500 kV Pantograph Switch
Rebuild & Fabrication
A lightning strike burned through the jaw of a Duke Energy 500 kV pantograph disconnect switch — a part you cannot order from a catalog. Southern Switch fabricated a new jaw and contacts from billet, completely disassembled and refurbished all three phases, and returned the switch set ready for Duke’s field crews to reinstall.
Field repair attempted. Then us.
A lightning strike hit one phase of a Duke Energy pantograph disconnect switch in service at 500 kV. The jaw — the structural aluminum contact assembly that closes the circuit when the switch operates — was burned severely through the blade. Duke’s crew attempted a field repair: they ground down the damaged area and pulled contacts from a spare switch to reinstall. That repair did not restore the switch to reliable service.
The switch set was pulled and sent to Southern Switch for a complete rebuild. The smooth surface visible on the damaged jaw is where Duke ground the burned aluminum; the contacts shown are the ones cannibalized from the spare. Neither was enough — the jaw itself needed to be replaced, and there was no OEM part available. Southern Switch fabricated a new jaw from billet and rebuilt all three phases.
All three phases rebuilt.
With the complete switch set in the shop, Southern Switch disassembled all three phases down to components. Each phase was cleaned, inspected, and rebuilt. One phase required custom fabrication; the other two required refurbishment. Duke gets the entire set back in the same condition — not two good phases and a new one.
- →Full disassembly and inspection
- →New jaw fabricated from billet aluminum — machined to original geometry
- →New copper finger contacts fabricated and fitted
- →New bushing spacers fabricated
- →Full clean and rebuild
- →Full disassembly down to components
- →Complete cleaning of all components
- →New bushing spacers fabricated
- →Full rebuild and reassembly
you make it.
Pantograph disconnect switches at 500 kV are not mass-produced equipment. Many were manufactured decades ago by companies that no longer support the product line. When a component fails, the utility’s options are limited: find another utility willing to part out a retired unit, wait on a custom OEM order with a long lead time, or find a shop that can reverse-engineer and fabricate the part.
Southern Switch machines custom contacts, jaws, blades, and structural components for disconnect switches across voltage classes. The work starts with the original part — or drawings if available — and ends with a component that matches the original specification and installs without field modification.
The jaw is the primary structural and conductive element of a pantograph switch. Machined from billet aluminum to original geometry — not cast, not welded patch. The new jaw carries the same cross-section and contact interface as the original.
Copper finger contacts are what make the electrical connection when the switch closes. Southern Switch machines these in-house to the original profile. Contact geometry and spring retention are matched to the original so the closing force and contact area are maintained.
Bushing spacers are straightforward to machine but frequently unavailable as spares. Fabricating them in-house as part of a rebuild is more reliable than waiting on a sourcing chain that may not exist for the original equipment.
Fabricating one component is straightforward. Disassembling an entire three-phase switch set, cleaning every component, making whatever parts are needed, and reassembling to a consistent standard across all phases is a different scope. Southern Switch does both.
Call (727) 789-0951 or send us the failed part. If it’s a contact, jaw, blade, or structural switch component, we can most likely machine a replacement. We work from the original part, drawings, or a combination of both.