Customer Requirements
Country Energy's East Tamworth substation required upgrading due to the ageing of the electrical assets. The original switchboard at the East Tamworth substation was installed in the 1960s and required replacing as a result of the risk associated with its age. The unique aspect of this project was that the switchboard was to be housed in a transportable substation. The size of the switchroom needed to be developed in accordance with site requirements, and the building needed to include air conditioning systems for heat loading requirements in addition to appropriate outlets for the 11kV switchboard.
Solution
We were successful in winning the business by offering the customer a technically innovative solution and the ability to manage a large scale project. Siemens worked with suppliers and sub-contractors to design and custom build the transportable building. As a strategy for reducing the time required for site construction, the transportable building was built offsite and then transported to the East Tamworth substation via road. We delivered the new 11kV switchboard and transportable building in the defined 12-month timeframe.
Benefits
- MetCountry Energy's specific CT requirements and protection strategies
- Provided operators and maintenance staff the best safety features available, including the Simoporime A2 switchboard, which allows all operations to be conducted behind closed doors
- Extended the life of the asset with vacuum type circuit breakers, which are free of major maintenance
- Reduced maintenance programs by supplying reliable equipment, with considerable savings achieved
- Enabled customer to meet the growing power demand in north east New South Wales and provide a highly reliable standard of electricity