A US$ 47M contract for the construction of high-voltage substations in Benin has been awarded to General Electric (GE) Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions, a division of General Electric Company which is an American multinational conglomerate that operates in aviation, healthcare, power, renewable energy, digital industry, additive manufacturing, and venture capital and finance.
The contract was awarded through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) an innovative and independent U.S. foreign assistance agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty.
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“Energy is a key component for on-going development in Africa and we are honored to be awarded this critical grid project in Benin, supporting the country’s modernization efforts around its power sector,” said GE’s Grid Solutions GE SSA Francophone CEO Eric Amoussouga adding that additional energy capacity will help foster economic development and boost local area growth.
The mandate of GE as per the contract
Under the contract, GE will provide a turnkey solution with design supply, civil work, local transportation, and installation commissioning of four substations. The supply includes all balance-of-plant and high-voltage substation equipment, gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), power transformers, circuit breakers, dis-connectors, and earthing switches, instrument transformers, capacitors, and control and protection services.
The contract also covers the most important high-voltage substation in the West African country, notably Vedoko, and the upgrade of the substations in Maria-Gleta, Berecingou, Djougou, Bohicon, Natitingou, and Parakou.
The entire project is expected to be completed in early 2022.
GE’s Grid Solutions second contract through the MCC
This is the second contract GE’s Grid Solutions has received through MCC’s power-sector focused agreement, or compact, with Benin.
The first contract, a turnkey distribution management system project involving telecommunication infrastructure and substation adaptations, was awarded in 2018 and it is currently being executed. It was designed to strengthen the country’s grid and manage electricity losses that result during energy transmission since the West African country imports some of its electricity from neighboring countries.
