E-Distribuţie Muntenia, the electricity distribution operator part of the Enel Group, invested almost 230 million lei in digitalization and modernization of the equipment and the electricity grids in Ilfov and Giurgiu counties, and in Bucharest. Of the current planned investments, over 60 million lei have been allocated to 110 KV lines and stations, 73 million lei to medium and low voltage lines, 30 million lei to supply points and secondary stations, and almost 40 million lei to measuring equipment.
In Bucharest, Giurgiu and Ilfov, E-Distribuţie Muntenia has scheduled for 2020 the installation of approximately 80,000 smart meters. In total, the three Romanian distribution companies of the Enel group install over 170,000 smart meters this 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.
“The safety in supplying our customers is a priority to us. The investment programs carried out by E-Distributie Muntenia drove improvements in the quality, resiliency and efficiency of our distribution system. These investments increase the reliability of the installations, improve the quality of the distribution service, and ensure the necessary power both for the existing consumers and for new connection requests. Complex projects are being implemented, covering the modernization, digitalization, amplification of the installed power, introduction of secondary stations into the telecontrol system and the replacement of the power lines to align them to the standards in force,” said Gino Celentano, General Manager of E-Distribuţie Banat, E-Distribuţie Dobrogea and Muntenia.
Following the investments started this year in Bucharest, 12 secondary stations are being modernized to the benefit of 280,000 household and industrial customers. The investments include the extension of the connection to the 110/20 kV “Mașini Grele” station, a project that ensures the increase in supply flexibility for the new residential areas in the 4th District and in the communes of Berceni, Jilava as well as in Popești-Leordeni. Also, the extension and amplification works of the Laromet secondary station ensure the stability in its operation, in the supply of 5,900 household and industrial customers in district 1 of the Capital, while also guaranteeing the possibility to connect new consumers. At the same time, the modification in the operation scheme of the secondary station increases the safety in the power supply of the subway line M4 Gara Basarab-Parc Bazilescu. The investment carried out includes works both on the electrical side and on the construction side, its value exceeding 7,000,000 lei.
Due to voltage fluctuations in the high voltage grid, especially on Saturdays and Sundays, it was necessary to replace two existing stations at the 110/10 kV IREMOAS station with new ones. By making this investment worth almost 2,850,000 lei, the risks of failure in customer installations is reduced, raising the service performance standard for 3,800 household and industrial customers in the western part of Bucharest.
Throughout this year, the distribution company carried out works of over 10 million lei, aimed at the modernization and structural consolidation of the most important secondary station, București Nord. It has an installed power of 240 MVA and supplies energy to the centre of Bucharest, respectively Dorobanți, Ștefan cel Mare, Piața Romană, Bulevardul Tei, Piața Victoriei, Calea Victoriei, Banu Manta, Titulescu, Kiseleff, Șoseaua Nordului, Nicolae Caranfil, Calea Griviței. Modernization works on the energy installations at Obor and Filaret stations were also started this year. In total, E-Distribuţie Muntenia has allocated approximately 21 million lei to the new equipment of the three 110 kV secondary stations, to the benefit of over 180 thousand electricity consumers in Bucharest.
In addition to the projects related to the secondary stations, modernization projects for the high voltage overhead or underground lines in Bucharest, Ilfov and Giurgiu counties have also been implemented. These include the replacement of the Militari-Grozăvești, Militari-Răzoare, Grozăvești-Răzoare overhead power lines. The investment contributes to reducing the risks of overloads and ensures the possibility to connect new consumers in the area. In addition, the project reduces the risk of environmental pollution by replacing the old technology. The total value of the investment amounts to over 22,650,000 lei and consists in the replacement of 12 km of high voltage underground power lines, using new cables with increased transmission capacity.
In Ilfov County, E-Distribuţie Muntenia invests in 110 kV and 6 kV equipment and introduces remote control system in secondary stations. In Pantelimon, the company has carried out works for the modernization of the energy installations, as well as for construction-assembly. The technical solution applied in the locality improves the quality of the distribution service for 9,500 household and non-household consumers in the locality.
In Giurgiu county, E-Distribuţie Muntenia modernizes and introduces the remote control system at the 110/6 kV Puieni power station. The project provides the source of the energy supply of the irrigation facilities in Puieni, an investment with a major impact on the sustainable development of the nearby agricultural area. The investment worth 2.3 million lei involved major works for modernization and technological adaptation. The works were carried out in a record time ofunder 3 months, so that the secondary station, respectively the pumping station, would be functional at the beginning of this year’s dry period.
In Ilfov and Giurgiu counties, the company has also carried out investments in 2020 on 4 high voltage lines to replace the classic steel-aluminium protection conductors with modern ones, with built-in fibre optic cables. The works are carried out in the areas of Jilava-Colibași, Solex-Fundulea, Ghizdaru-Giurgiu Nord, Domnești-Bujoreni and 3 of these lines have already been completed, for a total distance of 83 km. The purpose of these works is to protect the efficiency of the high voltage lines against lightning strikes and to build a telecommunications network that allows the remote operation of the secondary station installations.
As for medium and low voltage grids in Bucharest, Ilfov and Giurgiu are concerned, the company invested over 105 million lei in modernization projects to reduce the incidence and duration of defects, as well as to ensure the connection capacity of new consumers. The works consist in the replacement of the old equipment in the secondary stations and supply points, of the old underground cable networks, and the modernization of the electricity metering installations by relocating them to the property limit.