Innovative switchgear technology to strengthen power supply in key city
Zurich, Switzerland, March 13, 2006 - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, said today it has won a $76 million turnkey substation contract with the U.K. utility, National Grid, to strengthen the power supply southeast of Manchester, one of the country’s largest and most important cities.
ABB will replace an existing outdoor 275 kilovolt (kV) substation now nearing the end of its service-life with an indoor substation based on compact, state-of-the-art, gas insulated switchgear (GIS). GIS technology will reduce the size of the installation, currently as big as four soccer fields, by 90 percent.
“Our state-of-the art GIS technology will help ensure reliable power delivery to one of the U.K.’s most important commercial centers,” said Samir Brikho, head of ABB’s Power Systems division. “It is the latest in a series of orders from National Grid, underlining their confidence in our innovative technology and our ability to execute large projects.”
As well as replacing the 45-year-old 275 kV air insulated switchgear (AIS) substation, the project includes reconfiguring overhead lines coming into the substation, as well as system reinforcements. An adjacent 400 kV AIS substation will also be extended.
The new GIS substation is scheduled to be operational by November 2008; all remaining work is to be completed by February 2009.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 104,000 people.