- GE has commissioned Africa’s first fully digital substation.
- The station will allow for more flexibility and system reliability aiding the clean energy transition.
General Electric (GE) has commissioned the first fully digital high voltage substation in Africa in Thiès near Dakar, Senegal. The facility, a 225kV substation project, is part of Senegal’s national electricity company Senelec’s transmission and distribution grid expansion, reinforcement and reliability enhancement program.
The project was implemented by GE and VINCI Energies West Africa following the contract award in 2018. The project involved installing and supervising GE’s Grid Solutions digital substation, panels, digital control system, current transducer optic and voltage transducer optic.
The digital substation, which employs software-based applications, will allow remote maintenance and upgrades, ensuring secure and efficient data exchange between multiple devices. In addition, the digital substation will enable real-time data analysis, which will optimise asset use and system reliability. This will help to adequately manage energy flow from clean energy sources aiding the clean energy transition.
GE’s Grid Solutions Business Sales Director, Eric Amoussouga, states that replacing copper cables with fibre-optic cables presents a safer option for workers during maintenance. “We are proud to have commissioned the first-ever fully digital substation in Africa, contributing to the increased reliability of Senegal’s electricity grid,” Amoussouga added.