ACTOM Energy Namibia (AEN) has been awarded a R100-million contract by Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) to design, manufacture, supply, install and commission specialised switchgear and substation protection and automation systems for a new indoor 132/66/33 kV substation the utility is to establish in Swakopmund, Namibia.
The new Sekelduin substation, due to be completed in early-2025, is being constructed to meet increased demand for power resulting from rapid growth of the coastal city and surrounding areas and to cater for future expansion in the region.
Except for the transformers, all the substation equipment will be supplied by ACTOM group divisions and business units: ACTOM High Voltage Equipment, ACTOM MV Switchgear and ACTOM Protection & Control, working with their respective international technology partners.
Struan Steele, General Manager at AEN said: “NamPower initiated the construction of a substation building on the outskirts of Swakopmund to house all the substation equipment, to protect it from the salty air blowing in from the ocean. This would cause corrosion and deposits of coastal pollution if the substation were to be erected in a conventional open yard.”
Consequently, the 132 kV and 66 kV switchgear from GE Grid, ACTOM High Voltage Equipment’s international technology partner, will comprise hybrid equipment in which air-insulated switchgear (AIS) and gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) are combined into single switchgear units. These units are much more compact than the equivalent AIS units normally used in open air substation yards.
The HyPact HV switchgear is well-proven and used worldwide in similar applications. In total, 11 HyPact switchgear units – six 132 kV units and five 66 kV units – will be supplied by GE Grid to the project.
The 33 kV switchgear for the new indoor substation will comprise a 4-panel switchboard of type GHA single busbar GIS switchgear from Schneider Electric, ACTOM MV Switchgear’s international technology partner. This product is already widely used in South Africa and many other African countries. MV Switchgear will assemble the switchboard, as well as design, manufacture and assemble the LV compartments for the panels, at its Knights, Germiston, plant.
The protection, automation and control system, which will be supplied by ACTOM Protection & Control (P&C), will provide the required protection and control of the HyPact switchgear units and the GHA switchgear panels. The system is designed and manufactured by P&C using product and services from leading US-based international company Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL).
Based on the international standard for communication between the primary plant and the substation IEDs, IEC61850-9-2, this system, was first introduced in 2005 and has been in use in NamPower substations since 2009. It makes use of an Ethernet network which replaces the traditional analogue cabling between the protection and metering IEDs and the primary plant comprising current and voltage transformers as well as circuit breakers and switches.
The main advantages of substation automation and communication equipment based on this standard are:
- Replacement of all substation cabling with a fibre-optic LAN, with associated cost savings
- Establishing redundancy, which is difficult with analogue cabling
- Flexibility in the design and maintenance of the automation system throughout the life of the substation
- Reduction of copper cabling and the associated risk of cable theft.
P&C will collaborate with SEL in the design, manufacture, installation and testing of the substation automation system for the Sekelduin substation project.
"We are looking forward to working with Nampower and SEL to deliver on this project, which will be a first for us,” commented Herman Mare, P&C’s General Manager.
All the control cabling for the project will be manufactured and supplied by ACTOM’s longstanding associate Metal Fabricators of Zambia (ZAMEFA), based at Luanshya in the Copperbelt.
Installation and commissioning of the substation equipment will be undertaken, under supervision by ACTOM, by Megatron Engineering Namibia, a Windhoek-based Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) contractor, which AEN has previously subcontracted to install electrical equipment for various projects around the country.
The tender, issued early last year, was strongly contested among a number of electrical equipment manufacturers and suppliers.
“Preparation of our tender was, of course, a joint effort, in which all the ACTOM divisions involved played an important role,” said Steele. “I am grateful to all of them and I am especially grateful to ACTOM High Voltage Equipment for its assistance in preparing its part of the tender, which contributed substantially to our success in winning this contract,” he added.
The contract is the largest AEN has been awarded since it was established in 2013.
For more information visit: www.actom.co.za
