The National Government of Egypt through the state’s Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) has completed the Al-Kosair – Marsa Alam power line project connecting Marsa Alam, a resort town on the Red Sea, to the national electricity grid for the first time.
This was revealed by Mohamed Shaker, the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energies who also mentioned that tests for the operation of the 220 kV, 150 km long Al-Kosair – Marsa Alam power line are underway.
The Al-Kosair – Marsa Alam power line project features two mobile transformer stations in Marsa Alam with a voltage of 220/22/22 kV and a capacity of 60 MVA per unit.
Plans to connect the entire southeast coast of the Red Sea to the grid
The minister said that the Al-Kosair – Marsa Alam power line is a pilot phase and that the government intends to connect the entire region of the southeast coast of the Red Sea from Al-Kosair, through Marsa Alam to El Quseir and Berenice to the national grid.
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The entire project according to Shaker costs approximately EGP 970m and it requires a dual-circuit antenna line with a voltage of 220 kV at 295 km in length and four mobile units of 220/22/22 kV with a capacity of 60 MVA per unit, two installed in Marsa Alam and the other two in Berenice.
The Al-Kosair – Marsa Alam power line took EETC, in cooperation with Giza Systems and EX EGEMAC plus other major specialized companies in the field, about six months to complete.
Importance of connecting the southeast coast of the Red Sea to the grid
According to Shaker, connecting the region of the southeast coast of the Red Sea to the national electricity grid will help the region to achieve urban and social developments as well as encourage tourism.
The connectivity will also reduce the current high costs of energy in this region due to reliance on diesel-run generating units and gas units which are expensive to operate and maintain.
