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Retrofit solution for rodent mitigation

Ensuring a safe and clean substation with Roxtec seals.

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The situation in the 230 kV transmission substation in the Northeast of the US was alarming. Rodents entered, caused false alarms and huge cleaning costs. After retrofit with Roxtec seals, the facility is clean and fully operational.

The previously used cable penetration sealing was not working. Foam and fire boards left gaps between cables allowing rodents to penetrate the line of defense and gain access to the substation. This went on for years. There were dead rodents in the termination and SCADA cabinets and rodent waste on the cable chase and cabinet walls. Whenever maintenance was required, the owner had to hire a special cleaning crew for $2,000 per day. Rodent activity also triggered electrical devices to set off false alarms and provide false readings.

The Area Manager at the owner level felt he was letting his crew down because they had to work in that environment. He needed to provide complete protection against rodents and maintain a clean work environment. After meeting with Roxtec representatives it was clear Roxtec sealing solutions were the right choice.

Retrofit without downtime

Roxtec worked together with decision makers and contractors for procurement, design and installation to complete the project. The retrofit work was performed on a control house cable vault with 250 cables using a Roxtec B transit and a customized extension box, enabling the work to be done without any service interruption. They were able to completely seal off the building to protect it from rodent and moisture ingress. The seal even provides built-in spare capacity for expansion with future cables.

“Roxtec was the only option to solve our problem. Their willingness and ability to come to site and custom-build to our needs exceeded everyone’s expectations. The excellent product and their support sealed the use of Roxtec for future application needs,” stated the Operations Area Manager.