ABB has won an order worth around $40 million in the United States, from Public Service Electric & Gas to supply gas-insulated switchgear to two substations and help strengthen grid reliability. The order was booked in the third quarter of 2015.
The substations are part of PSE&G’s program to protect and strengthen utility substations against increasingly frequent severe weather occurrences and enable reliable and resilient energy delivery. Hillsdale substation in Bergen County is a 50-year-old air-insulated switchgear (AIS) facility that will be upgraded to protect the infrastructure and prevent power outages for residents during severe weather. The conversion of Jackson Road AIS substation in Passaic County to GIS will allow for increased capacity without expanding the substation footprint. GIS technology was chosen due to its robustness, reliability and significantly smaller footprint compared to conventional AIS.
ABB’s order scope includes design, supply and commissioning of 420 kV GIS type ELK-3, a compact and modular GIS solution in which key components including breakers, switches, contacts and conductors are protected with insulating gas. Furthermore, the compactness of this technology enables substations to be accommodated within buildings, further enhancing protection in harsh weather conditions.
In a power system, switchgear controls, protects and isolates electrical equipment to boost the reliability of power supply. ABB pioneered high-voltage GIS in the mid-1960s and continues to drive the technology, offering a full range product portfolio with voltage levels from 72.5 kV to 1,200 kV.
