AREVA’s Transmission and Distribution (T&D) division has won two contracts in Tunisia, totaling 62 million euros, to build five high-voltage substations and two electricity control centers. The turnkey contracts, with national utility Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz (STEG), are part of the country’s 10th grid reinforcement program.

Under the first contract worth 41 million euros, AREVA will design, manufacture, build and install five 90/33/11 kV high-voltage gas-insulated substations located in and around Tunis. AREVA will also provide connection works and equipment for three existing substations. The high-voltage substations will help boost the national transmission and distribution grid and will be Tunisia’s first to be equipped with a digital control system. The scope of the contract will also include B65-type 90 kV gas-insulated switchgear, WS-type 33 and 11 kV gas-insulated switchboards as well as commissioning, testing and training services.

Under the second contract totaling 21 million euros, AREVA will design and build a new national and regional control center in Northern Tunisia. AREVA will also build a second regional control center and a back up for the national control center located in the south of the country. The control centers will enable the STEG to efficiently manage the country’s entire transmission network. Each control center will be equipped with a SCADA and Energy Management System based on AREVA’s e-terraplatform™ software. AREVA will also design and build a telecommunications infrastructure that will automatically exchange information with the control centers and which will cover 83 substations throughout the country. In addition, AREVA T&D will provide operation and maintenance training services for the telecommunications infrastructure and for the new energy management system.

These two projects follow recent projects by AREVA T&D in Africa including the largest power transformer contract ever awarded in Tunisia and the delivery of high-voltage substations in Algeria, Morocco and Libya. National control centers were also supplied by AREVA T&D in Ethiopia, Egypt and South Africa.