August 10, 2009 – ABB won orders worth $60 million from Saudi Electricity Company, Saudi Arabia’s national power transmission and distribution utility, to improve the power efficiency of 28 distribution substations. ABB is responsible for the design, engineering, supply, installation and commissioning of the projects, which are expected to be completed by 2010. ABB technologies will improve the power factor, which is a measure of how efficiently power is being used.
“These solutions will enable the substations to operate more efficiently, thereby increasing the availability of electricity and improving power quality,” said Peter Leupp, head of ABB’s Power Systems division.ABB will provide power factor correction for 19 substations rated 33/13.8 kilovolts in central, southern and northwestern provinces, and for nine, 132/33 kV substations in and around the capital, Riyadh. Products to be supplied include capacitor banks, reactors, medium-voltage switchgear, protection and control equipment, and a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system to help the utility manage the flow of power in the network. A distribution system’s operating power comprises active or “working” power and reactive or “non-working” power.
Power factor represents the ratio between the two and is a measure of a power network's efficiency. A low power factor indicates poor efficiency and must be corrected.ABB has successfully commissioned several substations in the region, executing projects on a fast track to help meet growing electricity needs and high summer loads ABB 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 120,000 people.
