Tag:power=cable
 power = cable
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| Description |
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An insulated cable carrying electrical power, such as transmission or distribution cables located underground and undersea cables 
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| Group: Power |
| Used on these elements |
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| Useful combination |
| See also |
| Status: de facto |
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| 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 withing 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
| 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 forrests 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
- 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
Automated edits are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you are doing!
Examples
| Photo | Location | Tagging | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
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Austria | power=cable voltage=22000 cables=3 tunnel=yes location=underground |
High voltage cables suspended on the walls of a technical tunnel underground |
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.