<location>	The physical location of the cable, such as underground. See below for possible values. The default value is underground	Recommended
operator	<cable operator>	The name of the company which operates this power cable section	Recommended
cables	<number of cables>	The number of different phase conductors for this power cable section	Recommended
circuits	<number of circuits>	The number of different and separated electrical circuits built within this cable section	Recommended
frequency	<operating frequency>	The frequency given in Hertz at which the power cable is operating	Optional
name	<name>	The name of this power cable section.	Optional
ref	<reference>	The reference of this power cable section	Optional

Location

List of possible location=* values.

Key	Value	Comment
location	underground	A cable buried underground (below terrestrial ground or undersea) going through ducts or not. This is the default value.
	indoor	A power cable located inside a building or a way larger underground infrastructure
	underwater	A power cable located on the sea/river/lake floor, which can be seen when diving without digging soil.
	overground	A cable installed on the ground (it is possible since power cables are properly insulated and it makes the main difference with power lines).
	overhead	A cable installed on poles. They can be seen in forests or narrow environments. This makes a strong difference with uninsulated power lines, more vulnerable to climate impacts.

location:transition=yes may be used on nodes connecting two different cable sections with different location=*s. It is even better on the end node of a power line or cable disappearing underground without more knowledge.

How to detect an underground cable

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Common tagging mistakes

power=minor_cable

		$1%
		$1%
		$1%
		$1%

More details at taginfo

• power=minor_cable

If you know places with this tag, verify if it could be tagged with another tag.
Automated edits are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you are doing!

man_made=submarine_cable

		$1%
		$1%
		$1%
		$1%

More details at taginfo

• man_made=submarine_cable ‒ Use power=cable + location=underwater instead for underwater power cable only. There can be telecommunication submarine cables which should be mapped with communication=line

If you know places with this tag, verify if it could be tagged with another tag.
Automated edits are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you are doing!

Examples

Photo	Location	Tagging	Note
	Austria	power=cable voltage=22000 cables=3 tunnel=yes location=underground	High voltage cables suspended on the walls of a technical tunnel underground
	France	power=cable voltage=220 cables=2 location=overhead	Overhead cables suspended on wooden poles

Services

As limited visibility features, cables are not rendered on the standard OSM Carto map. The following services do show cables:

• Open Infrastructure Map offers a Electricity distribution view (available globally). Power cables are shown as dashed lines.
• Maperitive power line rule set for rendering power lines, cables and substations in Maperitive.