E-Distribuție Muntenia invested approx. 14.5 million lei (3.15 million euros) for the first stages of the modernization of the Cotroceni primary station in Bucharest, a 3-year project which began in 2016, with a total investment value of 18 million lei, a company release states.
The modernisation works completed so far at the 110/10 kV station included the commissioning of the new high voltage equipment, with hybrid modules. On the medium voltage side, the equipment was replaced by new, modern and compact cells. Therefore, the station’s equipment is now up to date, with reduced bulk and increased reliability.
The completed works are an important part of the modernisation project of the Cotroceni station, one of the important stations in Bucharest, which serves about 26,000 consumers, including households, businesses and consumers of strategic importance. The station was put in function in 1974 and it serves, via the medium and low voltage grids, the areas Grozăvești, Regie, Crângași, Giulești, Cotroceni, Panduri, Eroilor, Răzoare, Iuliu Maniu and Drumul Sării.
Following the modernisation, the station has been included in the Telecontrol system, which allows the fast identification of the affected areas in case of malfunctions and the remote manoeuvres for the quick resupply of customers. The Telecontrol system is an important step toward a smart grid, bringing important benefits to customers in terms of security of supply.
Furthermore, the modernisation project creates the conditions for the connection of new consumers to the grid in the respective areas. The next stage of the modernisation project will include the commissioning of a new 20 kV station, supplied by 2 new 110/20 kV transformers, with a capacity of 25 MVA each, thereby increasing the total capacity of the transformer station from 80 MVA to 130 MVA. The modernisation increases the reliability of the equipment, which will help to reduce the number of interruptions to increase the quality of the distribution service.
The project is part of an extensive modernization programme carried out by the Enel companies in Romania which aims at securing a proper service to end users, enhancing the quality and security of the grid as well as complying with Enel’s environmental standards
As a result of grid modernisation, the three E-Distribuție companies in Muntenia, Banat and Dobrogea are the top performing electricity distribution operators in Romania in terms of quality of service in the past years. According to National Regulatory Authority for Energy (ANRE) data, in 2016, the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) for E-Distribuţie Muntenia was 172 minutes, the best in the country, while the national average was 290 minutes. E-Distributie Dobrogea and E-Distributie Banat also improved their performance and remained at the top of the best-performing operators in Romania, with SAIDI times of 217 minutes and 245 minutes, respectively.