ABB wins $140 million substations order in Qatar

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order worth around $140 million from the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), the sole transmission and distribution system owner and operator for the electricity and water sector in Qatar.

ABB will build four new transmission substations and upgrade four existing substations to help meet the growing residential and commercial demand for electricity in the region, in particular the new Al Rayyan village development and other suburbs in and around the fast-developing greater Doha area.

The substations will deploy our latest GIS technology which provides an extremely compact footprint and is ideally suited for such urban applications, said Peter Leupp, head of ABBs Power Systems division. "They will help provide reliable, efficient and high-quality supply of electricity to this fast-developing region, and also strengthen the transmission network.

ABB will design, supply, install and commission four new 66/11 kV (kilovolt) GIS (gas-insulated switchgear) substations as part of a turnkey contract that also includes key products like shunt reactors, transformers, medium-voltage switchgear and cables.

The substations will be equipped with ABB automation systems and the latest generation of protection and control products, compliant with the IEC 61850 global substation communications standard. In addition, ABB will upgrade four existing transmission substations to help strengthen the power network and enhance grid reliability. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

Kahramaa is rapidly expanding and enhancing its power grid to meet growing demand for power in the region. Its transmission grid comprises about 200 primary high-voltage and extra-high voltage substations as well as hundreds of kilometers of overhead lines and underground cables. The distribution network includes about 6,500 low- and medium-voltage substations, supported by more than 4,500 km of cable lines.

Qatar is an oil-and-gas rich nation, with the third largest proven natural gas reserves in the world. It is currently the worlds leading exporter of LNG (liquefied natural gas).

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 117,000 people.