Swiss engineering group ABB said on Wednesday it has won a contract worth $89 million to build a new substation in Riyadh for Saudi Electricity Co (SEC). ABB would design, supply, install and commission the 380/132/13.8 kilovolt (KV) substation, the firm said in an emailed statement. It would also carry out civil work on the project which is expected to be completed in around 22 months, the Swiss firm added. The substation, near the King Abdullah Financial District, would feed four smaller substations within the district, ABB said. SEC plans to spend around $46 billion on power generation, $30 billion on transmission and $20 billion on distribution till 2018. The project is expected to be completed in around 22 months. ABB is responsible for the turnkey delivery of a 380/132/13.8 kV (kilovolt) substation, and will design, supply, install and commission the installation as well as carry out the civil works. Key products to be supplied include the gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), transformers, medium-voltage switchgear and cables. The substation will be equipped with an IEC 61850 compliant automation, control and protection system. IEC 61850 is an international communications standard that ensures interoperability and open communications between substation devices and other grid installations. “This substation will deploy our latest GIS technology with an extremely compact footprint, ideal for such urban applications,” said Peter Leupp, head of ABB's Power Systems division. “It will help provide reliable, efficient and high-quality supply of electricity to this prestigious financial center.” The King Abdullah financial district is being developed to support Saudi Arabia's vision of being the largest economy and financial hub in the region. It will host the headquarters of the Capital Market Authority, the Saudi Stock Exchange as well as several banks, financial institutions and other service providers. It will also accommodate a large community of professionals working in the financial sector and related industries. Substations are key installations in the power grid that facilitate the efficient transmission and distribution of electricity. They include equipment that protects and controls the flow of electrical power. ABB is the world's leading supplier of air- and gas-insulated substations covering a range of voltage levels up to 1,100 kV. Saudi Electricity Company said the Kingdom's power demand is seeing an 8 percent rise per year and that 30,000 megawatts have to be added by end of 2020 to the current 46,000 megawatts power generation capacity which will cost SAR170 billion.
