October 20, 2000

First Trans-Rupter II^® Installed and Energized in Pacific Northwest, Provides Economical Solution for Retrofit Application.

Early this summer, a major utility in the Pacific Northwest installed and energized the first Trans-Rupter II® Transformer Protector, marking a significant milestone for the product. The 138-kV Trans-Rupter II replaced an S&C Mark V Circuit-Switcher. This utility had experienced a rise in available fault-current at this substation, requiring a device with increased fault-interrupting capability. Trans-Rupter II’s 31.5-kA fault-interrupting rating fully met these requirements. And its low initial and installed cost was a perfect fit for the utility’s budget.

With Trans-Rupter II’s lightweight, compact design, the utility was able to use the Circuit-Switcher’s mounting pedestals and foundations to install the new device. The Trans-Rupter II pole-units were mounted to a new cross-member, which was placed on top of the existing pedestals. Not only did this mounting arrangement eliminate the expense of new foundations and mounting structures, the utility did not need to move any substation equipment to install the Trans-Rupter II, greatly simplifying the installation. Finally, the low-voltage wiring enclosure was attached to one of the Circuit-Switcher pedestals.

New relays were not required, as Trans-Rupter II is fully compatible with the existing relays. Trans-Rupter II was connected to an existing relay box mounted on a Circuit-Switcher pedestal — so new wiring runs were not needed, either. Trans-Rupter II proved a very economical solution to meet increased fault-interrupting requirements at this substation.

Talk to S&C about how Trans-Rupter II can provide sophisticated and economical transformer protection on your system.