December 12, 2006

Vista^® Underground Distribution Switchgear Withstands a Hurricane.

Wilma was one of the most intense hurricanes to ever hit the Atlantic basin, devastating parts of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula and southern Florida in October 2005. This record-setting storm was only the third Category 5 hurricane to ever develop in the month of October. It ranks among the five costliest hurricanes recorded in the region and the third costliest in U.S. history. Its winds and rainfall affected eleven countries.

On October 21, Wilma made landfall at Yucatán Peninsula as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds of 155 mph. The eye passed over the island of Cozumel around midnight on October 22, with winds of nearly 140 mph. Wilma continued to slowly drift northward, passing just west of Cancun. Waves caused by Wilma caused flooding in coastal areas, including the resort town of Playa del Carmen. Cozumel, Cancun, and Playa del Carmen all suffered significant damage.

Cancun’s Hotel Zone is served by two underground distribution lines owned by Comision Federal de Electricidad, the Mexican national electric utility. More than 15 units of S&C Vista Underground Distribution Switchgear are installed along these lines. Most of the gear is manually operated. But the largest hotels are served by automatic source-transfer gear, for heightened reliability.

For more than four days the Vista gear was subjected to intense rain, wind, blowing sand, and flooding with salt water. In some cases, the gear was completely submersed. Although Vista gear is designed to endure such punishment, there was concern that the sensitive electronic components installed in the low-voltage compartments of the automatic source-transfer gear might be adversely affected.

After the Storm . . .

A few weeks after the hurricane, representatives of S&C Mexico visited Cancun to evaluate each Vista UDS unit and determine what repairs were required. Aside from a unit that was crushed by a downed palm tree and several units with broken voltage indicators attributable to improperly latched roofs, most of the gear experienced only minimal damage . . . basically scratched paint from wind-borne debris. But every unit was functional . . . every SF6-insulated tank was intact . . . and the electronic components of the automatic source-transfer gear were fine.