Big Network Renovation: DTEK Dnipro Grids renovated 1,200 regional substations in 2021

Thermal power generation27 January 2022

In 2021, the Big Network Renovation project was launched in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Thanks to this program, DTEK Dnipro Grids has significantly upgraded the electrical infrastructure in the region and introduced some new technologies. Thus, the company replaced obsolete equipment that had exhausted its service life and ensured that 500,000 residents of the region now have a more reliable and high-quality power supply.

Electrical networks in the Dnipropetrovsk region were built 50-60 years ago and are in dire need of renovation. Several substations and lines built in the last century could not withstand the loads of the modern industrial region, which affected both the voltage quality and the number of blackouts. It should be noted that power utilities in the region are worn out by 70%. Thanks to the incentive RAB tariffs introduced in 2021, the company was able to launch the Big Network Renovation program in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

“DTEK is a reliable and responsible company. We listen to the needs of our customers, so that we are aware of the challenges they face. We put our efforts every day to make the power supply more reliable. Last year, as part of the Big Network Renovation project, we reconstructed and modernized 250 kilometers of lines and 1,200 substations and distribution centers, opened a modern dispatch center in Dnipro. The overall scope of works done made it possible to replace obsolete equipment, improve power supply and reduce the risk of outages for half a million residents in the region,” said Andriy Tereshchuk, Head of DTEK Dnipro Grids.

In November 2021, a new technological dispatch center was opened in Dnipro, thanks to which dispatchers will monitor the technical condition of the entire electrical infrastructure in the region 24/7. Thanks to this new software, it will replace 23 control centers operating in the region. The modern center is equipped with a digital control system that will help to quickly respond to failures and return electricity to customers' homes.

The company underlines that during the line reconstruction they fully change the electrical wires to more reliable and modern ones. This job reduces the number of failures, which means that customers will have fewer power outages. Such a large-scale reconstruction was done in Dnipro last year. More than 16 km of high-voltage lines were replaced here, that supply power to several residential areas, such as Nagorny District, Sokol and Topol. Built in 1955, they could no longer withstand today's load. The lines were completely renovated; wear-resistant 30-meter modern and anti-vanda multifaceted poles were installed, which was new for the Dnipropetrovsk region. And also, for the first time the company tested a new type of wire with the AERO-Z configuration, which prevents snow from sticking to it, and is also more resistant to temperature extremes and frost.

In 2022, the company will pursue the Big Network Renovation program in the Dnipropetrovsk region.