Siemens has received an order from the state-run energy provider, Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), to supply 46 transformer substations for Bangladesh. The order includes the design, delivery and installation as well as testing and commissioning of the substations, which have a voltage level of 33 and 11 kilovolts (kV). The equipment is intended to be used for the distribution grid in the states of Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet and increasingly supply rural areas with electricity. The order volume for Siemens is worth round EUR 40 million.
Siemens will build outdoor substations for the 33-kV voltage level and enclosed substations for the 11-kV voltage level. The scope of supply also includes the power transformers, the outdoor vacuum circuit-breakers with converters, the insulators with and without grounding switches, the converters for outdoor installation as well as 11-kV switchgear for indoor installation. The turnkey project involves cooperation between the two regional companies, Siemens Bangladesh and Siemens India, under the leadership of Siemens India.
In Bangladesh, access to electricity cannot be taken for granted. Rural areas in particular are often cut off from the power grid. The government of Bangladesh has set itself the goal of fully electrifying the country by 2021. BREB is responsible for permanent electrification of the rural regions in Bangladesh and will help realize the Bangladesh government's vision of achieving full coverage by 2021. The project is part of BREB's efforts to expand the power distribution system in the country. While electrification programs over the past few decades have concentrated primarily on urban centers, the Rural Electricity Transmission and Distribution Project is now focusing on expanding the rural infrastructure.
