Niël Terblanché
The collapse of a bridge between Windhoek and Rehoboth almost two weeks ago forced NamPower to reroute the transport of its latest mobile substations, named Rhino and Buffalo.
The rerouting of the very heavy equipment affected its scheduled deployment.
The national power utility said in a statement on Monday that the original route to Windhoek for the substations, which departed from Benoni, South Africa, on 25 March, had to be changed to ensure that the substations could arrive safely in Namibia.
The two 20 MVA substations, which are designed with voltage ratios of 132/66kV to 33/11kV and 132/66kV to 22/11kV, respectively, form part of NamPower’s Mobile Substations Project, first initiated in 2016.
Their names, Rhino and Buffalo, align with NamPower’s practice of naming mobile infrastructure after members of the Big Five.
An existing 10 MVA unit was renamed Lion, and a future 40 MVA unit is tentatively set to be named Elephant.
According to project leader Elsebi Gadney, the rerouting was necessitated by the structural failure of a bridge approximately 15 kilometres from Windhoek.
“The mobiles were already on the Namibian border last night around 7:29 pm. At a speed of 40km/h, it took about ten days, permitting that no other challenges are experienced along the remaining stretch through Namibia,” she said.
The bridge collapse created logistical complications for the delivery of the substations, which are crucial for enhancing the resilience of Namibia’s power infrastructure.
NamPower confirmed that the mobile units will be deployed to provide temporary power during outages, maintenance, or upgrades, thereby reducing service interruptions.
Once in Namibia, the substations will be transported by NamPower’s own Volvo FH520 truck, which is specifically designed to interface with the mobile trailers.
The Mobile Substations Project was conceptualised to address vulnerabilities in the national grid by allowing NamPower to respond quickly to transformer failures or planned maintenance.
The mobile units are expected to be positioned strategically to provide rapid backup power or temporary supply to major customers where permanent infrastructure is not yet available.
NamPower’s Managing Director, Kahenge Haulofu, at the time of the launch of the project, said that the mobile units are strategic transmission assets aimed primarily at mitigating the risk posed by prolonged supply interruptions to the customer.
He added that their acquisition is part of the utility’s broader objective to maintain a stable and reliable electricity network across the country.
According to Haulofu, the project experienced delays due to various procurement challenges, as well as global disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABB South Africa was awarded the contract in 2019 following a competitive bidding process.
Manufacturing and component procurement began in early 2020, including transformers, high and medium voltage switchgear, and protection automation equipment.
Despite the setbacks, the arrival of Rhino and Buffalo marks a step forward in NamPower’s efforts to modernise and secure the electricity supply.
The substations are expected to arrive in Windhoek within the coming days, pending any further unforeseen developments along the new route.
