E-Distribuţie Banat, the electricity distribution operator part of the Enel group, invested 127 million lei last year in digitalization and the modernization of electricity equipment and networks in Arad, Timiș, Caraș Severin and Hunedoara counties.
The investments in the high voltage networks and equipment amounted to 20 million lei in 2020 and aimed, among others, to modernize the Muzicescu station in Timișoara, as well as the Chisineu Cris, Simeria, IRUM stations and the refurbishment of the Orăștie station (Hunedoara). As far as the medium and low voltage networks are concerned, the investments amounted to about 50 million lei and included projects in Timișoara, Buziaș, Urseni, Curtici, Maderat, Mănăștur, Ususău, Horia, Biled, Poltura, Bucova, Lugoj, Sarvale, Oravița, Topleț, Orăștie, Băița, Ghiroda, Parta, Uivar, Maguri, Moșnița Nouă, Belint.
“E-Distribuţie Banat continued last year to allocate significant amounts for projects aimed at reducing the duration of outages and expanding the network’s capacity to supply new consumers. An important component of these investments is the digitalization process. In 2020 alone, our distribution company installed smart meters for about 50,000 customers in the counties of Arad, Caraş-Severin, Hunedoara and Timiș,” said Gino Celentano, General Manager of E-Distribuţie Banat, Dobrogea and Muntenia.
In total, the three Romanian distribution companies of the Enel group installed over 170,000 smart meters last year, in the areas where they operate. The investment amounts to over 56 million lei leading to 900,000 Enel customers benefiting from this technology by the end of 2020.
In Timiș County, on the medium voltage segment, the company implemented an extended project in Buziaș, in order to increase the capacity and safety in supply of about 7,000 customers and, implicitly, to reduce the number of incidents and the duration of interruptions. The total value of the investment amounted to over 7 million lei and aimed to replace the medium voltage overhead power line with a 10 km underground line. The company has also modernized 18 secondary stations by installing cells, new stations with capacities between 160 kVA and 400 kVA and by mounting telecontrol equipment. Classic low voltage uninsulated conductors were replaced with insulated conductors designed to supply both customers and public lighting circuits. On the medium voltage segment as well, the modernization project of the VI Fratelia overhead power line was completed in Giroc, to the benefit of 5,800 homes.
As far as the low voltage lines are concerned, the works on the grid that serves the Ghiroda locality have been completed, with the investment amounting to 4.6 million lei, to the benefit of over 6,000 inhabitants. In Timișoara, investments of 8 million lei were scheduled for two projects to revamp overhead and underground electrical networks, started as part of the events for the European Capital of Culture. Secondary stations were also being prepared to ensure communication with the smart meters installed at customer locations.
In June, E-Distribuţie Banat allocated almost 120,000 lei for the electricity supply of the Military Field Hospital dedicated to patients with Covid -19.
In Hunedoara, the most important projects in 2020 aimed at modernizing the medium voltage networks in Deva and Orăștie, with the investments amounting to a total cumulative value of 15 million lei. In Orăștie, 90% of the cables have been replaced and new equipment has been installed, ensuringthe possibility of operating manoeuvres from the dispatcher, through the Telecontrol system. E-Distributie Banat also rebuilt the medium voltage lines affected by the floods in June.
In addition, In Hunedoara, E-Distribuţie Banat has completed last year works on the low voltage power lines in Băița, Câinelul de Sus, Crăciunești and Săliște, to the benefit of hundreds of consumers. The investment amounts to 1.1 million lei. Also, in Petroșani, the low voltage lines located on Nedeii, Gheorghe Șincai, Vasile Lupu, Matei Basarab, George Enescu, Oltului streets were being modernized.
In Arad, the investments made by E-Distribuţie Banat in the modernization of the medium voltage networks were 35% higher in 2020 compared to 2019, reaching 16 million lei. Among the beneficiary localities are Curtici, Ususau or Poltura. In Chisinau-Cris and the Gai district in Arad, secondary stations have been modernized, while in Hălmagiu, the low voltage lines have been revamped. Moreover, the company continued investing in digitalization by installing equipment on medium voltage lines to allow customers to reconnect in up to 3 minutes, well below the time needed for a field intervention.
In Caraș-Severin county, works were uperformed on the medium voltage lines in Reșița and Bucova, as well as for the replacement of used separators on many lines of this type in the county. Low voltage lines were being modernized in Oravița and Topleț localities, an investment amounting to 1.8 million lei. In Resita, the Telecontrol system was being activated,for 35 statio,s allowing the remote control of the connection and manoeuvring devices in the electricity network.