10 February 2015, 00:00
Modernization of 132 kilovolt (kV) substation to meet growing power demand in Nairobi
ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order worth around $24 million from Kenya Power, the national electric utility and the country’s largest power transmission and distribution company, to upgrade an existing substation in Nairobi. This will help boost capacity and strengthen the capital city’s grid. The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Kenya Power, the nation’s electric utility and its largest transmission and distribution company, is replacing 50-year-old air-insulated switchgear at its Juja Road substation with space-saving gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), as well as boosting power transformer capacity by more than 50 percent.
As one of the most dynamic economies in Central and East Africa, Kenya’s capital and commercial center Nairobi has a growing population and is the base for the headquarters of several large African and international companies and organizations.
The Juja Road substation is a crucial hub for reliable power distribution in the city. Once completed in 2017, the upgraded substation will be one of the largest GIS substations of its kind in eastern Africa.
“The modernized indoor substation will help enhance power supplies to meet the increasing demand for electricity from residential consumers and businesses operating in the city,” said Claudio Facchin, head of ABB’s Power Systems division. “ABB’s compact GIS technology will reduce the substation’s footprint significantly, while enhancing aesthetics and increasing safety, efficiency and reliability.”
ABB’s GIS technologies can reduce space requirements by up to 70 percent compared to conventional air-insulated switchgear substations, making GIS substations ideal for densely populated urban areas and challenging environmental conditions.
ABB’s project scope includes substation design, supply, installation and commissioning. Key products include not only high-voltage switchgear and power transformers but also ABB’s IEC 61850-compliant open automation, control, protection and communication systems, enabling efficient local as well as remote monitoring and control from Kenya Power’s national control center.
ABB is the world’s leading supplier of air-insulated, gas-insulated and hybrid substations with voltage levels up to 1,100 kV. These substations facilitate the efficient and reliable transmission and distribution of electricity with minimum environmental impact, serving utility, industry and commercial customers as well as sectors like railways, urban transportation and renewables.