ACTOM Energy Namibia (AEN) has been awarded a R100-million contract by Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) to design, manufacture, supply, install and commission specialised switchgear and substation protection and automation systems for a new indoor 132/66/33 kV substation the utility is planning to establish in Swakopmund, Namibia.

The new Sekelduin substation, due to be completed in early 2025, is being built to meet increased demand for power resulting from rapid growth of the coastal city and surrounding areas and to cater for future expansion in the region.

With the exception of the transformers, all the substation equipment will be supplied by ACTOM group divisions and business units, namely ACTOM High Voltage Equipment, ACTOM MV Switchgear and ACTOM Protection and Control.

“NamPower initiated the construction of a substation building on the outskirts of Swakopmund to house all the substation equipment to protect it from the salty air blowing in from the ocean, which would cause corrosion and deposits of coastal pollution were it to be erected in a conventional open yard substation,” explains AEN GM Struan Steele.

Consequently, the 132 kV and 66 kV switchgear from GE Grid, ACTOM High Voltage Equipment’s international technology partner, will comprise hybrid equipment in which air-insulated switchgear (AIS) and gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) are combined into single switchgear units that are said to be much more compact than the equivalent AIS units normally used in open air substation yards.

The high-voltage switchgear, branded HyPact, is said to be widely used worldwide in similar applications. A total of 11 HyPact switchgear units, comprising six 132 kV units and five 66 kV units, will be supplied by GE Grid to the project.

The 33 kV switchgear for the new indoor substation will comprise a four-panel switchboard type GHA single busbar GIS switchgear from Schneider Electric, ACTOM MV Switchgear’s international technology partner.

This product is said to already be widely in use in South Africa and many other African countries. MV Switchgear will assemble the switchboard, as well as design, manufacture and assemble the low-voltage compartments for the panels, at its plant in Knights, Germiston, in South Africa.

The protection, automation and control scheme to be supplied by ACTOM Protection and Control (P&C) will provide the necessary protection and control of the HyPact switchgear units and the GHA switchgear panels. The scheme is designed and manufactured by P&C using product and services from US-based international company Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories.

The scheme, based on the international standard for communication between the primary plant and the substation intelligent electronic device (IEDs), namely IEC61850-9-2, came into effect in 2005 and has been in use in NamPower substations since 2009.

It uses an ethernet network and replaces the traditional analogue cabling between the protection and metering IEDs and the primary plant comprising current and voltage transformers, as well as circuit breakers and switches.

All the control cabling for the project will be manufactured and supplied by ACTOM’s long-standing associate Metal Fabricators of Zambia, based at Luanshya in the Copperbelt.

Installation and commissioning of the substation equipment will be undertaken, under supervision by ACTOM, by Megatron Engineering Namibia, a Windhoek-based engineering, procurement and construction management contractor, which AEN has previously subcontracted to install electrical equipment for various projects around the country.

The contract is the largest AEN has been awarded since its inception in 2013.