Siemens Energy has received an order from the Abu Dhabi Transmission & Dispatch Co. (Transco), Abu Dhabi’s national electricity grid operator, as part of the project to expand the country’s power distribution network. Siemens and its partner Electromechanical LLC will supply five turnkey transformer substations including switchgear for the project. Siemens’ share of the order is worth a total of approximately EUR150 million.

“The Middle East plays an important role for Siemens. In the wake of the massive economic shift away from the dominance of oil toward logistics, for example, and increased tourism the region is literally thirsting for infrastructure solutions,” said Peter Löscher, President and CEO of Siemens AG. He is currently part of a delegation accompanying Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel in the lower Gulf region. In the prior fiscal year Siemens posted revenue in the region totaling approximately EUR1.2 billion and new orders amounting to EUR1.7 billion.

The substations – which will supply power to the CO2-free Masdar City and Abu Dhabi’s new airport, for example – are scheduled for completion by 2013. “We’re proud that Transco has again opted for field-proven, first-class equipment from Siemens for the expansion of Abu Dhabi’s electricity grid,” said Löscher. Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is expanding its electricity supply network on an ongoing basis in order to keep pace with the rising demand for energy. Analysts expect that electricity demand in the country will continue to grow by ten percent each year.

The order entails the turnkey supply of three 132/11 kV transformer substations and two 132/22 kV substations. They will be equipped with 20 Dresden-built 40-MVA transformers, gas-insulated switchgear, and protection and control equipment. A total of 356 gas-insulated switchgear bays comprising 46 for the 132-kV voltage level, 124 for 22 kV and 186 for 11 kV are to be supplied from Siemens’ plants in Berlin and Frankfurt.