GE completes new substation in Cairo for future Egypt-Saudi Arabia power link-up

General Electric announced Tuesday it has completed building and connecting new Badr substation, north-eastern Cairo, in Egypt to the national grid for the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC).

The new 500/220 kilovolt (kV) Gas-Insulated Substation will dispatch 1.5 gigawatt of electricity, in response to increased power generation in the area and secure reliable power supply coupled with minimal losses of transferred power.

Badr turnkey substation, which came online end of September 2017, is to play a strategic role Egypt-Saudi Arabia Interconnection.

The project links the national grids of both countries from Badr city in Egypt to Madina and Tabuq cities in Saudi Arabia via a 1,300-kilometer transmission line.

Badr substation will connect 1.5 GW, or 50 percent of the Project’s total exchange capacity, which is the power equivalent to meet the needs of more than 1 million homes.

With a difference in peak demand times during the day for each country, the interconnection will help secure stable transmission to meet such needs.

The substation will leverage GE Power’s Grid Solutions portfolio, which includes GE’s T155 550 kV and B105 220 kV Gas-Insulated Substations.

These technologies meet the requirements of the network in terms of power generation, transmission and heavy industry applications.

Furthermore, the B105 & T155 are environmentally friendly, and contain digital monitoring control and protection capabilities that enable them to be readily integrated into the smart grid.

Gamal Abdel Rehim, EETC’s chairman said: “The Egypt-Saudi Arabia Interconnection is strategic for our electricity sector. We are proud of the work we’re doing with GE as a key partner and technology provider helping us realise this Project.

“GE’s advanced solutions will support us in meeting Egypt’s growing energy generation capacity and securing reliable power supply with efficient transmission of electricity,” Abdel Rehim further added.

GE is also providing local project management, engineering, design, fabrication, the erection of nine single phase power transformers, site management, testing and commissioning on a turnkey basis.

Also, GE will provide factory and site training for EETC’s engineers as well as the supply of spare parts.

Mohammed Mohaisen, chief executive of GE Power’s Grid Solutions business in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey said: “We are delighted to contribute towards Egypt’s target to upgrade its national electricity grid and proud to collaborate with the Ministry of Electricity and EETC to bring our latest technologies and solutions to address these needs.”

“The B105 and T155 are both environmentally friendly, have proven field reliability, higher availability and can easily be integrated into a smart grid,” Mohaisen stated.

“With an increase in power generation, the need for a more advanced electricity transmission network and Egypt’s growing industrial sector, these technologies will help address the changing requirements of the country’s grid infrastructure,” Mohaisen further referred.

Ayman Khattab, GE’s chief executive in North East Africa said: “We are honored to build on our 30-year partnership with EETC and to be a player in such a strategic project for Egypt and the region.

The Badr substation, which uses our advanced switchgear technologies, will help connect 50 percent of the Egypt-Saudi Arabia Interconnection Project, playing a key role in reinforcing the reliability of power needed for household and industrial use, Khattab showed.

This project reflects GE’s commitment to making a positive impact on the quality of life of Egyptians by helping provide a seamless supply and transmission of electricity.

GE has been a partner to Egypt for more than 40 years; today more than 150 GE gas and steam turbines are installed in the country, generating more than 15.5 gigawatts of power, enough to meet the electricity needs of more than 15 million Egyptian homes.