Parts of a Power Line – 14 Parts of a Utility Pole

All 14 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 6 main parts 6

Primary conductors The three high-voltage wires, one for each phase. They carry power along the street and are usually bare.
Insulators Hold bare wires on the crossarm without letting current into the pole.
Crossarm The horizontal beam across the pole that the insulators are mounted on.
Transformer Steps the primary voltage down to the secondary voltage a home uses.
Communication cables Telephone, cable and fiber optic lines. They share the pole with the power lines.
Pole The post itself, usually wood, that carries the lines and equipment.

The top of the pole 1

Overhead ground wire (static line) A wire above the others that acts like a lightning rod. It gives lightning a path to the ground. Other names: static line, neutral.

Transformer and its gear 3

Fuse cutout Connects the transformer to the line through a fuse. On an overload the fuse melts and the cutout swings open, showing the fault.
Surge arrester Sends a lightning surge to the ground wire, not into the transformer. Also called a lightning arrester.
Service drop Carries the lower voltage from the transformer to a customer's building.

Lower down 4

Ground wire Connects the pole's equipment to the ground, for safety and for lightning.
Street light A light mounted on the pole on an arm.
Guy wire A wire from the pole to an anchor in the ground. It takes the sideways pull of the lines.
Pole tag A marking on the pole that identifies it. Some tags give the pole's coordinates on a grid.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-27. Wikipedia, Utility pole, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_pole : a pole supporting overhead power lines and other utilities like electrical cable, fiber optic cable, transformers and street lights; the wires usually uninsulated and supported by insulators on a horizontal beam (crossarm), three phases; sometimes an overhead ground wire (static line, or neutral) above them acting like a lightning rod; transformers stepping the primary voltage down to the lower secondary voltage, and a service drop carrying it to the customer's premises; transformers connected through fuse cutouts, whose fuse melts on an overload and swings open to show it; a surge (lightning) arrester between the line and the ground wire; telecommunication cables on the same poles (joint-use poles); guying for lateral stresses; pole markings, and coordinates on pole tags. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a wooden power line pole, the kind along a street, seen looking along the line. Start with the 6 main parts, then the top, the transformer's gear and lower down.

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At the top

Three bare primary conductors, one for each phase, sit on insulators along the crossarm. A single overhead ground wire above them acts like a lightning rod.

Down to the house

A fuse cutout joins the transformer to a primary, with a surge arrester beside it; the transformer steps the voltage down and the service drop carries it to a house. Lower down are communication cables and a street light; a guy wire takes the lines' sideways pull.

Primary wires are high voltage; the service drop is the low-voltage line into a home. Stay well clear of both.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a power pole called?

The crossarm with its insulators and primary conductors, an overhead ground wire on top, the transformer with its fuse cutout and surge arrester, the service drop, communication cables, a ground wire, a guy wire and the pole's tag.

What is the can on a power pole?

A transformer. It steps the high primary voltage down to the lower voltage used in homes, which the service drop carries to the building.

What is the wire at the very top of a power pole?

Often an overhead ground wire, also called a static line. It acts like a lightning rod, giving lightning a low-resistance path to the ground.

Parts of a Power Line Pole