Success Stories

The challenge

CFE’s División Oriente substations in the Veracruz Zone operate under high salt contamination — a coastal environment with permanent humidity — which accelerates insulator deterioration and causes failures from electrical tracking.

The solution

First Silidriel application in 1999 at the Paso del Toro, Alvarado and Cardel substations. No subsequent touch-up was required for more than two decades.

The result

By 2020 — 21 years later — the equipment had not experienced a single electrical failure. CFE’s Head of the Distribution Department issued a formal letter confirming the results. A touch-up was considered in 2021, reaching 22 years of real in-field service life.

“The Silidriel Elastomeric Coating has been applied for more than 20 years at several electrical substations in the Veracruz zone, such as Paso del Toro, Alvarado and Cardel. The first applications were carried out in 1999. To date the equipment has not been retouched and has shown no electrical failures.”

Context

GrupoDriel visited the Temascal II Substation and took 3 insulators from the 230 kV power reactor. The insulators showed low hydrophobicity and hydrophilic contaminants that absorbed ambient moisture.

Methodology

Insulation resistance was measured under 3 conditions: (1) dirty, as received from the line; (2) cleaned with Lavadriel at 1,200 psi; (3) coated with Silidriel 2000. Wet tests (950 µS/cm) with LAPEM-calibrated equipment.

Resistance results (GΩ)

Source: RPE-027-REV00 — GrupoDriel Electrical Testing Laboratory (2018)

The challenge

Cemex’s plants in the Philippines operate in a tropical climate with high relative humidity and airborne cement dust — a combination that causes severe electrical tracking on high-voltage insulators. Conventional preventive maintenance was not enough to ensure operational continuity.

The solution

GrupoDriel exported Silidriel technology to Cemex’s facilities in the Philippines. The team performed the application directly in the field, working on substations with insulators of various voltages under tropical conditions.

Result

This project was one of the first to demonstrate GrupoDriel’s ability to operate internationally and in conditions different from those in Mexico, establishing the Silidriel brand as a global solution for insulators in aggressive industrial environments.