July 18, 2016 – S&C Electric Company has launched new models of its Vista underground distribution switchgear incorporating 40-kA load-break switches. These new switchgear models, which are available for 15-kV systems, offer utilities a “fully submersible” switching solution for underground distribution networks, “allowing utilities to reduce the duration and frequency of outages in large urban areas”.

Instead of using oil, the Vista switchgear’s 40-kA switching solution uses gas sealed in a submersible stainless steel tank. The submersibility of the Vista switchgear is “essential, given that in urban networks, switchgear is frequently installed in street or sidewalk vaults that often fill up with water,” S&C says.