BE 400/18 kV Substation Renovation Project

The 400/18 kV SPS main substation was designed for the 400 GeV SPS project and was commissioned in 1974. It has been upgraded several times to form the present 400/66/18 kV SPS and LEP transmission power comprising 490 MVA and 240 MVAR installed power. The beginning of the LHC project and the obsolescence of the main elements, and consequently limited reliability, made it necessary to begin a complete renovation program. The new configuration of the substation will integrate the new compensator of reactive power efficiently into the 18 kV pulsed network. In this way the new compensator will facilitate the functioning of the pulsed network with the new loads and it will improve the performance of the electrical substation. The renovation program consists in a global reorganisation of the substation, with the total replacement of the 18 kV power equipment, a set up of new control and protection systems for the 18 kV and 400 kV section and the reconditioning of all the 400 kV equipment.