ABB Power Grids announced that it signed a five-year framework contract estimated to be worth around $100 million with South America’s largest utilities company, Interconexion Electrica S.A. E.S.P. (ISA).
ISA currently operates over 62,000 kilometers of power transmission infrastructure with over 7,000 kilometers more under construction. The company also provides services in transportation, information and telecommunications.
ABB will supply shunt reactors to the ISA grid, ensuring that the voltage stays within safe limits and helping to avoid blackouts. In addition, the contract includes the supply of gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), air-insulated switchgear (AIS) equipment such as circuit breakers, instrument transformers and hybrid modules.
Shunt reactors are based on the same technology as transformers and ABB Power Grids said that it pioneered transformers and high-voltage equipment over 130 years ago and that it is continuing to drive innovations in this space.
ABB Power Grids has been contributing to the integration of sustainable electricity generation in South America for decades. Notable projects include the Itaipu HVDC transmission system in Brazil, first commissioned in 1984, transmitting up to 6.3 gigawatts of hydropower. Another being the supply of essential power equipment for integration of the Ituango hydro power station into the power grid, which will generate as much as 14 percent of the energy used in Columbia when it comes online in 2021.
Additionally, ABB Power Grids solutions are being used in the integration of vast wind and solar power systems throughout Chile and in Brazil’s largest solar farm.
