ABB Wins GIS Substation Order For PPL's Sunbury Project

ABB to provide modern 500kV turnkey Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) substation to upgrade PPL Electric Utilities’ grid reliability, local capacity and future expansion.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced it was awarded a contract to upgrade the existing 500kV switchyard at PPL Electric Utilities’ Sunbury Substation located north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

This new GIS substation will give PPL Electric Utilities the opportunity to improve service to its electric customers. The new GIS will replace first generation GIS equipment that was deployed at the site in the 1980’s.

ABB is providing all engineering, equipment and construction for the project, including the GIS switchgear, its associated foundation and enclosure and the GIS bus work that will be extending from the enclosure to the existing transformer and 500kV lines. Additionally, ABB is supporting PPL Electric Utilities’ efforts to optimize the key interface work with the surrounding AIS structures in order to optimize station footprint, maintenance access and future upgrade costs. The project must be completed by October 31, 2014 to coordinate with other projects and outages on PPL Electric Utilities’ system.  

“This will be the first modern 500kV GIS substation that PPL Electric Utilities is deploying on their system, and we very much appreciate the trust that they have placed in us,” said David Hewett, senior vice president of ABB’s Substations business in the United States.

ABB is the world’s leading supplier of power substation projects, delivering more than 5,500 substations rated up to 1100kV since 1900. Substations are the key element for transmission and distribution of electrical energy.

About ABB
ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people. The company's North American operations, headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, employ about 30,000 people in multiple manufacturing, service, engineering and other major facilities. For more information, visit www.abb.com.