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Supply & Installation of Rural Distribution Networks / Kenya

The Last Mile projects in Kenya form part of a high profile campaign by the Government of Kenya and the World Bank to bring power to the most remote parts of the country. BES competed in an open international bidding process and was successful with one lot covering nine counties.

BES was contracted to build over 1600km of MV/LV lines and to complete 39,000 service connections in very rural areas incorporating some of the most remote areas in Kenya. Several areas faced significant security issues requiring armed security details to protect the workers.

Work commenced in 2019, with the establishment of a large office and warehouse facility in Mlolongo, which housed a BES staff of over 40, predominantly made up of project engineers and support staff. The warehouse acted as a staging post for all the project materials, both imported and locally sourced, prior to distribution to sites. BES also worked with about 40 local contracting firms to ensure a smooth and efficient contruction phase for the project.

The project experienced significant challenges with the onset of Covid and the resulting restrictions of movement both internationally and locally. Exemptions were issued by the GoK for workers on the project - deemed to be high priorty by the Government.

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The project was challenging both in the vast geographical coverage and the bureacratic process required in capturing the client locations and details for the 39000 connections. This information should have been presented by KPLC prior to project commencement, but in reality no data collection had been done so it became incumbent upon BES to carry out this exercise . This involved considerable interaction with local people to educate them on the reasons for the project, the benefits it would bestow on them, and the registration of those details with KPLC to release prepaid meter numbers for installation on the network.

The project also faced considerable challenges with the distribution of materials to site, which required the procurement by BES of a large number of project vehicles of all sizes to complete the deliveries.

Despite the above, BES succesfully completed all contracted works, including retention works, and the project was commissioned in all contracted areas.

Upgrade of 4 x 161/33/11kv substations, construction of 1 x new 33/11kv substation and construction of 33kv Transmission Line / Freetown - Sierra Leone

The Ministry of Energy in Sierra Leone was given World Bank funds for the Upgrade of their distribution network in the capital, Freetown. An International competitive bidding process was undertaken, and BES (Europe) Ltd was awarded the contract.

The project commenced in July 2015 . BES faced a variety of challenges, caused primarily by densely populated settlements which encroached onto the wayleaves along the entire overhead line route. In addition we faced hard, rocky ground which was exceptionally difficult to excavate for tower foundations. This, together with the poor transport infrastructure in Freetown, presented us with many design limitations and operational challenges which we had to overcome.

Unfortunately this period also coincided with the outbreak of the ebola epidemic which resulted in many deaths in Sierra Leone and across neighbouring countries. BES continued works throughout the crisis, despite interruptions to international travel and limited transport routes into the country. The contract period also coincided with one of the country's highest annual rainfalls in memory, which culminated in a catastrophic landslide in Freetown which killed many hundreds of people. Despite these challenges, BES completed all works in mid 2017, and Freetown is enjoying the benefits of a much improved distribution network.

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Prepaid Metering System / Freetown - Sierra Leone

Installation of Revenue Management System, Supply of 25,000 Single Phase and Three Phase Meters and Installation of New Prepaid Vending System.

Background

The National Power Authority (NPA) of Sierra Leone (now renamed EDSA) was suffering from low revenue collection rates from its customers and early attempts at initiating a prepaid metering and revenue management system were proving unreliable.

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Products and services supplied

BES was awarded a total of three contracts by NPA, the first to supply and install a new Revenue Management System (RMS), the second to supply 25,000 single phase and three phase prepaid meters, and the third to supply and install a new prepaid vending system.

Results

Supply and Installation of three sets of components was successfully completed on time and within budget, and has resulted in significant improvements to the total revenues collected by the Authority. There has been a considerable demand for the prepaid meters from the public, and very high approval rating for the ease and efficiency of the vending process.

As a result of this initial success, contracts for further roll-out of prepaid meters and additions to the capacity of the RMS have been awarded to BES. BES continues to provide training and support through service level agreements.

Prestea - Bogoso 161kV Transmission Upgrade Project / Ghana

Design, Supply, Installation and Commissioning of a 161kV Transmission Line and Substation.

Background

To improve power evacuation from the western to the northern part of Ghana, the existing Prestea Bogoso 161kV transmission line was to be decommissioned and replaced by a new 161kV double circuit, twin-bundle conductor transmission line and the 161/34.5kV outdoor substation at Bogoso was to be upgraded. The contract was put out to international competitive tendering and BES was awarded the contract as the best evaluated bidder.

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Products and services supplied

Transmission Line:

The works included the decommissioning of the existing 161kV power line, the complete design of the new line, demolition of the old line, construction of new foundations, erection of towers, installation of fittings, stringing of conductor and OPGW shield wire and their termination at the Prestea and Bogoso Substations.

Substation:

The 34.5kV obsolete indoor switchgear was decommissioned and replaced with a new 34.5kV metal clad air insulated switchgear; two sets of three-phase 161kV pantograph disconnector switches were decommissioned and replaced by new ones and an emergency 50kVA diesel generator set was supplied and installed. BES also designed, supplied and installed a new mosaic MIMIC control and metering panel board and an annunciator panel to control the entire 161/34.5kV substation. All the installed equipment was commissioned by BES.

The work required careful planning as there were strict limits to power outages due to the fact that the existing line and substations were the main supply to large gold mines in the area. To that effect the supply was re-routed through the temporary construction of a loop-in loop-out solution for the transmission line and of a by-pass for the substation.

BES arranged the finance for the project through its UK bankers with support from the Export Credit Agency of the UK Government.

Results

The project was completed on time and within budget and the power outages were kept to a minimum as the customer required.

Transformer Performance Improvement / Ghana

Design, Supply and Installation of Air Cooling Systems for Transformers at Substations throughout Ghana.

Background

The client’s 11/33kV substation transformers were overloaded and regularly cut-out due to overheating.

The client contracted BES Group to design, supply and install air cooling systems to more than 50 transformers at substations across the country.

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Transformer Performance Improvement

Products & services supplied

BES Group designed, supplied and installed a battery of cooling fans to each transformer.

The cooling fan system was designed with an automatic temperature control panel to automatically monitor the temperature and switch on/off the cooling fans, when required.

BES Group upgraded more than 50 transformers over a period of 12 months.

Transformer Performance Improvement

Results

The client benefited from a significantly reduced number of electrical outages and as a result saved substantial revenue losses. Transformer performance was improved overall by 25%.

As a result of our efforts, all materials were delivered seamlessly to the customer, in perfect order and within the desired timeframe.

Standby Power Generation for Hospital / Ghana

Design, Installation and Commissioning of a Standby Power Station for a hospital in Accra, Ghana

Background

The customer was struggling to maintain a continuous and sufficient power supply to a large hospital. They required a soundproof standby power supply of 5000kVA (4MW) to fully operate the hospital in the event of mains failure.

Our customer contracted BES Group to design and install both the standby power system and the soundproof building.

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Standby Power Generation for Hospital

Products & services supplied

BES Group designed and installed an acoustic soundproof building to house the standby power supply system. The hospital environment meant noise pollution had to be kept to a minimum.

BES Group designed and installed the power supply using 2 x 2500 kVA Paxman VP185 11kV generators. BES Group also designed suitable switchgear and the operating system including auto mains failure. Fuel storage tanks were also supplied and installed.

Standby Power Generation for Hospital

Results

BES Group delivered a solution fully tailored to meet the client’s standby power generation and noise pollution requirements. Our expertise also provided the client with a seamlessly managed installation and commissioning of all equipment. All client staff were fully trained prior to the official hand-over.