Editing Utility pole (section)

==Use==
[[File:Hv braunschweig20.jpg|thumb|Wooden electricity poles in Germany. In central Europe, lines usually run just straight across fields, rows of poles accompanying roads are quite rare.]]
Utility poles are commonly used to carry two types of electric [[Electric power transmission|power lines]]:<ref name="Grigsby">{{cite book|last=Grigsby|first=Leonard L.|title=The Electric Power Engineering Handbook|publisher=CRC Press|year=2001|location=USA|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wiv1tuMDbTEC&q=%22utility+transformer%22&pg=PT1346|isbn=0-8493-8578-4|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428033235/https://books.google.com/books?id=wiv1tuMDbTEC&pg=PT1346&lpg=PT1346&dq=%22utility+transformer%22&source=web&ots=XwZnFMsRK8&sig=68TttGd59rC3_TstnrUd8hvXUHI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPT385,M1|archive-date=2016-04-28}}</ref> ''[[Electric power distribution|distribution lines]]'' (or "feeders") and ''sub transmission lines''. Distribution lines carry power from local [[Electrical substation|substations]] to customers. They generally carry voltages from 4.6 to 33 [[volt|kilovolts]] (kV) for distances up to {{cvt|30|mi|-1}}, and include transformers to step the voltage down from the primary voltage to the lower secondary voltage used by the customer. A [[service drop]] carries this lower voltage to the customer's premises.

Subtransmission lines carry higher voltage power from regional substations to local substations. They usually carry 46&nbsp;kV, 69&nbsp;kV, or 115&nbsp;kV for distances up to {{cvt|60|mi|-1}}. 230&nbsp;kV lines are often supported on H-shaped towers made with two or three poles. [[Transmission line]]s carrying voltages of above 230&nbsp;kV are usually not supported by poles, but by metal pylons (known as [[transmission tower]]s in the US).

For economic or practical reasons, such as to save space in urban areas, a distribution line is often carried on the same poles as a sub transmission line but mounted under the higher voltage lines; a practice called "underbuild". Telecommunication cables are usually carried on the same poles that support power lines; poles shared in this fashion are known as joint-use poles, but may have their own dedicated poles.