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T&D Products


Communications, Data Hardening, and the Smart Grid

The SmartGrid continues to expand and gather new functions as needs expand. Automated metering, relay operation, RTU operation, electric management systems, remedial action schemes, SCADA, field reclosers, Synchrophasors, remote access, weather, and earthquake monitoring and future needs still yet...

Building a Competency Program

At Valard, our people are the core and health of our business. Without our people, we have nothing. In fact, one of our slogans is “People. First.” However, being a people company means some of our biggest challenges are created by people. Our challenges are unique, as is each person...

Reconditioned SF₆ Gas: An Environmentally Friendly Alternative

When it comes to medium and high voltage circuit breakers, there is no better electrical insulator than sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The manufactured gas is most commonly used to fill circuit breakers within utility substations to prevent and quench arcing events. SF6's impeccable dielectric...

Cable Testing Comes of Age - One Cycle at a Time

Field Testing of MV and HV cables has come a long way in recent decades. Gone are the days of old, when the traditional DC (Direct Voltage/Current) hipot was the recommended method for testing these modern cables that form the critical backbone of the distribution electrical power network....

The Overlooked Benefits of High-Performance Powerline Conductors

Background:For over 100 years Transmission Engineers have relied on aluminum conductors strengthened by steel core wires, commonly referred to as ACSR conductors. These conductors offered reasonable performance and durability and were capable of operating at temperatures up to 93° C. Above this...

Critter Guard

Distinctly DifferentAccording to the American Public Power Association, squirrels are among the top causes of power outages across the United States. The Great Lakes region has squirrels as the #1 cause of sustained outages. And in many cases, bird related outages are at number two.Nobody likes to...

T&D Products

Gas Dehydration

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) insulates medium- and high-voltage switchgears around the world. In its pure form, this non-toxic, inert gas helps the power transmission & distribution (T&D) industry operate more safely by extinguishing high-temperature arcs. With a much higher dielectric strength compared to other media, SF6 also allows gas-insulated equipment (GIE) to be compact. The non-flammable gas is a potent arc quencher: In the high-heat environment of an electrical discharge, the six fluorine atoms split...

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