GE Renewable Energy's Grid Solutions business has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract from Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to automate 39 substations of various ratings across Nepal, including construction of six Master Control Centers (MCCs). The MCCs will be monitored by GE Digital Solutions, a company statement said, adding that the project is funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The project scope also includes retrofitting of relay panels and other electrical components in the substations. After the substations are automated, GE will connect the substations to Nepal's National Load Dispatch Center (NLDC) to enable real-time monitoring of power transmitting through these substations. "Modernisation of these substations will help strengthen Nepal's power transmission network to meet current and future demands, improve reliability and quality of supply, and reduce losses. We are happy to award this contract to GE as part of this mission," Kul Man Ghising, Managing Director, NEA, said in the statement.
Johan Bindele, Grid Systems Integration Leader for GE Grid Solutions, said, "Intelligent controls are needed to ensure the smooth functioning of the grid and to manage the increase in power capacity. The modernisation of these substations will significantly improve the quality of power transmission in Nepal." Following years of chronic electricity shortages during Nepal's dry winter months, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has significantly improved the country's power generation capacity in recent years.
However, it stated that the transmission system continues to need strengthening to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted supply of power from generating locations to the load centres. In 2016, the Nepal's government initiated plans to install an additional 10,000 MW of generation capacity over the next 10 years and export the excess electricity to neighbouring countries. These plans demanded immediate upgrade and expansion of the country's transmission systems.
