1. General

High-voltage switchgear is used on networks supplied either with alternating current at voltages in excess of 1,000 V, or with direct current at voltages in excess of 1,500 V.

• Perfect control of electrical energy requires all the means necessary to command and control the flow of current in the circuits that run from production plants to consumers. This delicate task falls fundamentally to electrical equipment. Its primary role is to ensure automatic protection of these circuits against all incidents likely to disrupt their operation, and also to carry out the various operations required to modify the network configuration under normal operating conditions.

Electrical switchgear enables the network structure to be adapted to the needs of its users, both electricity producers and consumers, at all times, and...