2010-07-27 - ABB power equipment is helping Engro Energy Limited, an emerging Independent Power Producer (IPP) in Pakistan, and the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), Pakistan’s largest utility company, to distribute reliable power from one of Engro's power plants to millions of residents across Pakistan.
Planned blackouts are a major problem in Pakistan. Not only has it affected the quality of life for residents, it has also hampered industrial productivity a great deal in the country. Fortunately, a number of private companies in Pakistan are now taking a proactive approach to solving the issue. One such company is Engro Energy Limited, a subsidary of Engro Corporation, which was set-up to develop power projects in Pakistan to help reduce power shortages in the country.
Delivering reliable power with no losses
At one of their power project in the country, Engro wanted to connect its 225MW combined cycle power plant with NTDC’s 220kV national network.
Engro selected ABB to supply a state-of-the-art 220kV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) solution to make the connection possible. This installation includes nine GIS bays, along with local control cabinets, protection relays, power and distribution transformers, medium and low-voltage power products and control cables, as well as integration the entire control of the GIS with the established distributed control systems.
ABB's solution is specifically designed for future upgrading as both main circuits and control/protection are totally modular. This means the customer can expand and adapt the system based on future power demand.
“We were looking for a compact, future-proof and high-performance GIS that would transport electrical energy with low losses, strong reliability, easy maintenance, high degrees of safety year-round and competent support in Pakistan; ABB was able to deliver all fronts,” says Sohail Ahmed, electrical manager for Engro Energy Limited. "With the new ABB solution in place, we have reliable electrical transmission and distribution systems and therefore succeed in our quest to strengthen the power grid in Pakistan."
Timely and quality project execution
The ABB team successfully installed the 220kV Gas Insulated Switchgear system in just 35 days instead of the initially scheduled project duration of five months. The substation was successfully energized earlier this year and has been running smoothly ever since. Engro was very impressed by ABB's commitment to speedy and high quality project execution and commended the ABB in Pakistan team's expertise and level of service over the course of the project.
This ABB GIS system installation will now be a benchmark for other utilities across the country in terms of leveraging the latest technologies for switchgear, protection, control and automation.