The Aging of the Electrical Power Grid

It has been said many times that our power grid is under severe structural strain. The aging of our infrastructure from generation to transmision to control by the consumer, has pushed our system to its limits. Added to that are extended OEM lead times for equipment and parts and the mission of used electrical equipment dealers like National Power Equipment, Inc. (NPE) becomes more obvious and critical. Providing reconditioned equipment, custom solutions, aftermarket parts, and support for field service organizations. Players like NPE are crucial to both the everyday operation of our electrical grid and times when it is under stress from things like extreme swings in weather patterns. It has been said, over and over, when the power is down and the lights are off, call NPE for fast, cost effective solutions, as they say, "The right part, at the right price, right now!"

Our "aftermarket parts" section of the website has  new parts, manufactured by NPE in small batches, with an eye for quility, that endevours to eliminate inherent defects in the original part that caused the failure in the first place. These parts are kept in stock in limited quantites, but larger qty's are generally available with lead times measured in days, not weeks or months. 

Overview - Switchgear Lifecycles and Base Pressure

We use the term "switchgear" to refer to the electrical equipment responsible for protecting sections of our power supply, locally and regionally. It consists of circuit breakers, disconnect switches, relays, fuses and other protective panels. It is the foundation for manufacturing, hospitals and government facilities. The base age is 25-60 years ( but 80 yrs old is not out of the question!) makes failures, something that the OEM's have a difficult, if not impossible time supporting because of manufacturing and base material logistics and limitations.

Organziations like NPE fill in that void with inventory that is in stock, the expertise to understand the application and find fast, cost effective solutions to help manufacturers and service organizations alike to keep the lights on, and production producing. if you give us a a call, send us an emai to www.info@npeinc.com or send us a fax, (yes we still have one of those!(216) 898-2684, one of our experienced sales engineers will search our inventory of literally thousands of air circuit breakers (acb's, vacuum circuit breakers (vcb's), primary switches from 2400 -15,000 vac, panel mount protective relays and parts inventory).

If your trying to find replacement circuit breakers and parts for you switchgear for your facility, lets go over a few facts. 

• Over 80%* of switchgear running commercial, inustrial facilities and hospitals and military installations is over twenty years old
• Original equipment manufacturers consider most of these obsolete and no longer support them with new components yet the with proper maintenance will remain reliable for many years to come.
• Used equipment dealers are your source for equipment and solutions to stay up and running:
  • Safely
  • Reliably
  • Economically

National Power Equipment Inc's (NPE) warehouses are filled with thousands of circuit breakers and switchgear cabinets, and tens of thousands of parts. These product lines date all the way back to World War II, and its staff is well versed in specifying equipment for them.

We also carry a private line of "Aftermarket Parts" designed and manufactured by NPE to replace many of these faulty parts with new and improved versions. These products are so good and with lead times that are measured in days, not months- many can even be shipped on the day they are ordered for next day delivery. You can find them here www.npeinc.com/parts.

National Power Equipment’s “Class One” process of reconditioning equipment brings equipment back to “like new” condition. The process includes:

• Breakers are disassembled to its smallest components and inspected for wear and damage.
• Parts re-plated, stripped, and painted to “like new” condition.
• Breaker reassembled with new sis wiring and upgrades and testing to modern industry standards.

Available Old, Obsolete, and Discontinued Circuit Breakers

NPE warehouses a wide variety of old, obsolete, re-manufactured, and refurbished circuit breakers, specializing in low voltage (600 Volt AC or less) through medium voltage (15KV) circuit breakers, switchgear, and parts. Our inventory includes equipment from the following circuit breaker brands:

• Allen Bradley Circuit Breakers
• Allis Chalmers / Siemens Allis Circuit Breakers
• Boltswitch Circuit Breakers
• Eaton / Cutler Hammer Circuit Breakers
• FPE Circuit Breakers
• General Electric Circuit Breakers
• GTE / Sylvania Circuit Breakers
• ITE / BBC / ABB Circuit Breakers
• Joslyn Clark Circuit Breakers
• Powell Industries Circuit Breakers
• Pringle Circuit Breakers
• Roller Smith Circuit Breakers
• Sace Circuit Breakers
• Square D Circuit Breakers
• Toshiba Circuit Breakers
• Westinghouse Circuit Breakers

Keep the Power Running with Replacement Parts

In order to maintain your equipment, you're going to need access to parts!  

These parts can include relays, transformers, trip devices, fuses, and switchgear and don't forget our Aftermarket Parts Store!

The Aftermarket Parts Store is loaded with the kind of hard-to-find parts that always seem to be needed. These parts are available as new copies of the original part, often complete with improvements that will help keep the part in service longer than the originals!

Hard-to-Find Circuit Breakers

If you’re unsure where to look for an older or obsolete circuit breaker, start with our circuit breaker equipment search or our mobile ap NPE on the GO to see if the product you’re looking for is in our inventory. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, there’s a good chance we know how to help. Contact us for those hard-to-find circuit breakers or equipment, and we’ll be happy to navigate you in the right direction. 

At NPE our motto is always, "The right equipment, at the right price, right now!"

 ED 12/22

*Based on informal survey of customers 1994-2024