Retele Electrice Banat company, part of PPC Group in Romania, launched, through the public procurement information system, a procurement procedure for works for the modernization of medium and low voltage grids in Cenad, Timis County, for the benefit of approximately 1,600 inhabitants. The value of the tender is 45.2 million RON, without VAT.
“The need to invest in the resilience and modernization of electricity grids is a current and essential topic, but perhaps it is time to explain punctually what efforts such a single project entails both technically and financially. Perhaps for a resident of Cenad, a historic locality with several thousand inhabitants, it is enough to have the peace of mind that they will no longer have issues with interruptions in electricity supply following tempests or extreme storms, more frequent and intense throughout the year, in the context of climate change. But for us, the distribution network operator, this customer peace of mind means innovative design solutions that involve a part of the energy infrastructure to be grounded, as in the case of secondary substations, and part of the power lines to be moved underground, but also to increase the degree of digitization of the grid for faster interventions.
Digitizing the network means both field equipment that detects the place where damage occurs, sensors in installations that monitor load, temperature, environment, as well as applications and automations that make the network work, at least partially autonomously, meaning that manoeuvres to reconnect customers are done automatically. Going underground means not only resilience for the grid, but also a very good coexistence of the grid with the environment in which it is installed. It eliminates the dangerous proximity of some constructions to the distribution network, minimizes the impact of the network on birds and vegetation and improves the aesthetic aspect of Cenad, which has several historical objectives and is also a border crossing point.
In addition, being a historical locality, where houses predominate, we will replace overhead electrical connections with underground connections, and we will position the measuring group near the access gates to be easier to read by the representatives of the Retele Electrice company and reduce customer disturbance with the necessary activities on these measurement groups. And if we refer to the financial implications, for 1,600 inhabitants, the total value of the project, co-financed and European funds, reaches 58 million RON,” said Mihai Peste, general manager of Retele Electrice companies.
The works in Cenad consist of modernizing and amplifying eight transformer stations, by switching from the air station structure on the pole to the post in the concrete envelope and introducing them into the remote control system, so that maneuvers can be performed remotely, from the dispatch center, thus reducing the time needed to identify and remedy in case of incidents.
The project also includes the modernization of the low voltage network, by replacing conductors on a length of 43 km and their reconfiguration, introducing underground low voltage lines on a route of 2.92 km and a medium voltage line on a length of 8.65 km.
In addition, fiber optic lines will be installed to ensure fast communication necessary for remote network monitoring and control activities, as well as electricity quality analysers in each secondary substation.
The connections of the more than 1,600 customers targeted by these network upgrades will be replaced; on this occasion, measurement groups (meters) will be placed at the property limit.
The project has a total value of 58 million RON (VAT included) and is co-financed by the Modernization Fund with a maximum value of 34.45 million RON.
The deadline for submitting bids is July 15, 2024, and the works will have a duration of 25 months from the conclusion of the contract.
