Alstom Grid Turkey supplies to Thailands largest energy utility

Alstom Grid Turkey will support national energy projects in Thailand and Laos with the supply of 3-phase shunt reactors[1] for the Hongsa Lignite Thermal Power Plant. The contract, worth around €10 million, was awarded by Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT).

The Hongsa Lignite Thermal Power Plant will be the highest capacity power plant in Laos, providing 1878 MW of energy. Upon completion in 2016, it will deliver electricity across Laos and Thailand. The project will be an important energy source for both countries over the next 25 years.

Alstom Grid is a leader of export in Turkey for electrical generation and distribution equipment and exports around 85% of its production. This is the first time that Alstom Grid Turkey will provide shunt reactors for Thailand, and the first time that EGAT will work with a Turkish manufacturer for a contract of this kind.

For the Hongsa Lignite Thermal Power Plant, Alstom Grid will provide 110 MVAr, 525 kV shunt reactors and eight 0.55 MVAr 110 kV neutral earthing reactors to protect against voltage surges and increase network efficiency. The contract also covers the supply of eight 120 kV surge arresters, spare parts for the power plant, and supervision of installation.

Hakan Karadoğan, Alstom Grid Turkey Power Transformers Unit Managing Director said: “It is really exciting for us to be part of the project which will meet energy needs of the two countries very far from here, Laos and Thailand. With this project, we proved once more that we are chosen by all over the world thanks to our high quality standards and modern manufacturing techniques”.

[1] Shunt reactors are used to increase the grid stability and to maintain an economically acceptable level of insulation on networks with long transmission lines between power plants and consumption areas, especially if these lines are low loaded or buried..