Staff Writer
NamPower has commissioned and energised its new indoor 132/66/33 kV Sekelduin substation east of Swakopmund.
The project cost N$394 million and is the first fully digital substation on the African continent.
The substation is fed from the Kuiseb Substation, about 35 km southeast of Sekelduin, through two parallel 132 kV overhead power lines.
This setup improves network robustness and reduces the risk of a single failure affecting coastal nodes.
NamPower said the new infrastructure adds to its transmission network, unlocks coastal load growth, strengthens reliability, and prepares the Erongo region grid for the future.
The digital design uses process and station bus systems, which cut down on copper cable runs, improve remote asset monitoring, enhance fault location accuracy, and strengthen cyber-secure supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) integration.
This also helps address copper-theft risks.
“The digital application also provides a platform for future artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) integration, positioning NamPower among the top utilities in the world,” the company said.
“Sekelduin Substation marks a decisive step-change in Namibia’s transmission architecture and a continental first, conceived, engineered, and delivered by Africans,” NamPower added.
