State-owned Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) will transform its electricity grid into a smart grid with the help of Schneider Electric.
EEHC and the French industrial group signed a $287,5 million contract on 12 July to implement the project.
Schneider Electric will build four control centres, which will monitor and optimise the electricity network within the next 18 months. It will also install more than 12,000 smart ring main units through the national network during that time.
They project includes the upgrade of 1,000 distribution points and substations to be able to connect them to the smart grid. The network will be protected by cybersecurity software that is built into the hardware.
When completed this smart grid will be the Middle’s East’s first-ever country-wide smart grid that should meet the electricity needs of Egypt’s growing population as well as its industrial development, said Schneider Electric in a press release.
The four control centres will use the company’s Advanced Distribution Management System to monitor, control and reconfigure the network, through the use of big data and artificial intelligence.
Egypt’s smart grid to power future development
Egypt’s minister of electricity and renewable energy, Dr Mohamed Shaker, said the project would increase their grid efficiency and sustainability by deploying smart technologies.
“This project will also help advance the calibre of our engineers and workers, helping them to achieve new and advanced ways of working that will be utilised in the upcoming phases of our grid project.”
Much of the equipment that will be used for the project will be manufactured locally at Schneider Electric’s Cairo-based Badr plant. President Middle East and Africa at Schneider Electric, Caspar Herzberg, said the company is proud of the contribution they are making toward Egypt’s people and development.
“This smart grid will form the backbone of Egypt’s energy network for decades to come. It’s going to future-proof the country’s electricity requirements and will fast forward the country’s adoption of renewable solutions. This project will become a global example of the impact that smart grids can have on efficiency, safety and sustainability,” said Herzberg.
