Power and automation group ABB will this month deliver a R1.2-million UniPack compact substation to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s (CPUT’s) chemical engineering building, aimed at improving the university’s electrical network monitoring.
The substation, the first to be supplied by ABB in South Africa, will also provide a real-time training platform for students, as it facilitates the viewing and analysis of electrical signals fed to a control room computer screen, or remote terminal unit.
The installation of the substation forms part of CPUT’s current refurbishment of the Bellville campus’s electrical reticulation network, which will have new switchgear and protective relays compatible with IEC61850 standard technology, which covers all communication issues inside a substation.
ABB electrification products product group manager Manie Jooste adds that the system is also beneficial for municipalities as they can now monitor their compact substations that are remotely located. “One central control room allows an overview of the full electrical system,” he notes.