Ice puts a strain on power lines

Don Wick of Rockford had the million dollar question of the day. How much weight does a half inch of ice add to a power line?

After quite a bit of searching and phone calls, I came across the answer. On a wire (3/8" in diameter) one inch of ice adds 5-10 pounds of weight to the wire per linear foot. (For the sake of simplicity, I averaged the number for our graphic).

Example: If there's 1/2 inch of ice (weighing 3.5 pounds per foot) on a power line and the distance between the power poles is 300 feet, the weight is 1,050 pounds more than it normally is. Thanks for the great question Don!

source: http://snrs.unl.edu/amet451/bartlett/icedamage.htm