ZURICH – ABB Ltd said Wednesday it has won orders worth around $170 million to carry out substation projects for the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the Kingdom's national power transmission and distribution operator. The orders were booked in the third quarter. ABB will design, supply, install and commission a substation to help meet the increased demand for electricity in and round the central pilgrimage area of Makkah. The substation, which deploys ABB's compact and robust gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) technology, will be housed in a multistoried building located in a populous and congested area. “These substations will help strengthen the grid infrastructure and enhance power capacity to address the growing electricity demand in the country," said Brice Koch, head of ABB's Power Systems division. “They will also help to improve reliability and quality of power supplies while ensuring energy efficiency." ABB will also build four other transmission and distribution GIS substations in the western and southern regions of the Kingdom. The turnkey projects are scheduled for completion by 2014 and include delivery of products such as high- and medium-voltage switchgear, transformers, auxiliary systems and cables. — SG
