How to execute SWYD installation works Substation construction

1. Establish the work zone by HEC

Before carrying out any work, it is important to establish the work zone and fence it off to
ensure the safety of the access points.

Then, notices of work and site tags are installed to keep citizens informed throughout the
construction period. In addition, other sources of information — including a Web page, an
Info-project line, project news bulletins and press releases — are generally available to
citizens, who may also contact the project's community relations advisor.

Throughout the project, site supervisors ensure that all the actions undertaken meet
environmental, health and safety and quality standards.

2. Prepare the substation site by HEC

At this step, any trees growing in the work zone are cut down.

Then, the ground is levelled and earthwork is carried out.

The construction team prepares the work site by carefully setting aside the topsoil, which
will be reused.

Ground levelled to build substation.

3. Excavate and lay the foundations by HEC

At this step, workers excavate the site, build the formwork, install the reinforcements and
pour the concrete.

In addition to laying the foundations, we build all the underground concrete structures,
such as the recovery basin.

Excavation work at substation.

Building the foundations that will support the substation’s framework and equipment.
A basin is built around the foundations of the transformers to recover any oil in case of
a spill.

4. Install the grounding grid by PE Yemen

The grounding grid is installed to ensure the safety of people and the equipment. Buried
underground, the grid redirects the fault current.

Grounding grid: the metal wires that make up the grid will be buried.

5. Build the command building (civil work by HEC &

installation by PE Yemen)
As its name suggests, the command building houses the control and protection equipment.

Most substations are automated and remotely controlled. Only the largest substations have
permanent technical staff on site since most are maintained by mobile teams.

The building houses for substation by HEC

A technicians of PE Yemen installs equipment in a circuit breaker panel.

6. Backfill the foundations and substation yard by HEC
Once the foundations have been laid, we backfill them and level the yard with granular
material (sand, gravel, rock, etc.) that is adapted to the site.

Backfilling the yard at Outdoor substation by HEC.

7. Assemble the steel structures by PE Yemen

Once the concrete is set, steel structures are assembled to support the electrical
equipment. Other structures will support the control building.

Specialized workers assemble the steel structures.

8. Install the electrical equipment by PE Yemen

Once the framework is built, we install the equipment on the foundations and steel
structures.

Metering Equipment: Ensuring Quality and Safety

A 735-kV line is used to carry energy over long distances since the higher the voltage on a
line, the more electricity it can carry.
Voltage transformers lower the voltage so protection and control units can
measure it. Voltage is the difference in electrical level (or potential) between two points.
It's expressed in volts (V). A 735-kV line is thus at a very high voltage—many thousands
of volts. Potential transformers are generally located where lines enter and exit the
substation.Like potential transformers,

current transformers lower the amount of current so that protection and control
units can measure it. Current is comparable to flow. It is alternating or direct and
expressed in amperes or amps (A).

Power transformers are at the heart of the substation. They step down the
voltage from 735,000 volts (735 kV) to 120,000 volts (120 kV), the subtransmission level
at which it is carried to regional substations.
Surge arresters are protective devices located on either side of power
transformers. They’re connected at the top to a line conductor and at the bottom to the
ground. Surge arresters protect the transformers and other electrical gear from voltage
surges caused by lightning or substation switching operations.

Circuit breakers are used to open and close circuits. They can be operated
manually to perform maintenance or will automatically trip if a short circuit occurs. This
function in the power system is similar to that of the fuses or breakers in a household
distribution panel.

Disconnect switches are found in several locations at a substation. They play a

vital role in ensuring worker safety since they electrically isolate circuits or units
undergoing maintenance and make this isolation visible. To visualize how a disconnect
switch works, just imagine a section of railway track that can be freely lifted and turned to
prevent energy from traveling along a path. A disconnect switch is used once a breaker
has opened a circuit and no charge is present.
Busbar assemblies are large, generally rigid aluminum conductors that link
circuits together. They can be compared to the distribution panel in a home, where electric
current arrives. The distribution panel is used to parcel out current among the various
circuits to be supplied. The main difference is that busbars carry and distribute very large
currents.

Each piece of equipment is then connected to the control room, which is under
construction.

We permanently fence off the new installations to ensure everyone's safety. Our
technicians test the equipment before the installations are connected to the power grid.
Finally, we commission the substation and ensure that the electricity is flowing.

9. Landscape by HEC and carry out the final inspection by

HEC and PE Yemen
The project ends with landscaping: we plant trees, create mounds of earth and do more
work if necessary.

We do earthwork, demobilize the site and carry out the final inspection to wrap up the
project. Only the operating equipment is left at the substation.

Landscaping on the site ensures that the substation is seamlessly integrated into the
environment.